Innovation Booster Grant Program (Australia)

The Biomedical Industry Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) is a competitive Western Australian government grant exclusively for the biomedical industry sector.

The Biomedical Industry IBG is designed to assist founders/teams in:

• Developing or enhancing products or services that are commercially ready, or to reach a commercial ready stage;
• Building a minimum viable product (MVP), one that could then be tested with trial or paying customers;
• Developing prototypes, processes or systems that might attract additional investment and/or customers;
• Buying-in specialist consultancy services to assist with IP, marketing or commercialization support; and/or
• Addressing a specific technical problem that the business cannot solve themselves, or for which the solution is not readily available.

Categories

• The items for which you are requesting funding falls into one or more of the following four categories:
  • Research and Development
    • technical development
    • compliance testing
    • proof of concept
    • product testing and validation
    • laboratory verification
    • certification
  • Product Development
    • engineering design work
    • prototype development
    • innovation design
    • building an MVP (minimum viable product)
  • Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property
    • protection of intellectual property
    • legal advice
    • licensing
  • Commercialisation Support Services
    • innovation management and consulting
    • commercialisation strategies (including marketing strategies to support market entry)
    • commercialisation feasibility studies

Funding Information

• A maximum of $40,000 grant per application is available. Recipients are required to provide a net cash co-contribution of at least 20:80 applicant to WA government funding.
• For example, a project of $50,000 (total cost excluding GST) would involve the recipient providing $10,000 themselves to supplement the $40,000 grant.
• Applications are to be submitted online via the Good Grants platform. A panel of evaluators will meet to assess applications and award funding.
• For eligible, chosen recipients, funds will be made available for up to 12 months after the awarding of the grant, with 75% of the funding available immediately.
• Prior to receiving funds, recipients must enter into a simple Financial Assistance Agreement with the Department. This agreement must be executed (signed) before project work commences.
• The remaining (25%) funds can be claimed at the end of the project, once all project work has been completed and a final acquittal report has been provided to JTSI.

Eligibility Criteria

• Your business is registered in Western Australia and possesses a current Australian Business Number (ABN) and/or Australian Company Number (ACN)
• You are a startup/SME in the biomedical industry sector, i.e. the sector which is the focus of the WA Government’s Health and Medical Life Sciences Industry Strategy
• You are developing an innovative project in Western Australia, with a total budget less than $100,000
• Your business will continue to be based in Western Australia in the next three years.
• You are a WA-based startup or small business that employs between one and 20 people.
• Your business is solvent.
• Your business is willing, and has the financial capacity, to contribute at least 20% of the requested project funding costs.
• Your business confirms that the IBG will NOT be spent on ‘business as usual’ operational expenses.
• IF your project involves any spending in eligible expenditure items 3 or 4, you will use an external consultant/ supplier(s).
• Your business confirms that the requested eligible expenditure is for services to be provided in the future.
• You have NOT previously received or likely to receive Western Australian government funding for the same project/initiative.
• You have NOT previously received an Innovation Booster Grant (previously called Innovation Vouchers Program) for the same project/initiative.
• Submit your application on the Good Grants platform

For more information, visit WA.gov.au.