Commercialisation Australia to provide more support for manufacturing

New funding guidelines, foreshadowed in December, deliver more generous arrangements for early stage commercialisation (ESC) grant recipients needing to establish manufacturing facilities in Australia to fully commercialise their invention.

Where a pilot manufacturing plant is required to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of producing innovative products or services, the entire cost of establishing the plant, rather than just the depreciation, is now deemed eligible expenditure.

The full cost of establishing an innovative manufacturing facility is eligible expenditure, if the facility is a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant established in Australia, and utilised in the manufacture of a new product, where such a product cannot be manufactured in an existing plant in Australia, meaning:

• no manufacturing process currently exists in Australia;
• current manufacturing capability in Australia does not satisfy the definition of “state-of-the-art”; or
• competition means the applicant cannot access the plant.

Minister Combet said: "A healthy manufacturing sector is important to Australia's future wealth and employment opportunities. Commercialisation Australia is supporting a number of innovative manufacturing and engineering processes that have applications across Australia's economy. The new arrangements will help strengthen this vital sector.”

See the Program information Guide for further details.

The new rules coincide with the announcement of two new board members: Brisbane-based manufacturing expert Christine Bridges-Taylor and Adelaide-based biotechnology authority Dr Leanna Read.

Existing board members Mr Nixon Apple and Dr Katherine Woodthorpe, will depart to devote more time to other responsibilities. Mr Apple has recently taken up a position on the Clean Technology Innovation Committee of Innovation Australia and is currently serving on the Prime Minister's Manufacturing Taskforce.