Startup grant deadlines in Australia — when programmes usually open

Innovation Connect has run in repeated rounds for over a decade. Check the ACT Government business grants page for the next round.

No successor round announced at the time of checking. Battery manufacturing remains supported under the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund.

Programme is in development. Watch arena.gov.au/funding for the first round guidelines.

ARENA runs specific competitive funding rounds (for example hydrogen, electrolyser, industrial decarbonisation and community battery rounds) each with its own opening and closing dates, alongside an advancing renewables pathway for unsolicited applications.

Two rounds have been run to date. Any Round 3 would be announced through ARENA; the programme is aimed at very large projects rather than early-stage startups.

ARENA has run repeated solar R&D rounds; monitor arena.gov.au/funding for the next one.

CRC-P has historically run one or more competitive rounds per year, though the timing has become irregular. Check business.gov.au and GrantConnect for the next round; the broader CRC Program (long-term centres) also runs separate annual selection rounds.

CSIRO has periodically restructured its ON programme portfolio. Check the CSIRO innovation programs page for the current cohort structure and next intake, as programme names and formats have changed between cycles.

No reopening date has been published by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources as at 14 August 2026. The pause was applied without a public announcement and was reported in the trade press in 2025-26. Founders should monitor the business.gov.au programme page and the Department's Industry Growth Program page for any resumption, and in the meantime consider the R&D Tax Incentive, ARENA, MRFF and state-level commercialisation grants as substitutes.

Individual grant opportunities are published on GrantConnect with their own closing dates. The MRFF publishes a rolling implementation plan setting out upcoming opportunities.

Check the NSW Government grants and funding page for the next MVP Ventures round. NSW also runs the Minimum Viable Product and Techvouchers programmes; where MVP Ventures is closed, Techvouchers and the Physical Sciences Fund may be open.

TechVouchers has run in repeated rounds under the NSW Physical Sciences Fund and related programmes. Check the NSW grants portal for the current round.

Queensland small business grants are re-announced each state budget cycle with varying names and quantum. Monitor business.qld.gov.au grants finder and register for alerts, since rounds close extremely quickly.

Ignite Ideas has run for multiple rounds since 2015 under Advance Queensland. Check the Advance Queensland website for the next round; the programme has been subject to changes in scope and funding under successive Queensland budgets.

The RCSF has run in successive rounds since 2021. Monitor the South Australian Department of State Development website and business.sa.gov.au for the next round announcement.

No deadline — apply whenever you are ready.

The New Industries Fund umbrella has been re-scoped across WA budget cycles. Check the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation website for the current suite, which has included the Innovation Booster Grant, New Industries Fund Innovation Seed Fund and Female Innovators Boost.