The Victorian Government has opened applications for its new Small-Scale and Craft Program.

The program is aimed at supporting small scale and craft agribusinessses across the state to “grow, increase market opportunities for high quality, high value produce and strengthen Victoria’s regional food offerings”. It comes off the back of the 2018 election commitment ‘Taking Our Local Produce to the World’.

The Small-Scale and Craft Program is a four-year program that builds on targeting businesses looking to scale-up operations, diversify product lines and expand outreach.

The program’s aim is to increase agricultural exports to $20 billion by 2030.

Two streams of funding are currently open under the program:

Stream One is Small-Scale and Craft Business Development. Grants of up to $25,000 are available to eligible small-scale and craft agribusinesses for projects that support businesses to scale up, expand their operations and diversify their products. It is open for applications now and closes on Friday 6 December 2019

Stream Two is Job Creation and Economic Development. Grants of $25,000-$200,000 are available to eligible small-scale and craft agribusinesses for significant projects that will deliver benefits to the community and generate jobs. This Stream is open for expressions of interest only and will close on Tuesday 31 December.

To be eligible to apply, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  1. Have a current Australian Business Number (ABN)
  2. Be registered as a business in Victoria
  3. Have a Victorian business address
  4. Be a legal entity1
  5. Operate a small/micro2 agribusiness within the small-scale and craft sector i.e. cannot be a subsidiary of a larger firm
  6. Agree to participate in future program evaluation activities
  7. Meet all industrial relation obligations as an employer in accordance with the National Employment Standards
  8. Be able to meet the agreed (minimum 50 per cent) private cash/finance contribution, and provide evidence of the contribution3
  9. Attest to having obtained all relevant regulatory permits and approvals for the project to commence (where applicable)4
  10. Provide relevant business information on the project, including costs

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