Australian exporters and importers can access several types of financial assistance including grants, loans and duty concessions. These schemes help Australian businesses sell their products around the world.

The Australian Government manages a number of financial assistance schemes. Most state and territory governments also offer support for exporters.

Financial assistance for exporters

The main financial assistance schemes available to Australian exporters are:

• Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) – Administered by Austrade, the EMDG scheme covers marketing and promotion expenses for small to medium export businesses.
• Export Finance Australia – Export Finance Australia provides loans, bonds and guarantees to help Australian export businesses when their bank is unable to help. Export Finance Australia has helped many Australian exporters and subcontractors take advantage of new contract opportunities that may otherwise have been out of reach. See how Export Finance Australia's finance solutions can help your business expand globally.
• Duty Drawback and Tradex schemes – Claim a customs duty exemption on imported goods that will later be re-exported. Tradex also offers a GST exemption for the goods.
• Women in Export – Austrade has scholarships for women involved in exporting and global business.
• State- and territory-specific schemes – Most Australian states and territories have their own financial support schemes for export businesses. Austrade maintains a list of the main schemes, or you can find all the grants available in your region by using the Grants & Assistance tool.

Financial assistance for importers

Import businesses can access financial assistance through several tariff and GST concession schemes:

• Tariff Concession System (TCS) – This scheme lets you import certain goods duty free if there is no Australian industry producing those goods.
• Customs Warehouses Deferment of Duty – Lets you store imported goods in a Customs-controlled warehouse until the goods are re-exported or you pay the duty.
• Certain Inputs to Manufacture – Allows manufacturing businesses to claim import tariff concessions on some types of raw materials and intermediate goods.
• Duty Drawback and Tradex schemes – Lets you claim a customs duty exemption on imported goods that will later be re-exported. Tradex also offers a GST exemption for the goods.

Finding the best financial assistance scheme for you

The easiest way to find a financial assistance scheme to meet your needs is by using the Australian Government's free Grants and Assistance tool.

You can search for grants using keywords (such as 'export' or 'import') and filter the results based on your region, industry and type of business.