Minister's Message

We are off to a great start in 2010 with the introduction of Australian Industry Participation Plans to help ensure that small and medium enterprises get a full, fair and reasonable opportunity to supply goods and services on major Commonwealth projects, and the opening of Commercialisation Australia on 4 January (see item below).

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

Commercialisation Australia - the Australian Government's $196 million support initiative for home-grown innovation - is now open to receive applications. Commercialisation Australia will assist researchers, entrepreneurs and innovative firms to commercialise their ideas, offering grants on a co-contribution basis including:

• up to $50,000 to pay for specialist advice and services
• up to $200,000 over two years to engage experienced executives
• proof of concept grants up to $250,000 to test the commercial viability of a new product, process or service
• and Early Stage Commercialisation repayable grants up to $2 million to develop a new product, process or service to the stage where it can be taken to market.

The R&D Tax Credit will replace the R&D Tax Concession from 1 July 2010. Exposure draft legislation and explanatory material needed to implement the changes were released for public comment on 18 December 2009. The government is seeking the views of interested parties on the exposure draft legislation and explanatory materials. Submissions are requested by Friday 5 February 2010. Further information is available on the Treasury website.

A comprehensive User Guide has been released for the Australian Government's new Fair Work Principles which commenced on 1 January 2010. The Fair Work Principles support the creation of quality jobs and decent work by ensuring that Commonwealth procurement decisions are consistent with the aims of the Fair Work Act 2009 and promote fair, cooperative and productive workplaces. The Australian Government requires potential suppliers to provide information about how they comply with the Fair Work Principles when submitting tenders for Australian Government work.

The Australasian Cleantech Forum in March 2010 will accelerate the connection between capital markets and Cleantech innovation with a complete rundown of the major issues facing the industry in 2010 by the pioneers who are driving industry growth and investment. Speakers include Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Family Business Best Practice Workshops deliver information about the processes and structures used by the most successful family businesses both in Australia and overseas. The content was developed by Family Business Australia and the Australian Centre for Family Business at Bond University - the leading family business education and research provider. If you own, or are part of a family enterprise, looking to professionalise your business this workshop is a great place to start. There are five workshops in February and March in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra.

IP Australia's nationwide breakfast series - How to Make your Brand Great - will examine branding and intellectual property and assist you discover how to uncover the secrets of creating and protecting a leading brand. Events will be staged in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Besides learning from a leading brand owner, attendees will receive access to a free consultation with an IP professional upon request.

Recent AusIndustry announcements and project highlights

Grant applications are now invited for the Textile Clothing Footwear Small Business Program. Closing date is Friday 26 February 2010. A maximum of $50,000 is available for each successful project and up to $2.5 million is available for projects in 2010/11. AusIndustry will, in early February, host a series of national workshops to help applicants focus on what makes a competitive application. The workshops are recommended for applicants who have reviewed eligibility, have a specific project in mind and have started writing their application.

Applications are open for grants of $50,000 or more under the North West and Northern Tasmania Innovation and Investment Fund. The Fund is to assist with development of the broader North and North West Tasmania economies, by supporting investments that create sustainable job opportunities in North West and Northern Tasmania. The closing date for the first round of the Fund is Monday, 1 February 2010.

The Innovation Investment Follow-on Fund (IIFF) is a temporary, targeted and timely response to address the lack of capital available to the most promising innovative companies during the global financial crisis. Funding of $64 million will be distributed to 35 early stage companies by 11 fund managers for the companies to continue to develop and to commercialise research.

Being registered for AusIndustry's Tradex Scheme means John Cox's Creature Workshop does not pay customs duty or GST on the materials it imports to produce for export. And those materials have gone into making fantasy creatures, monsters and realistic animals for multi-million dollar films such as Babe, Racing Stripes and Scooby Doo. 

HealthCare Software has used AusIndustry's R&D Tax Concession to develop software to provide an alternative approach to managing patient medication records and to help reduce the occurrence of medication misadventure. The R&D Tax Concession allows companies to deduct up to 125% of qualifying expenditure incurred on R&D activities when lodging their corporate tax return. A 175% Incremental (Premium) Tax Concession and R&D Tax Offset are also available in certain circumstances.