Get ready for round 4: exciting updates to the EMDG Program

It offers financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (with annual turnovers between $100,000 and $20m) to promote their products and services abroad.

The program has been supporting Australian businesses to expand globally for nearly 50 years, with the reformed fourth round of the program opening in November 2024, and bringing some exciting new changes. These changes aim to provide greater certainty around grant funding and potentially provide grantees with larger grant amounts. 

While the program remains eligibility-based – rather than competitive – applications will be assessed in the order they are received. Given there is expected to be high demand, it’s crucial to get your application in early. Once funding is fully allocated for each tier, Austrade will close the grant program. 

Available grant amounts 

The grant amounts for each tier per financial year (FY26 and FY27) have set minimum and maximum limits:

Tier 1: $20,000 up to $30,000, per financial year.

Tier 2: $20,000 up to $50,000, per financial year.

Tier 3: $20,000 up to $80,000, per financial year.

Representative bodies: No minimum grant and up to $50,000, per financial year.

If applicants spend less than the maximum grant amount, providing it is at least above the minimum grant amount, Austrade have noted that the applicant will receive an amount equal to the amount contributed (50 per cent matched funding requirement).

Eligibility and determining your grant tier 

Choosing the right tier to apply for depends on a few key criteria. Namely, FY24 annual turnover in and your proposed export marketing strategy. This selection establishes the maximum amount of grant funding available. Grant funding is on a 50 per cent matched funding basis in relation to grantees spend on export marketing activities and there are 11 categories of eligible export expenses.

Additionally, you must have an ABN and have been conducting business under that same ABN for at least two years. 

A high-level overview of the key guidelines for each tier include: 

Tier 1 – Businesses ready to export

• Minimum annual turnover of more than $100,000.
• No prior export experience.
• Ready to start exporting and promoting products or services to foreign markets (Austrade’s export readiness test).

Tier 2 – Businesses exporting within existing markets

• Minimum annual turnover of more than $500,000.
• Evidence of recent export sales.
• Seeking to expand marketing and promotional activities in existing export markets. 

Tier 3 – Businesses exporting to new markets

• Minimum annual turnover of more than $1M and less than $20M.
• Evidence of recent export sales.
• Making a strategic shift to diversify marketing and promotional activities into new key markets. Austrade has released a list of 27 key markets, focusing on exporter diversification preferences and South East Asia.

Representative bodies

• Promoting the interests of a group of Australian businesses overseas.

The application process and grant period

There are a few steps that make up the complete EMDG Application process. For example, the EMDG Application and the subsequent annual milestone report (needed to claim the grant amount), are similar to prior rounds of the program, with a few key changes detailed in the EMDG grant guidelines. 

Importantly, grant agreements will be issued for up to two financial years (FY26 to FY27). 

Applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria in order of application receipt. Austrade has advised in the guidelines that grants will be awarded to eligible applicants in order of application receipt, until the funding is fully allocated for each tier.

Grantees can also expect to only receive a Tier 1 grant for two years, a Tier 2 grant for four years or a Tier 3 grant for four years, with an eight year total grant limit. 

Lodgement deadlines 

• Applications open 10am, 6 November 2024 (AEDT) for Representative bodies.
• Applications open 10am, 12 November 2024 (AEDT) for Tier 1 – Ready to export, Tier 2 – Exporting within existing markets, and Tier 3 – Exporting to new key markets.

Unlike prior years, the application will be assessed at the tier level applied for and will not be automatically moved to another tier. Austrade will notify applicants of the outcome of their grant agreement in late January 2025. 

As a part of broader transparency, if you enter into a grant agreement with Austrade, grant recipients will be listed on Austrade’s website and the GrantConnect website within 21 days after the date of effect.

Key recommendations for EMDG round 4

• Prepare early: We suggest having your application ready to submit on the grant opening date, as early in the day as possible to maximise your chances of securing funding.
• Ensure a high-quality application is submitted: Austrade requires a high-quality application and business plan outlining the proposed export marketing activities. Austrade will not request additional information if your application is incomplete - it will simply be deemed ineligible. Therefore, it is essential to ensure your application is thorough and complies with all eligibility criteria.
• Ensure you identify eligible overseas marketing activities: The program is not intended to fund ‘business as usual’ marketing activities so it is important to make sure your application highlights new and different export marketing strategies. In addition, if you are planning to apply for Tier 3, you must be entering a new market included in Austrade’s list of key markets. Note, if you have previously had export sales to that market, it will not count for eligibility towards Tier 3.
• Watch our EMDG webinar: Stay informed and access on-demand our latest webinar, ‘Navigating the new EMDG requirements: What you need to know for Round 4’ for additional tips and guidance.

Find out more

Learn more about how our The Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) services can help you

Visit our The Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) page