Grants for businesses impacted by COVID-19
The Queensland Government is helping out with a grant for businesses impacted by COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak through the Market Diversification and Resilience Grants (MDRG) program.
The MDRG program will benefit Queensland agriculture, food and fishing exporters and their critical supply chain partners. The Program will also help industry organisations working with exporters to build resilience by diversifying into new markets (international or interstate).
The program has 2 components: Equipment Purchases and Projects.
If you’re interested in grants for businesses impacted by COVID-19, you can apply for:
Equipment purchases
Equipment purchase grants of up to $7,500 (excluding GST) up to a maximum cost of $10,000 (excluding GST).
Applicants must contribute 25% of the total cost of the new equipment. The MDRG program will provide the remaining 75% of total costs. For example, if the total equipment cost is $10,000 (excluding GST), the applicant will pay $2,500 and the MDRG program will pay $7,500 (excluding GST).
Examples of eligible equipment purchases are:
- freezers
- refrigerators
- vacuum packaging machines
- storage equipment
- filleting machines.
Projects
Project grants of up to $50,000 (excluding GST) will support project activities including, but not limited to:
- market evaluation studies
- market visits
- staff training
- new equipment such as refrigeration
- boat modifications necessary to meet market requirements.
Applicants must co-invest 50% of the total cost of their project activities or equipment purchases and should provide evidence of their contributions both in-kind (e.g. reasonable salary costs for key personnel, freight costs) and cash. Cash contributions must be at least 25% of total project costs.
Important dates for this COVID-19 business grant opportunity
Applications for project grants opened on Thursday 12 March and close Monday 20 April.
Successful applicants will be notified by Friday 1 May.
Eligibility criteria for the grants
To be eligible for funding, your organisation must be one of the following:
- a Queensland-based agriculture, food or fishing exporter
- a Queensland-based critical supply chain partner (e.g. fishing business, producer, grower, grower collective, wholesaler) to a Queensland-based agriculture, food or fishing exporter
- a not-for profit industry organisation working with Queensland-based agriculture, food and fishing exporters.
Your organisation must also be:
- a small to medium sized business employing less than 200 full time equivalent employees
- registered and operating in Queensland, have an ABN and be registered for GST
- trading viably for at least the past 2 years.
More information
Access more information, guidelines and link to the application forms on the Government’s webpage.
If you’d like to chat with us about the application, call us on 4923 7110 or 0409 069 425, or email us.