Industry Resources, Support, Training and Grant Opportunities

This program aims to provide eligible small businesses with access to specialist financial services and/or business support to assist in business recovery, transition, growth, or application of other management strategies.

The scheme provides small, interest-free loans of up to $3 000 to people on low incomes who want to start their own business or grow an existing one.

New Access for Small Business Owners is a free and confidential mental health coaching program, developed by Beyond Blue to give small business owners, including sole traders the support they need.

With the help of the States & Territories, and Tourism partners. Tourism Australia have put together the attached document cover some of the funding opportunities for a sustainable business future. A wide variety of Federal and State Government support, assistance and grants programs are available to allow businesses to plan for a more sustainable future. Although this list is not exhaustive, we hope that it may be of assistance.

One-off Assistance grants of up to $20 000 are available to promote the number of winter events in regional Tasmania, increasing visitors and local community engagement through the non-peak tourist season, and assisting to grow event expertise skills and capacity in regional Tasmania.

Championship grants of up to $10 000 are available for eligible competitions that bring more than 100 competitors and supporters to Tasmania, who stay in paid commercial accommodation for three nights or more, and are able to promote pre- and post-championship travel within the state as part of their event marketing.

This scheme provides low interest loans to Tasmanian farm businesses, agri-food businesses and young farmers wanting to progress into their own farm business. It will support projects that advance the government's Agrivision 2050 plan which aims to increase the value of the agriculture and agri-food sectors in Tasmania.

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government program that supports sustainable cultural development in regional and remote communities in Australia. The program is managed by Regional Arts Australia and, in Tasmania, by RANT Arts.

Touring grants of up to $20 000 are available to eligible organisers of auto, motorbike, cycle or walking tours in Tasmania during the winter and shoulder season. Funding is based on the number of interstate or international participants staying in paid commercial accommodation for five nights or more, with 40 percent or more of the tour being held in regional areas.

The Industry Partnerships Program provides grant funding for nationally recognised training-related equipment and resources to improve employee training in Tasmania. There is up to $50,000 for small grants and $250,000 for large grants.

Through the support of the Tasmanian Government, the TICT is supporting tourism businesses in reducing their emissions by matching eligible tourism operators with one of two programs over 2023 and 2024.

The Tasmanian Government has announced a new Built Heritage Grants Scheme. Round 1 (2023-24) of the scheme has a total of $1 million funding through two programs: 1. Conservation Program. 2. Activation Program. Applications for the scheme can be made from 15 January 2024. Further grant rounds will also be offered in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

The FNTMP is a new, free mentoring program for First Nations tourism businesses across Australia. We can support First Nations tourism businesses to grow and achieve their goals by connecting them with skilled, experienced and culturally respectful industry specialists who can provide one-on-one advice and support.

Austrade have compiled a list of programs, initiatives and tools to help businesses uplift management capability. The information highlights government and industry resources available to businesses operating in the visitor economy.

A how-to-guide to help Australian tourism businesses become more sustainable.

Three new programs have been announced to support the uptake of electric vehicles and reduce transport emissions in Tasmania, these include interest free loans for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Visit Tourism Australia's Industry Resources to access guides for tourism operators, business support, and content resources.

The Global Sustainable Tourism Summit will explore the theme 'People, Planet, Place, Purpose', delving into how all sectors of the visitor economy can address the four pillars of sustainability; cultural, environmental, socio-economic, and sustainable business management.

Save the date: March 18 - 20, 2024. Off the back of the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT)’s launch of its Emission Reduction program, the TICT is holding a series of one-day workshops across the state focused on how to practically apply sustainability knowledge to everyday operations – and reduce overheads at the same time! More details to be announced in the coming weeks via the TICT website.

The Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) has released a new publication, Engaging with Artificial Intelligence (AI). The new guidance, co-sealed with the international intelligence community, includes important advice to help medium businesses to large organisations interact with AI securely.

Opens 27 February 2024 - The Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises program is supporting businesses to upgrade or replace inefficient equipment and implement other energy efficiency activities. The program assists businesses to lower their energy use and improve their energy efficiency. It will also contribute to easing energy price fluctuations for businesses. Grants of between $10,000 and $25,000are available. Grants will be awarded to eligible applicants in order of application receipt. Applications may close early if all allocated funds are exhausted.

The Energy Saver Loan Scheme provides no-interest loans to eligible applicants to fund the purchase price and installation of energy efficient products. Energy Saver Loans are interest-free, have no establishment fee, and no account-keeping fee - although fees for late repayments do apply. Loans may be issued for amounts between $500 and $10,000. Loans may be issued for terms of one (1) to three (3) years. Loans require fortnightly or monthly repayments (with the entire sum to be paid off by the end of the loan-term).

Cripps 'Dough for the People' Community Grants are now open for applications for 2024/25 Financial Year. Each request for a monetary donation is considered on a case-by-case basis and in conjunction with spend already allocated to the existing requests/sponsorships.

As part of a $10 million commitment over five years, the 2024 Qantas Regional Grants Program will provide another $2 million in grants this year to support Australian-based not-for-profit community groups and projects that benefit regional areas. Grants will include a combination of cash, marketing support and flights according to the specific needs of each group. Community groups and organisations can apply now. Open until 10 May 2024 with successful recipients to be announced in July 2024.