Australian Government Innovation and
Investment Fund – Tasmania
Customer Information Guide
Contents
Page
1
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 2
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Overview of the Australian Government Innovation and Investment Fund Tasmania ............................................................................................................ 2
3
Who can apply?................................................................................................... 2
4
Project eligibility ................................................................................................. 3
5
Eligible expenditure ............................................................................................ 3
6
Ineligible expenditure ......................................................................................... 4
7
How do I apply for the Fund? ............................................................................. 4
8
What funding is available? .................................................................................. 4
9
What are the Project Merit Criteria? .................................................................. 5
10 How will my application be assessed? ................................................................ 6
11 What if I am successful? ..................................................................................... 7
12 Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation ............................................................... 8
13 Document retention ........................................................................................... 9
14 If you need assistance ......................................................................................... 9
15 Submitting your application................................................................................ 9
16 Acknowledgement of applications ..................................................................... 9
17 Feedback ........................................................................................................... 10
Australian Government Innovation and Investment Fund – Tasmania
Customer Information Guide
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1
Introduction
This Customer Information Guide is designed to assist prospective applicants in deciding
whether to apply for a grant under the Australian Government Innovation and Investment
Fund - Tasmania (the Fund) and to outline the processes for the submission and
assessment of applications. It sets out the purpose of the Fund and explains who is
eligible to apply, how to obtain an application form, how applications are assessed, and
the criteria that will be used in assessing applications for funding.
Prospective applicants are advised to read this Guide thoroughly and in its
entirety before preparing an application.
2
Overview of the Australian Government Innovation and Investment
Fund - Tasmania
This Fund supports the implementation of the Australian Government’s Economic Growth
Plan for Tasmania and gives effect to the announcement on the 23 October 2013 by the
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development entitled
“Coalition Government's $100M-plus Commitment to Tasmania”.
The Fund has funding of up to $11 million (exclusive of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
during the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years.
The minimum grant under the Fund will be $50,000. There is no maximum grant limit
within the total grant funding available under the Fund.
The objective of the Fund is to encourage economic growth and jobs in Tasmania by
assisting Tasmanian business investment.
The Fund will support new projects that create sustainable business growth and job
opportunities that will contribute to the strengthening of Tasmania’s economy. The Fund
will encourage applications from projects that generate new, sustainable business growth
and jobs.
Projects will not be funded that do not involve a sustained net increase in economic
activity or involve a relocation of activity to Tasmania from other states and territories.
The Fund will be administered by AusIndustry as a competitive, merit-based grants
programme on a matching funding basis. AusIndustry is a Division within the Australian
Government's Department of Industry (the Department).
3
Who can apply?
Applicants must be incorporated in Australia under a law of the Commonwealth or of a
State or Territory, and must engage in trading or financial activities that form a
substantial or significant portion of their overall current activities.
All applicants are required to have an Australian Business Number and be registered for
the GST.
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Commit to contributing a minimum of 50 per cent of the overall eligible project cost
(exclusive of in-kind contributions) from non-Government funding.
The following are not eligible to apply:
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individuals and partnerships;
trusts; however, an incorporated trustee can apply on behalf of a trust provided
that the Commonwealth is satisfied that the incorporated trustee will remain
sufficiently liable for the performance of any agreement it signs;
Australian, State and Local Government agencies and bodies (including government
business enterprises); or
entities that do not comply with State or Commonwealth law.
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4
Project eligibility
An eligible application must propose a project that:
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generates economic growth and new sustainable jobs in Tasmania and does not
involve the movement of business activity to Tasmania from other states and
territories;
involves at least $100,000* in eligible expenditure as described in paragraph 5;
demonstrate that any activities to be continued after the Project completion date
can be undertaken without further grant funding; and
is consistent with Australia’s international obligations, including under the World
Trade Organization.
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* This figure is due to the minimum grant being $50,000 which must be matched.
In addition:
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Projects focussed on current job retention will not be supported.
Funding for projects under the Fund must not be leveraged by any other
government funding (Australian, State and/or Territory governments).
5
Eligible expenditure
Eligible expenditure is defined as the direct project costs incurred in undertaking the
project and may include:
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acquisition of new equipment or machinery that can be capitalised in the
applicant’s accounts;
construction or fit-out of a new building or extension to premises; and
costs incurred undertaking an independent project audit certificate.
Project management and direct labour costs associated with the above are eligible but
only where expenditure is incurred on directly implementing and/or commissioning the
agreed project and where the expenditure is directly attributable to the project and is not
part of existing management, executive or ongoing operational costs. Generally these
expenses would be no more than five per cent of a project’s total value.
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Ineligible expenditure
The following activities and items are not eligible expenditure:
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the acquisition of land and/or property leasing or rental costs;
preparing the grant application, any project variation requests and any project
reports (except the costs of independent audit reports)
full scale production and inventory costs;
all forms of advertising and the production of promotional material;
establishing general infrastructure or obtaining resources used on the project—such
as interest on loans, job advertising and recruiting;
general business management and administration not directly related to the eligible
project;
website development (unless the web site is part of the value proposition of the
project);
prospecting, exploring or drilling for minerals, petroleum or natural gas for the
purpose of discovering deposits, determining more precisely the location of
deposits or determining the size or quality of deposits; and
opportunity costs relating to forgone production and production downtime arising
from the allocation of resources to the agreed grant project.
research or scoping activities;
ongoing or routine business costs, including administrative, operational and
maintenance costs and employee salaries and wages;
retrospective activities;
activities that breach occupational health and safety or public safety; and
other ‘in kind’ contributions.
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How do I apply for the Fund?
Applicants must complete the Australian Government Innovation and Investment Fund –
Tasmania Application Form which is available to be downloaded at www.business.gov.au.
Applicants will need to submit budget details as part of their proposal. For any queries
relating to access of the Word fill-able application form please contact us on 13 28 46.
The Fund closes to applications at 5pm AEDST on 01, October 2014.
AusIndustry can provide advice and support from Tasmania based staff during the
application period to assist you to apply for funding.
8
What funding is available?
The Fund has funding of up to $11 million (exclusive of GST) during the 2014-15, 2015-16
and 2016-17 financial years.
The minimum grant under the Fund will be $50,000. There is no maximum grant limit
within the total grant funding available under the Fund.
The following conditions for funding will apply:
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funding will not be provided for retrospective activities; and
an agreed proportion of the funding may be paid on execution of a Grant
Agreement. Each subsequent payment of funds would then be made upon
provision of satisfactory evidence that the agreed milestone(s) for that payment
has been achieved.
For grant payments that attract the GST, AusIndustry will increase your grant payments to
compensate for the level of that tax. Grant funds should be included in assessable income
unless the entity receiving the grant is exempted under the income tax law. It is
recommended that you seek advice on your obligations from a tax adviser or the
Australian Taxation Office.
9
What are the Project Merit Criteria?
Eligible applications will be assessed on a competitive basis relative to the merit of other
applications received in a particular funding round against the following four equallyweighted criteria.
C1. The level of net economic benefit the proposed project will bring to Tasmania,
including:
o the contribution of the project towards the business’s growth; and
o the number of, and sustainability of, new jobs generated through the project.
The project should not compromise competitive neutrality (e.g. taxpayers
subsidising one participant in a market thereby reducing the competitiveness of
other participants) unless it can be demonstrated that the benefits of grant
assistance outweigh the costs.
In addressing this criterion, an application should address the following issues.
 How many sustainable jobs will be created as a result of the project? On what
basis have you determined this figure (eg, growth outlook, new sales
contracts, and increase in business revenue)?
 Describe the type of investment (eg, plant and equipment and project costs).
C2. The demonstrated capacity of the applicant to successfully undertake the project
outlining the skills, experience and resources to which they will have access.
In addressing this criterion, an application should address the following issues.
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How long has your business been operating?
Has your business undertaken other projects successfully in the past?
Who will be managing the project? What are their skills and experience?
Does your business have the necessary resources (eg, staff and equipment) to
undertake the project?
 Do you have the required planning or other statutory approvals in place to
undertake your project?
C3. The demonstrated capacity of the applicant to provide matching funding for the
project.
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In addressing this criterion, an application should address the following issues.
 Identify your demonstrated commitment to contribute at least 50 per cent of
the overall project costs.
 Describe how your business will fund these contributions (eg, from existing
revenue, bank borrowings, assets, stock).
 Provide evidence to show how the business is able to make these
contributions.
 Assure that the project is free of other concurrent government funding
(Australian, State and Local).
C4. The value for public money offered by the project as measured by the extent to
which the project will be unlikely to proceed without funding support.
In addressing this criterion an applicant will need to demonstrate why the project
could not proceed without grant support.
10 How will my application be assessed?
Eligible applications for the Fund will be assessed on a competitive basis relative to the
merit of other applications received in a particular funding round against the project
merit criteria. Applications deemed ineligible will not be assessed.
Applications will be assessed in a two-stage process.
Stage 1: AusIndustry will assess each application in terms of its eligibility, and its strengths
and weaknesses against the Project Merit Criteria mentioned in these guidelines. As part
of the assessment process, applicants may be required to submit additional information
to support their applications.
AusIndustry, in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed project, may seek
clarification from an applicant and may also seek additional information from:
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other Australian Government agencies;
State or Territory government agencies;
Local governments; or
any other appropriate agencies or persons that AusIndustry considers necessary to
assess an application.
AusIndustry will submit its assessment report of all applications to the Fund’s Advisory
Committee for the Stage 2 assessment.
Stage 2: A Fund’s Advisory Committee will be established to review the AusIndustry
assessment report and undertake further assessment of applications and make
recommendations for funding to the Australian Minister for Industry or the Minister’s
delegate.
The Advisory Committee will be appointed by the Australian Minister for Industry. The
Committee will comprise a representative from the Australian Government and two other
people with relevant Tasmanian business experience.
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AusIndustry will manage potential and actual Advisory Committee member conflicts of
interest through a process that requires declaration of any potential conflict of interest by
Advisory Committee members and exclusion of the member(s) from the application
assessment if the Programme Delegate determines that the conflict of interest is
material.
Privacy and confidentiality
Applicant information will only be disclosed in accordance with these guidelines or if the
Department is required or permitted by law to make such a disclosure. AusIndustry
regards the information contained in applications as private and confidential and treats it
as such. It is subject to the operational need to provide applications to assessors, and any
statutory or legal requirements to provide information to Parliament and other
organisations, for audit, law enforcement, investigative or other ordered purpose. The
use and disclosure of information provided by applicants for the Fund is regulated by the
relevant provisions and penalties of the Public Service Act 1999, the Privacy Act 1988, the
Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Crimes Act 1914 and general laws of the
Commonwealth of Australia.
As part of the assessment of an application, AusIndustry may need to consult with, and
provide material from the application to, other government agencies or bodies, other
organisations and/or relevant individuals, in order to substantiate any claims or
statements made in the application form, or to otherwise assist in the assessment of the
application. If this occurs, AusIndustry will endeavour to ensure that the parties who are
consulted observe appropriate confidentiality provisions.
Following approval of an application, the broad details of an application (for example, the
identity of the successful applicant, the grant amount and a brief description of the
project) may be disclosed by AusIndustry or the Department for purposes such as
promoting the Fund and reporting on its operation and policy development. This
information may also be used in answering questions from the Parliament and its
committees.
The Department will report details regarding the award of each grant on its website. The
details that the Department is required to publish on its website are set out in Finance
Circular 2013/02: Australian Government Grants: Briefing and Reporting available on the
Department of Finance and Deregulation website at
http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/finance-circulars/index.html#fc2013.
11 What if I am successful?
There will be public announcements of successful applicants. Prior to announcement,
successful applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application. The public
announcement may include details, on an individual basis, of the applicant, the value of
the grant and the purpose of the grant. In addition, the Department will report details
regarding the award of each grant on its website.
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Successful applicants will need to enter into a Grant Agreement with the Commonwealth.
The agreement is a legal contract between the grantee and the Commonwealth. It
provides details of the rights and obligations of both the grantee and the Commonwealth,
including the agreed proposal, grant funding to be provided, power to recover grant
funds in circumstances where grantees do not meet their obligations, the ability to
inspect premises and records relating to the project, provisions for variation and
termination of the agreement and the grantee’s compliance and reporting obligations.
Financial assistance will only be made in accordance with the provisions of the Grant
Agreement.
A sample copy of the Australian Government Innovation and Investment Fund - Tasmania
Grant Agreement will be available on the website www.business.gov.au. Potential
applicants should read and understand the Grant Agreement before completing an
application.
An offer of funding may be subject to special conditions.
Until a valid Grant Agreement is executed, the Commonwealth is not liable for any
expenses paid by the applicant. No funding will be given until the agreement is executed.
Grant funds will be paid in stages depending on the size of the grant approved. An agreed
proportion of the funding may be paid on execution of a Grant Agreement. Each
subsequent payment of funds will then be made upon provision of satisfactory evidence
that the agreed milestone(s) for that payment has been achieved.
It is recognised that unexpected circumstances can occur within a project life cycle that
may require the variation of the Grant Agreement. If this occurs, grant recipients need to
apply to the Programme Delegate for a variation to the Grant Agreement in accordance
the requirements of that agreement.
12 Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation
Applicants will be required to report on the progress of projects, addressing performance
and expenditure as specified in the Grant Agreement, as well as provide evidence that it
has progressively matched the grant.
On completion of the projects and before the final grant payments are made, applicants
will need to provide:
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an independent audit certificate covering all project costs; and
a final project report.
The purpose of the audit certificate is to ensure grant funds and applicants’ matching
contributions were expended on the approved project.
The Commonwealth is empowered to recover grant funds in circumstances where the
applicant has acted in a manner to reduce the benefits that were expected to be
generated by the project.
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Templates for reports will be provided to the grantee during the Grant Agreement process.
Monitoring of project progress and its overall contribution to the achievement of the
Fund’s objective will be undertaken by AusIndustry. This will include the evaluations from
the site visit(s), progress and final project reports and a post project visit.
13 Document retention
It is a condition of being paid a grant under the Fund that successful applicants retain all
documents and records in relation to the application for a period of seven years after the
completion of the project. While such records do not need to be submitted with reports,
AusIndustry may require such records to verify any or all eligible expenditure.
Failure to provide such records when required may result in an expenditure item being
disallowed, or in certain circumstances, the repayment of grant funding being required.
14 If you need assistance
If you wish to obtain advice on your application please contact staff at the Tasmanian
State Office of AusIndustry in Hobart on 03 6230 9900 or the Northern Tasmania Regional
Manager in Launceston on 03 6331 4183 or email: aitas@industry.gov.au. We will either
provide advice via the phone or e-mail or arrange a suitable time to meet with you.
Additional information concerning the Fund can be obtained from the website at
www.business.gov.au or contact us on 13 28 46.
15 Submitting your application
Completed applications under the Fund should be submitted by 5 pm AEDST on
01, October 2014 online. Hard copy applications can be submitted either electronically by
email to aitas@industry.gov.au or on a CD, along with a signed hard copy posted* to:
Australian Government Innovation and Investment Fund - Tasmania
AusIndustry
GPO Box 9839
HOBART TAS 7001
* Hard copy applications submitted by post must be postmarked by 5 pm AEDST 01 October, 2014.
16 Acknowledgement of applications
An AusIndustry Customer Service Manager will send a letter acknowledging receipt of all
applications. If an application is incomplete or the applicant ineligible, an AusIndustry
Customer Service Manager will discuss this with the contact person responsible for
lodging the application.
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17 Feedback
The AusIndustry customer service charter outlines AusIndustry’s commitment to
improving service delivery. It sets out the service standards applicants for AusIndustry
programmes can expect and how applicants can help AusIndustry to deliver better
services. A copy of the charter is available at www.business.gov.au.
AusIndustry will notify both successful and unsuccessful applicants, in writing.
AusIndustry staff will be available to provide feedback to applicants where projects are
not successful in receiving grant funding.
Visit the Contact Us page on the www.business.gov.au website for full details on how you
can contact us.
If not satisfied with the complaint resolution procedure, contact:
Head of Division
AusIndustry – Business Services
GPO Box 9839
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6213 7324
Another option for complaints is to contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman. There is no
fee for making a complaint, and the Ombudsman may conduct an independent
investigation of concerns. Note that the Ombudsman usually prefers complainants to first
work through AusIndustry before complaining about a decision.
Contact details are:
Commonwealth Ombudsman
Telephone: 1300 362 072
www.ombudsman.gov.au
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