Victoria’s new $15 million R&D fund

Expressions of Interest (EOI) are now open for the Made in Victoria – Industry R&D Infrastructure Fund.

The $15 million fund will provide matched grant funding of between $250,000 and $2 million to eligible businesses in Victoria, to invest in new or enhanced R&D infrastructure to support the growth of Victoria’s R&D capability across key industry sectors.

The grants will support new infrastructure and sophisticated equipment such as measurement instruments, testing equipment, imaging and sensing technologies, and clean room facilities and will be open to businesses that perform R&D as part of their operations, including R&D service providers.

The fund will also help accelerate projects in new energy, health technology, food manufacturing, defence and aerospace, and advanced technology – key sectors identified in the state government’s Made in Victoria: 2030 Manufacturing Statement.

Victoria’s priority industries are:

• New energy technologies, including wind, hydrogen, solar and batteries
• Health technologies, including medtech, biotech, pharma and consumer healthcare
• Food manufacturing and agriculture
• Defence, aerospace and space
• And digital and advanced technologies, including advanced materials, robotics, AI (Artificial Intelligence), 3D-printing, and quantum technologies.

To lift business investment in R&D, the fund will complement existing initiatives such as the Australian Government’s R&D Tax Incentive – boosting the state’s innovation capabilities and delivering broader benefits for Victoria’s advanced manufacturing sector.

This initiative is also targeted at enabling high quality collaboration and mutually valued research between industry, universities and/or research providers and supply chains by supporting R&D infrastructure.

Expressions of Interest open on Thursday 6 July 2023 and close at 5pm on Friday 18 August 2023.

Picture: Department of Education and Training/Parliament House