Business Growth Fit-for-Purpose Grants Program (Australia)

The Distillery Support – Business Growth Fit-for-Purpose grants are part of the Distillery Door Program. The $20 million Distillery Door Program will focus on developing skills, increasing tourism opportunities, expanding businesses through infrastructure investment and develop and grow exports, supporting employment and economic opportunities across Victoria.

Aims

• Grants aim to:
  • Support individual distilleries to build resilience and increase business capability, capacity and efficiency through investment and improvements of on-site infrastructure, sustainability and safety improvements, export capability and marketing.
  • Ensure Victoria continues to be a premium producer of distilled alcoholic beverages and remains globally competitive
  • Enable Victoria to become a leader in Australian distilled alcoholic beverage production.

Funding Information

• Funding of up to $200,000 (GST exclusive) is available to successful applicants.
• Successful applicants will be required to make a cash co-contribution of a minimum of 30% or 50% of the total eligible expenditure on the project.
• Co-contribution will be:
  • 30% cash co-contribution if no more than 10,000 litres of alcohol produced in the 2023/24 financial year
  • 50% cash co-contribution if greater than 10,000 litres of alcohol produced in the 2023/24 financial year
• Co-contributions must be cash. In-kind contributions such as labour are not included. Any additional or ineligible costs associated with the overall project must be met by the grant recipient.

What can the grant be used for?

• Grant funding may be used for the following types of projects:
  • Plant and equipment to facilitate growth and competitiveness of businesses to meet demand and improve cost
  • Technology adoption (excluding on-going maintenance and service support costs) to increase business efficiency
  • Items that support product diversification and new product development
  • Items that build on the Hazardous Areas and Dangerous Goods Audit (HADGA) or general safety improvements at the distillery not eligible under the HADGA
  • Items that enhance sustainability including electrification, greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy saving, waste reduction, water reduction
  • Activities that increase export capability
  • Marketing activities that increase consumer awareness of your product
• Other eligible expenditure may be accepted on a per case basis.
• The project must be completed and fully acquitted within 3 months of the execution of the Grant Agreement. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

What is not eligible?

• Grants will not be provided for retrospective activities or purchases (i.e. activities that have occurred or purchases made prior to execution of the Grant Agreement or the commencement date for the project as set out in the Grant Agreement)
• Ongoing operating expenses or other ‘business as usual’ expenses (including but not limited to utility and product costs; maintenance and service support costs; advertising and social media; operational wage-related costs; online costs – such as internet connectivity, website domain names and hosting; e-commerce platforms)
• Single use items (e.g. bottles, labels, produce etc)
• Fees associated with permits for planning or annual certification
• Costs associated with applying for government grants and funding programs
• The purchase, lease or acquisition of land
• Travel, flight and accommodation costs
• Any vehicles (including tractors, forklifts, mortised bikes etc) or vehicle associated costs
• Items without a quote or rationale as to why no quote can be provided

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to apply, applicants must:
  • Have a current Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • Be registered as a business in Victoria
  • Be a legal entity
  • Own at least one still with a capacity of fifty (50) litres or more
  • Hold a valid ATO Manufacturer’s Licence to produce distilled alcoholic beverages
  • Hold a current General, Producer’s or Remote Seller’s Lliquor Licence issued by Liquor Control Victoria
  • Be able to meet the agreed (minimum 30-50 percent) cash co-contribution requirement.

For more information, visit DEECA.