Industry Growth Program — Early-Stage Commercialisation
Funds Australian small businesses in early commercialization through feasibility, proof-of-concept, and prototype support.
The Industry Growth Program — Early-Stage Commercialisation is a matched grant program administered by Australia's Department of Industry, Science and Resources. It provides grants of A$50,000 to A$250,000 to eligible small to medium enterprises conducting feasibility studies, proof-of-concept work, or prototyping activities at Technology Readiness Levels 3 through 6. The program is specifically designed to support Australia's National Reconstruction Fund priority areas, which span renewables and low-emissions technologies, medical science, transport, value-add agriculture, forestry and fisheries, value-add resources, defence capability, and enabling capabilities.
To be eligible, the lead applicant must be an Australian incorporated company, co-operative, or incorporated trustee with an ABN and GST registration, and must have maintained an annual turnover under A$20 million averaged over the three most recent financial years. Critically, applicants must first complete an advisory engagement with an Industry Growth Program Adviser and receive an Advisory Report before any grant application is accepted — this prerequisite filters for commercial readiness. Grants are matched-contribution awards, meaning applicants must contribute a share of project costs. Applications are assessed by the independent Industry Growth Program Committee against merit criteria published in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines. As of May 2026, the program is paused to new applications while the federal government reviews its industrial strategy.
The program has cumulatively awarded 133 grants totalling A$201.5 million across both streams since its launch, with recent tranches including A$6.9 million for seaweed and microalgae projects (April 2026) and A$21.2 million across 13 commercialisation projects (March 2026). The advisory-first structure means that applicants who invest time with a state-based Adviser to refine their commercial narrative and align to NRF themes before the program reopens will be best positioned to apply quickly once the pause lifts.
Feasibility studies, proof-of-concept, and prototyping for innovative products, processes, or services in one or more of the seven NRF priority areas (value-add resources, agriculture/forestry/fisheries, transport, medical science, renewables and low emissions, defence, enabling capabilities).
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