Defence Industry Development Grants Program

Defence Industry Development Grants — Sovereign Industrial Priorities

Funds Australian defence small businesses to upgrade industrial manufacturing capacity aligned with national sovereign priorities through matched equipment support.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Defence Industry Development Grants (DIDGP) — Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream is one of four streams within the Australian Government's Defence Industry Development Grants Program, administered by DISR's Business Grants Hub with policy direction from the Department of Defence. The Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream provides grants of $50,000 to $1,000,000, covering up to 50 percent of eligible expenditure, to help Australian defence SMEs purchase manufacturing plant and equipment used directly to develop or deliver programmes aligned with strategic sovereign defence priorities. The 2026 round closed May 31, 2026, with a project completion deadline of March 31, 2028; this record is retained as a reference for the anticipated 2027 cycle.

Eligibility is restricted to Australian SMEs with fewer than 200 employees, an ABN, GST registration, and incorporation in Australia as a trading corporation, company limited by guarantee, or incorporated trustee. Government bodies, research organisations, universities, individuals, partnerships, and overseas entities are ineligible for this stream. Applications must score at least 65 percent across the programme's assessment criteria to be considered meritorious; meritorious applications are then ranked competitively for available funding. Projects must be undertaken in Australia and must have a clear link to the stream's objectives around sovereign capability and strategic defence manufacturing.

The broader DIDGP programme also includes three parallel streams — Skilling (up to $250,000 for workforce training), Exports (up to $250,000 for breaking into international defence markets), and Security (up to $100,000 for security uplift) — each with its own deadlines and eligibility nuances. For the Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream specifically, applicants competitive in past cycles typically demonstrate a direct connection to Australian Government-identified sovereign capability priorities, credible manufacturing or production capacity, and strong co-investment from their own operating budget.