Advice & Programs to Build Capability

There are a range of State and Federal Government financial assistance and advisory programs available to support small to medium sized businesses and help them build capacity and capability to compete for Government supply opportunities.

Explore the links below to find out how these programs can help your business.

Grants, assistance & other support

The Local Capability Fund

The Western Australian Industry Participation Strategy (WAIPS) – Local Capability Fund (LCF) round is an initiative under the Government’s Plan for Jobs.

The WAIPS aims to provide local businesses with full, fair and reasonable opportunity to access and win State Government supply contracts. In particular, it focuses on small and medium sized enterprises, which make up approximately 97% of businesses in Western Australia.

This LCF round will focus on competitive SMEs in Western Australia who are seeking to specifically enhance their capabilities, increase their competitiveness and better prepare to participate as suppliers of products, services and works to Western Australian State Government agencies and entities – the market.

Funding will be provided for the following eligible activities:

Expert consultant services
Equipment
Improvements to internal business infrastructure and systems
Training

Level of Funding

The level of funding support under this specific round of the LCF is 50% of eligible costs up to a maximum of $20,000 (excluding GST) per successful applicant. The LCF is a re-imbursement scheme and therefore successful applicants will need to pay for the activity before making a claim for the approved funding support.

Industry Engagement

In order to be considered for funding, applicants must detail within the application their engagement with the market, and provide evidence to demonstrate such engagement. The engagement must support the activities the applicant is seeking funding support for.

For more information, please contact Abigail Endersby - Phone: 08 9222 0470 or industrylink@jtsi.wa.gov.au

Download Local Capability Fund application form - The form is available in PDF - please save before editing.

Australian Steel Institute - New Standard AS/NZS 5131 Round

The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, in collaboration with the Australian Steel Institute is offering financial assistance of 75 per cent of certification costs (to a maximum of $10,000) to support eligible steel fabricators, galvanisers and finishers for the new Steelwork Fabrication and Erection Standard for Australia (AS/NZS 5131).

This 11th round of the Industry Facilitation and Support Program (IFSP) seeks to assist the sector to improve its competitiveness, capacity and capability to deliver steelwork to major markets and to also improve local companies’ attractiveness in important markets such as resources, government and defence.

More information and application forms are available here.

Business.gov.au
Business.gov.au is an online government resource for the Australian business community. Here you can find a list of State and Federal Government financial assistance and advisory programs and grants available to help small to medium sized businesses innovate, diversify and grow. You can also search for local business support and advisory services near you.

Small Business Development Corporation
The Small Business Development Corporation provides free advice and practical support for small
businesses in Western Australia.

New Industries Fund
The $16.7 million New Industries Fund was developed to support and accelerate new and emerging businesses, in order to diversify the economy and create new jobs for Western Australians. The Fund will support a series of initiatives including Innovation Hubs, business growth programs, sponsorship, investment attraction, and industry-university collaboration and research programs. $4.5 million of funding will be allocated to regional Western Australia to support the capability and economic sustainability of regional economies. Future initiatives will be guided by the innovation sector, and announced in due course.