What is the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG)?
EMDG is a financial assistance program for future and current exporters provided by the Australian Government. The scheme:
- Encourages small and medium sized Australian businesses to increase their export promotional activities.
- Reimburses up to 50% of eligible export expenses above $5,000 up to a maximum of $150,000 in a financial year, provided that the incurred total expense is at least $15,000.
- Provides up to eight consecutive grants to each eligible applicant.
Who can apply?
- Any Australian resident including individuals, partnerships, companies, associations, co-operatives, statutory corporations, groups and trusts that have carried on export promotion activities during the grant year.
- Entities who would not otherwise be eligible to apply EMDG can obtain approved status. There are two categories of approved status:
- Approved Body status – an export focused industry bodies undertake promotion on behalf of its industry. Approval granted is for five years.
- Joint Venture status – a group of small to medium Australian businesses cooperating in a joint venture-style marketing arrangement. Approval granted is for five years and is entitled to receive up to five grants.
To be eligible, the business must have carried on export promotion activities during the financial year and:
- The total income is less than $20 million.
- The total incurred eligible expense is at least $15,000 (first-time applicants can combine two years expenses).
- Be the principal (rather than agent) for exporting the products and promoting it to overseas market (there is an exception for non-profit export-focused industry bodies).
What can be claimed?
To qualify for an EMDG grant, the business product must have promoted for export purposes and must be one of the following:
- Goods made in Australia.
- Imported goods where Australia will derive a significant net profits from its overseas sale.
- All services except those specified as ineligible in the EMDG Regulations.
- Inbound tourism.
- Conferences or events held in Australia.
- Intellectual property right and know-how that mainly resulted from work done in Australia.
- Trademark that was owned, assigned or first used in Australia.
Eligible export expenses include:
- Overseas representation expenses
- Marketing expenses
- Free sample expenses
- Trade fairs, seminars, in-store promotion expenses
- Promotional literature and advertising expenses
- Overseas buyer expenses
- Registration and/or insurance of IP expenses