Minister's Message

A South Australian winery will install a waste water reprocessing facility to cut mains water use under the Re-tooling for Climate Change program. This is a great example of government and business working together to turn challenges into opportunities. Twelve small and medium manufacturers received a total of $3.8 million in grants in the latest round of the program.

- Senator Kim Carr
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

Applications for grants to run events in National Science Week 2010 are open now. There is $500,000 in funding to support events and activities. National Science Week 2010 will run from August 14-22. Grant applications close on Friday 23 October 2009, 5pm.

AusBiotech 2009 will feature its Business Matching Program, which gives delegates the opportunity to request appointments with other delegates/company representatives attending the event in a meeting room atmosphere on a half hour or hourly basis. To be staged in Melbourne from October 27-30, AusBiotech 2009 is the premier biotechnology conference for the Asia Pacific region.

Australian businesses seeking assistance of up to $200,000 in export assistance should apply to the Export Market Development Grant scheme by November 30, 2009. In the midst of the global recession, the number of EMDG recipients actively exporting increased in all top 10 export markets, with a 25 per cent increase to the United Arab Emirates, 13.7 per cent increase to Germany, 12.2 per cent increase to Canada, 10.1 per cent increase to Hong Kong. For every dollar of EMDG, businesses achieve between $13.5 and $27 in additional exports according to the 2008 Review of Export Policy and Programs.

The 2010 Australian International Design Awards recognise product design and innovation excellence. Manufacturers and designers of professionally designed products available for sale in Australia or products professionally designed by Australians for overseas market can now enter the 2010 program. There are nine categories: consumer, business and technology, medical and scientific, automotive and transport, sport and leisure, housing and building, heavy machinery, architectural and interior products and student.

The CSIRO Home Energy Saving Handbook - How to Save Energy, Save Money and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint helps address the question: "What can I do to help stop climate change?" It provides energy-saving tips and the information we need to estimate greenhouse gas emissions, and measures such as solar panels and alternative options for home heating and cooling. Importantly, it shows that people can save energy and reduce their carbon footprint while staying comfortable and without sacrificing lifestyle. The handbook is $29.99.

Fair Work for Small Business is an online one-stop-shop for education and information for small businesses on the Fair Work Act. Fair Work for Small Business provides free information including free online webinars and educational guides, information papers and is developing a Small Business Calculator Guide to assist you to determine whether yours is a small business.

IP Australia manages a diverse range of programs focused on building capacity in business awareness and understanding of the IP system. Recently, this has included the development of new training products for the Vocational Education and Training sector, including units of competence and skills sets (short courses) in IP.

SCAMwatch explains frequent scams in areas such as small business, superannuation, credit card skimming, health and medical and banking. The website offers tips on how to protect yourself and reporting a scam, and offers the free booklet, The little black book of scams. Consumer fraud cost the Australian community close to $1 billion in 2008 according to the Australian Institute of Criminology report, Consumer fraud in Australia: costs, rates and awareness of the risks in 2008.

Investors can hear and meet with senior executives from Australia's leading environmental investment companies and fund managers, and network with other environmental investors, at the Eco Investor Forum in Sydney in October 2009.

Recent AusIndustry announcements and project highlights

Click here for a list of the 12 projects that shared $3.8 million in Australian Government funding under the latest executed round of the Re-tooling for Climate Change program. RCC offers dollar for dollar grants from $10,000 to $500,000 to help small and medium manufacturers reduce the environmental impact of their production processes. Round 5 applications close on Monday 30 November 2009.

The Australian Government is seeking the views of small, medium and large enterprises likely to claim the new R&D Tax Credit announced in the 2009-10 Budget. Written submissions on the consultation paper can be made by Monday, 26 October 2009. Consultation sessions remain in Melbourne and Sydney.

EP&T Global has used the R&D Tax Concession to ensure more than 15 years of research and development is best utilised in its business. The company assists businesses by providing energy and water management solutions that save money, help them meet their environmental targets and create a more sustainable future. Australian R&D Review recently featured EP&T Global.

Air conditioning company Climat has used a $1.5 million Climate Ready grant and registration for the R&D Tax Concession program to help turn heavy investment into research and development into its own exciting technology to dramatically decrease energy use in commercial units.