The Parliament has today passed legislation that backs Australian businesses to grow their exports and create jobs through reforms to the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme.
The EMDG scheme is a key Government financial assistance program to help aspiring and current exporters increase their marketing and promotional activities in international markets. Last year alone over 4000 Small and Medium Enterprises accessed the EMDG scheme, employing almost 69,000 Australians and generating exports worth $3.7 billion.
Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham welcomed the passing of the legislation that will better assist Australian exporters to enter new markets or expand their presence in existing markets, which will be critical to boosting export activity and support Australia's economic recovery from COVID-19.
"The reforms that passed Parliament following an independent review into the administration of the EMDG scheme centre on cutting red tape, increasing awareness of the scheme and giving exporters more funding certainty," Minister Birmingham said.
"The legislation shifts the scheme from a reimbursement model to a grants scheme, meaning eligible exporters will now receive funding closer to when they incur costs, giving more confidence that EMDG funding will genuinely boost their international marketing and promotional activities.
"At the same time, simplifying application processes and reducing the administrative burden on exporters whilst still maintaining integrity in the scheme will allow recipients to focus on boosting export activities and ensure maximum return on taxpayer's investment.
"Schemes like EMDG that support Australian businesses as they look to go global or expand their overseas footprint will be vital to continue growing the number of Australian exporters and the total value of Australian exports into the future which will help create more jobs."
The new EMDG scheme will commence on 1 July 2021.
