Regional Skills Relocation Grant NSW

This program helps regional NSW businesses in identified industries attract skilled and specialised employees from NSW metropolitan areas, interstate or internationally, to regional NSW. Funding of up to $12,500 is available.

Eligible costs covered by this grant include the following relocation expenses:

• furniture removal, including removalist services or trailer/truck or ute hire to relocate the employee’s home/residence
• pet boarding for up to 3 months
• travel for employee and immediate family to relocate
• temporary accommodation for up to 3 months
• furniture storage for up to 3 months.

Electric vehicles rebate

The NSW Government is offering $3,000 rebates for the first 25,000 new battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with a dutiable value of less than $68,750.

This incentive, along with the abolition of stamp duty, will save eligible EV purchasers up to $5,540.

The stamp duty exemption and the rebate for all eligible EV purchases will end on 1 January 2024.

Small Business Export Loan

The Small Business Export Loan provides small to medium export businesses with loans to cover up to 80% of the costs to secure an export contract or purchase order with an overseas buyer.

Funding is available for:

• contracts and purchase orders
• export market development
• general working capital
• equipment finance
• tourism services
• online business growth.

Loans of between $20,000 and $350,000 are available, to cover up to 80% of your export contract(s) or purchase order(s).

Small business skills and training boost

Small businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million will be allowed an additional 20% tax deduction for external training courses delivered to employees by registered training providers.

The boost applies to eligible expenditure incurred from 7:30 pm AEDT on 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2024.

Energy Savings Scheme

The Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) provides NSW businesses with financial incentives to invest in projects which will reduce their energy consumption. Incentives are available to install new equipment or modify a current system.

Different equipment and processes are eligible, including but not limited to:

• lighting
• heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
• motors, fans and pumps
• compressed air systems
• refrigeration
• power systems
• hot water and steam systems
• furnaces
• switching to new fuels such as biofuels, biogas and other renewable sources like solar irrigation

Export Finance Loans

Small to medium businesses can apply for loans from $350,000 to help them secure the finance required to meet specific export contracts or purchase orders when traditional lenders are unable to help.

To be eligible, you must:

• have an annual turnover of over $250,000
• be unable to get financing from your bank
• have been established for at least 2 years
• be an Australian registered company with an Australian company number (ACN)

Textile, Clothing and Footwear Corporatewear Register

Employers can register their non-compulsory uniform and accessories, which allows their employees to obtain tax deductions for the cost of renting, buying or maintaining their clothing. Employers are eligible for fringe benefit tax (FBT) concessions on any contribution they make towards their employees’ uniforms.

Find more grants using the Federal Government’s grant finder tool or the NSW Government’s grant finder.

Also read: Costs of business inputs like labour, capital and energy top concerns for SMEs

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Announced this week, the Queensland Business Energy Saving Transformation program comes as Business Chamber Queensland called for targeted funding for businesses to invest in sustainable technology and practices ahead of the FY 24 State Budget.

CEO Heidi Cooper said businesses could capitalise on the cashback offer to realise immediate and long-term business benefits.

“We know business operating costs are at record highs and energy and power prices are contributing to the high cost of doing business,” Ms Cooper said.

“We’re seeing an increasingly stretched business community in Queensland so any ability to relieve some of those significant overheads is welcome.

“Investing in energy efficient equipment is an important step for business to help take some of the sting out of their power bills.

“We’ve been working with the State Government to bring energy efficiency and sustainable business measures to the forefront, to ensure the state’s business community is supported to manage day-to-day and empowered to continue the important role they have in the future of the state’s economy.

“But there is still work to do and we’ll continue working with business and government to ensure there is further support for businesses to scale, grow and diversify their sustainable business practices.”

Ms Cooper said adopting energy efficiency was critical for businesses starting or developing their business sustainability.

“Sustainable businesses are seeing immediate cost saving and long-term competitive benefits,” Ms Cooper said.

“Sustainable business is no longer a brand value-add but a critical consideration to secure future-ready businesses, meet supply chain needs, respond to evolving consumer demand and realise market-driven opportunities.

“It also means businesses can be competitive for procurement, export and trade internationally and maximise a sustainable Olympics legacy.”

For more tips to increase business energy efficiency, see Business Chamber Queensland’s free ecoBiz program and the Energy Efficient Action Toolkit.

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Grants, loans, rebates and subsidies are available across a range of industries, business types and purposes, including for startups and indigenous businesses.

The Federal Government’s grant finder tool currently lists 557 different grants and programs for businesses, or search for support via the NSW Government’s grant finder.

Here are some financial supports that many NSW businesses are eligible for right now.

Toll relief rebate scheme

Eligible NSW motorists who spend more than $375 a year on tolls will receive a 40% rebate up to $750 a year.

Financial incentives for businesses to hire new staff

Wage subsidies ranging up to $10,000 may be available to businesses that hire eligible individuals into ongoing jobs.

Payroll tax rebate for employing apprentices and trainees

A payroll tax rebate is available for employers in NSW who employ apprentices and new entrant trainees. The rebate works as a payroll tax offset based on the wages you’ve paid to apprentices and new entrant trainees.

Fee-Free Traineeships NSW

The traineeships provide NSW businesses with access to fee-free traineeships when they employ a new trainee. Save up to $1,000 per trainee.

Free and confidential mental health coaching for small business owners

Developed by Beyond Blue to give small business owners support during challenging times. Coaches work side by side with business owners to overcome difficult issues and provide practical skills to help them manage stress.

Loans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned small businesses

Loans are available for Indigenous owned small businesses to help them start, grow or restructure.

Energy Bill Relief

Eligible small businesses using less than 100 megawatt hours of electricity per year will receive $650 towards their electricity bills.

Eligible small business retail customers do not need to do anything as their retailer will apply the energy bill relief to their electricity account from 31 July 2023 in quarterly instalments.

Small businesses that are part of an embedded network (for example, located in a shopping centre) will be able to apply from October 2023.

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At an event that took place this morning, together with Visa’s partners – Global Sisters and the Accelerator for Enterprising Women – Visa spotlighted 10 exceptional women-owned small businesses in the categories of Women’s Economic Equality and Health, Wellbeing and The Care Economy and invited them to pitch for a share in AUD $65,000 worth of grants.

The winners of the small business grants announced today are:

• Alies Bol, founder of FRIKA Activewear, NSW, Australia: Offering activewear featuring vibrant, bold, and eye-catching African prints, designed to be worn by people of all backgrounds, adding style and uniqueness to their active lifestyles.
• Natalie Mullins, founder of Pod Dietetics, South Australia, Australia – Inclusive, accessible and high-quality nutrition support tailored to individual client needs.
• Tamarin Howse, founder of Better Tea Co., Auckland, New Zealand: Creating wellness teas, stocked in 150 retail stores, that target anxiety and create connective conversations around mental health.

The post 3 Women-owned small businesses in Australia and NZ win Visa grants appeared first on Small Business Connections.

Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll yesterday announced grants for two new pre-accelerator programs for the next wave of women entrepreneurs at LaunchVic’s Victorian Startup Gala.

Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll says “investing in these programs will have far-reaching benefits here in Victoria, by helping to break down barriers for women to launch their startups.”

Flying Fox Ventures and Jump Start Studio will each receive $300,000 in funding to run programs that offer women startup founders the advice, support and networks required to build a minimum viable product and find their first customer.

Flying Fox will roll out the Female Founders program, leveraging their experience and community to empower female founders with the knowledge and connections they need to start and grow a successful startup.

Jump Start Studio will launch Press Play, a new pre-accelerator program supporting mid-to-senior level women in the corporate sector, startups and scaleups looking to transition into entrepreneurship.

The funding comes as research by LaunchVic reveals one-third of Victorian startups now have at least one woman founder – up from 20 per cent in 2020. However, this figure is still outpaced by the growth of male-only firms and suggests more should be done to get women-led startups off the ground early on.

The grants are part of the Andrews Labor Government’s ongoing support for women-led startups to create a level playing field for Victorian entrepreneurs.

In the 2023/24 Budget, the Labor Government announced an additional $5 million for LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund to support more women-led startups, bringing our total investment in the fund to $15 million.

The Alice Anderson Fund is an angel sidecar fund that co-invests in early-stage deals put forward by investors to increase the funding pool available to Victorian women and has unlocked more than $36 million of early-stage capital for women in just two years.

Minister for Women Natalie Hutchins says “it’s great to see the number of woman-led startups growing in Victoria, but we know there’s more to be done to support them and help these important businesses grow.”

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The competition will be judged by a panel of Aussie innovation experts who will award prizes based on market fit, customer support, and potential impact. A total prize pool of $150,000 will be shared between five winners who showcase the best examples of Australian innovation.

“Through this competition, we are looking to celebrate Australian ingenuity and particularly those innovations that are hidden from view right across our economy,” said Kylah Morrison, General Manager – Skills and Innovation for Industry Growth Centre METS Ignited.

“There are so many fantastic ideas being generated in our schools, universities, research organisations and private companies around the country. My aim is to find them, celebrate them, and give them an opportunity to shape the future of Australia,” Morrison continued.

No matter how big or small, every idea – from any industry or part of Australia – will be in the running to win.

“If you have a great innovation that delivers tangible value to society, this is your opportunity to showcase your creation on a national stage, maximise your reach and expand your potential impact for the benefit of all. Your innovation might contribute to the energy transition to help combat climate change, it might support food production in extreme weather conditions such as drought, or it might leverage emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence in new ways. The sky is really the limit,” concluded Morrison.

Entries to the Australian Innovation Competition are now open. Submit your entry here.

ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN INNOVATION COMPETITION

The Australian Innovation Competition is a one-off celebration of Australian ingenuity that will be open from 29 June to 31 August 2023. The competition is promoted by Industry Growth Centre METS Ignited. Entry is free and open to entrants of all ages, from anywhere in Australia. All entries will be judged individually on their merits, and five winners will be selected by an independent judging panel of Australian Innovation experts, to receive a share in $150,000.

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The seventh NSW Small Business Month will be held in October 2023, featuring hundreds of events to support small businesses.

Organisations can also apply from today to be a Small Business Month collaboration partner, provided they deliver a suitable event or Small Business Month promotion.

The theme of this Small Business Month is “My Small Business”, with events tailored to help small business owners and operators learn new skills and strategies to improve their business across seven key areas:

• My Small Business Brand   

• My Small Business Cyber Security

• My Small Business Health   

• My Small Business Online   

• My Small Business Resilience  

• My Small Business Team  

• My Small Business Trade 

Grant applications close on 1 August 2023 and collaboration partnership applications close on 6 October 2023.

Grants are decided through a merit-based, competitive selection process.

To start an application and for more information visit smallbusinessmonth.nsw.gov.au

Also read: 1 July important EOFY changes for small business

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What solution does your business solve?

Our co-founders, David and Ethan, started out in a windowless office at Edgecliff train station in September 2021 with the simple goal of offering a business-owner-friendly funding solution for growth. They witnessed firsthand how founders and key decision-makers were wasting valuable time raising funds; which often resulted in giving away large chunks of their business or onerous bank loans. Their aim was to develop a seamless process to make access to flexible funding simple and fast, giving birth to Fundabl.

How was your target market identified?

We identified small-to-medium businesses as our target market early on. Our team felt they were being underserved by the current funding options avialable. While this market may be underserved, it’s not small: 98 per cent of businesses in Australia are SMEs.

Fundabl offers certainty and speed to a range of clients through our proprietary credit decisioning. Our funding supports businesses of all stages, from young companies needing growth capital to established SMEs needing working capital.

What do you believe sets your technology solutions apart from other companies in the marketplace?

Fundabl delivers the benefits of certainty and speed by offering a very quick funding solution with funds in the bank in as little as 24 hours. Information requirements for our onboarding process are streamlined and user-friendly; businesses can onboard in under 3 minutes.

Importantly, applying for funding does not affect the client’s actual credit score, given it is completely internally generated. Therefore, there are absolutely no commitments, fees or any potential negative impacts imposed on clients to apply. Using the Fundabl Score, we are able to quickly make a credit decision and provide a response to the client. We are absolutely thrilled to be the winner of the 2023 CommBank Young Hero Tech Solutions Award, as it’s a real honour and validation of all the hard work we’ve put in to date.

How has your business grown since launching?

In the short fifteen months that we have been funding, we have already financed tens of millions of dollars to our clients. Since March 2022, we have increased the loan book by twelve times, representing an average monthly book growth rate of 21 per cent. Our revenue has similarly grown, increasing substantially since March 2022.

Our growth internally has been just as important. Fundabl is now a seven-person dream team with a strong culture and focus on client service. Our presence online and in the market more generally is also continuing to build momentum, including recognitions in the Australian Financial Review and being nominated as a finalist in two categories of the 2023 Finnie Awards; “Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year” and “Excellence in Business Lending”. This has boosted the number of incoming clients and even our LinkedIn followers, which are now over four thousand strong.

How has your company enabled businesses to achieve success?

Fundraising is an all-consuming distraction for businesses. Not to mention, rockier capital markets, rising inflation, challenging labour markets and supply chain disruptions which have made the current environment very challenging to navigate. Obtaining capital is particularly time-consuming for business owners and decision-makers, who should be focused on running their businesses.

Fundabl gives decision-makers their time back by providing them with speed, certainty and a nimble and agile funding solution for short-term capital requirements. The vast majority of our clients draw funds from us multiple times, only drawing and paying for the funds when they need it rather than being forced to take it all upfront.

By: Alyssa Herr, Editor

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The great budget challenge for him and Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been to deliver help to Australians struggling with cost-of-living pressures without adding to inflation.

So has the government achieved that aim? While it’s too soon to be certain, given the vagaries that have beset economic forecasting in recent years, in my view the measures announced do not add to the prospect of the Reserve Bank of Australia raising interest rates further.

The RBA’s latest forecasts, published last week after it raised rates for the 11th time in 12 months, now assume no further rate rises will be needed for inflation to fall back to the central bank’s 2-3% target range by mid-2025. (RBA Governor Lowe has said taking this length of time is better than forcing inflation down quicker at the expense of job losses.)

This suggests the RBA will only raise interest rates in June or July if there’s new evidence that inflation is staying higher than expected.

How the budget may change the RBA’s view

The only price rises resulting from the budget are higher prices for smokers, with the tobacco excise to be increased by 5% a year over three years.

To avoid adding to inflation, the government has focused on budget measures that directly reduce costs of essential goods and services for those on lower incomes, notably household energy bills (some households will save $500 a year) and medical expenses (increasing bulk-billing incentives and reducing the cost of some medicines).

Treasury estimates these measures will directly reduce inflation by 0.75 of a percentage point in 2023–24.

What matters most is how they affect the Consumer Price Index’s “trimmed mean” measure of underlying inflation. This excludes the 15% of prices that climb the most and the 15% of prices that climb the least (or fall). The RBA often pays more attention to the trimmed mean than the headline CPI figure because it is less influenced by temporary factors.

Energy and medical prices may end up among the prices that fall and thus get excluded from the measure. So the trimmed mean measure may be less reduced than the headline number.

On a more positive note, the high profile of these price reductions may contribute more to moderating inflationary expectations. Because inflation, as Lowe has indicated with all his warnings about stagflation, is a lot about psychology.

What about those payments?

Households receiving higher support payments such as unemployment benefits, single parenting payment, youth allowance and rental assistance will have more money to spend.

But not much, and the measures are tightly targeted to those most in need. This contrasts with the cost-of-living relief measures of the previous government, whose temporary cuts to petrol excise and so-called “low and medium tax offset” provided greater benefits to the affluent.

Treasury expects these measures to only add modestly to aggregate demand. Total household spending is forecast to grow by 1.5% in 2023–24. This will not be a significant source of inflationary pressure.

The budget papers’ forecast for inflation by June 2024 is 3.25%, slightly less than the RBA’s forecast of 3.5%. The forecast by June 2025 is 2.75%, compared to the RBA’s 3%.

It remains to be seen if the RBA’s next set of forecasts will be closer to those of Treasury. These will be published in August, though the the bank may be guided by them before then.

If they are, then further rate rises will be less likely.

Source: The Conversation

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HelpPay is a social impact fintech that allows anyone to turn a bill into an instantly shareable payment page to which others can contribute funds, all with a guarantee that money will only go to the provider and never an individual person or bank account. It’s free to use, with the cost supported by retailers/service providers. Users that are struggling to make ends meet can share their bill with friends, family and sometimes even the public, essentially crowd-sourcing the funds securely. HelpPay’s position as a social fintech that crowdsources help through its users social networks, aligns with the potential shareholder base that’s engaged through crowd-source funding.

Regulated by ASIC, crowd-sourced funding typically provided startups and other scaling businesses with an opportunity to raise funds, generally from a large number of investors that each invest small amounts of money. However now it’s also used by later-stage companies.

Types of crowd-sourced funding

There are three main types of crowd-sourced funding, all of which have their own pros and cons. We’ll start with the type that HelpPay is using; Equity-based crowdsourced funding.

1. Equity-based
   This is where a company issues shares to a crowd of investors through an accredited online platform to raise money. In return these investors gain part-ownership of the business. Importantly, it enables private companies to have more than 50 shareholders despite the Corporations Act stating proprietary companies may only have a maximum of 50.
2. Donation-based
   This involves asking a crowd to donate to a project or a business without receiving anything in return. Often this is used to finance one off projects as opposed to scaling businesses.
3. Reward-based crowdfunding
   This type of crowd-sourced funding is largely unregulated and involves a contributor receiving a reward, such as the good or service in return for their contribution.

Steps involved in equity-based crowdfunding

The process of executing an equity-based crowd-sourced fund raise is relatively simple and part of the reason this alternative form of financing is fast becoming mainstream. It basically involves:

1. Defining your goals: This will provide you a clear understanding of the amount you are seeking, which may not be monetary. For example, you could be embarking on a crowdfunding raise to grow your customer base or increase brand awareness. The clearer you are about your goals, the better positioned you’ll be to reach them and attract investors who align with and understand them.
2. Choosing a crowdfunding platform: There are several AFSL-registered platforms operating in Australia, including Birchal – HelpPay’s platform of choice – Equitise, OnMarket and VentureCrowd. When choosing which to engage, consider your unique goals, the structure of the platform, fees charged, its payment methods and any restrictions.
3. Running an Expression of Interest campaign: An EOI campaign is useful to achieve an understanding of the interest level of investors in the company or project for which you’re raising funds. This helps you engage with the crowd and ascertain whether they might be willing to invest before proceeding with an Equity Crowdfunding Offer.
4. Developing an offer: You’ll be required to develop an Offer Document that complies will regulations and explains exactly what you’re offering and what you expect in return. This should include information about the company, a risk warning, information about the offer, and investor rights.
5. Receiving your funds: Investors will be given payment details once verified. The crowdfunding platform will issue a listing of all shareholders to the Issuer and once ASIC has been updated, all funds will be transferred to the company.

Promoting your campaign is another major step that should occur throughout the entire process.

Benefits of equity-based crowdsourced funding

In addition to it aligning with HelpPay’s business model, HelpPay co-founder, Andrew Ellett, and the company’s Social Impact Advisory Board led by Chair John Bertrand AO, felt that crowdfunding would attract and engage investors with a strong belief in HelpPay’s purpose. Crowdfunding enables investors to follow their passions and contribute to a business that aligns with their values, increasing the potential for investment among socially conscious investors.

As Andrew explains, “We believe we have a great business model, a product people love and a plan in place to grow from our initial groundwork and market share. We want to invite our fans and customers to be part of our success”.

While Tony Hood, Director Corporate Finance at William Buck, who is assisting with the raise said: “A clear benefit for investors is its propensity to be used as a medium to long-term investment. Shares raised through platforms like Birchal can’t be as easily sold as they are not traded through public exchange. This means they’re generally considered illiquid. Despite this, exit strategies for all parties do exist, and these include exiting through a trade sale or an IPO. Companies might also organise a buyback of the shares”.

Potential risks

Like all types of capital raise, there are risks involved with crowdfunding. These include:

• A large amount of time and effort is required to not only campaign and present your product to potential backers, but also to interact and update them on the development of your business or project.
• Competition with similar businesses using crowdfunding.
• The requirement to produce a product or service that is what you promised investors – with little to no deviation.

For Andrew, many of these risks were alleviated in that he believes strongly in HelpPay’s product which has already achieved success prior to launching the raise.

Source: WilliamBuck

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