Geelong Region Innovation and InvestmentFund

Guide for Applicants

March 2014

Table of Contents

1Introduction

2Overview of GRIIF

3Purpose of the GRIIF

4Funding under the GRIIF

5Overview of Application Requirements and Procedures

6Eligibility

6.1Applicant eligibility

6.2Project eligibility

6.3Eligible Expenditure

6.4Ineligible Expenditure

7Applying for funding

7.1Application form

7.2Submitting your application

7.3Acknowledgement of applications

8Assessment and decision process

8.1Assessment process

8.2Final decision

9Announcement

10Managing the funding

10.1Agreement process for successful applicants

10.2Agreement obligations

10.3Document retention

10.4Grant payments

10.5Varying the agreement

11Other issues

11.1Privacy and confidentiality

11.2Incomplete and misleading information

11.3Feedback

APPENDIX 1

Definition of key terms used in this Guide

APPENDIX 2

Map of the Geelong Innovation and Investment Fund Region

Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund

Guide for ApplicantsMarch 2014

1Introduction

This Guide for Applicants is designed to assist prospective applicants in deciding whether to apply for a grant under the Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund and to outline the processes for the submission and assessment of applications. It sets out the purpose of the program and explains who is eligible to apply, how to obtain an application form, how applications are assessed, and the criteria that will be used in assessing applications for funding.

Applicants can refer to Appendix 1 for definitions of key terms that are bolded in this Guide.

Prospective applicants are advised to read this Guide thoroughly and in its entirety before preparing an application.

2Overview of GRIIF

The Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund (GRIIF) gives effect to an announcement by the Australian and Victorian Governments on 23 May 2013 to provide funding support to those regions affected by Ford Australia’s announcement that it will cease its vehicle and engine manufacturing operations in Australia from October 2016. Funding over the three financial years from 2013-14 to 2015-16 will be provided to the Geelong region(as well as Melbourne North)in recognition of the economic and social impact of Ford Australia's announcement on those communities.

The Australian Government will contribute $30 million; the Victorian Government $9 million; and Ford Australia $10million. Of this total of $49 million, $24.5 million will be made available to the GRIIF and $24.5 million will be made available to the Melbourne’s North Innovation and Investment Fund.

3Purpose of the GRIIF

The GRIIF will support investment by businesses leading directly to new sustainable jobs in the Geelong region to assist the region to diversify its economic base. Eligible projects will focus on encouraging new investment to create new or additional business capacity that results in sustainable jobs.

Applications for funding under the GRIIF are encouraged from all industry sectors.

Applicants should note that proposals will not be acceptable where they involveno sustained net increase in economic activity in Australia or where new jobs in the Geelong regionare created at the expense of jobs elsewhere.

4Funding under the GRIIF

A total of $24.5 million in funding is available. There will be competitive funding rounds and all funds awarded must be expended by 30 June 2016 when the Fund will close.

The minimum grant under the GRIIF will be $50,000. There is no maximum grant limit within the total grant funding available under the GRIIF. Grants will be up to 50 per cent of eligible expenditure.

Financial assistance will only be provided for:

  • up to 50% of projected eligible project costs;and
  • on the provision of satisfactory evidence that the agreed payment milestones have been achieved.

The following conditions will apply to funding proposals:

  • applicants must be able to provide documentary evidence that demonstrates they can fund the costs of the project not met by the funds being sought under the GRIIF;
  • a minimum cash commitment by the applicant, exclusive of in-kind components, which at least matches the total amount of government grant sought under the program;
  • the government grant will be calculated to take account of funding provided under other applicable government programs so that:

a)a genuine contribution of at least 50 per centis made by the applicant; and

b)GRIIF funding is not being leveraged by other government funding.

Successful applicants will be required to enter into a GRIIFfunding agreement(see also section 10 of this Guide) and funded projects must be completed no later than the project completion date that is specified in the funding agreement. Eligible project expenditure must be incurred on or before that project completion date (with the exception of final audit costs which can be incurred within three months after the project completion date).

Grants may be subject to GST and income tax. AusIndustry advises that successful applicants should seek advice on these and other tax implications from their tax advisers or the Australian Taxation Office ( or phone 13 28 66).

In exceptional circumstances, AusIndustry and the Victorian Government Department of State Development, Business and Innovation may consider applications for funding that are received outside of a funding round. The decision to accept applications outside of a funding round will be made jointly by AusIndustry and the Victorian Government Department of State Development, Business and Innovation. In such circumstances, any application for funding will need to meet all eligibility criteria, as well as be considered of high merit against the project merit criteria. Also, applicants will need to demonstrate that their proposal would be unable to proceed or likely to be significantly impacted if the assessment of the application is deferred to the date of the next funding round.

5Overview of Application Requirements and Procedures

Applications will be invited through funding rounds which will be advertised by AusIndustry.

Round 1 closed for applications on Thursday 26 September 2013.

To be eligible for consideration under Round 2, applications will need to be received by AusIndustry by 5:00pm AEST on Thursday,29 May 2014.

Intending applicants are encouraged to critically assess the prospects of meeting the eligibility requirements and the project merit criteria before committing significant resources to developing a proposal.

AusIndustry and the Victorian GovernmentDepartment of State Development, Business and Innovationmay provide advice during the application period to assist those intending to apply.

This advice is limited to providing clarity with regard to the eligibility requirements and assessment process. It is strongly recommended that this assistance be utilised at an early stage, and no later than 10 working days prior to the closing date.

Applications will be assessed against the eligibility requirements and the project merit criteriaspecified in this Guide.

Applicants must use the application form that is available through AusIndustry.

Joint applications are acceptable, provided they have a principal applicant who is an eligible applicant.

6Eligibility

In applying for GRIIFfunding, an applicant must demonstrate that:

  • they are an eligible applicant;
  • the proposed project is eligible; and
  • the proposed project costs for which funding assistance is sought are eligible.

6.1Applicant eligibility

To be an eligible applicant, the applicant must:

a)engage in trading or financial activities that form a substantial or significant proportion of its overall current activities;

b)be a non-income-tax exempt entity incorporated in Australia under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory;

c)have an Australian Business Number (ABN);

d)be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST);

e)be able to issue tax invoices; and

f)commit to contributing a minimum of 50 per cent of the overall eligible project costs (exclusive of in-kind contributions) from non-Government funding.

Entities not eligible to apply

The following are ineligible:

a)individuals and partnerships;

b)trusts; however, an incorporated trustee can apply on behalf of a trust provided that the Commonwealth is satisfied that the incorporated trustee will remain sufficiently liable for the performance of any agreement it signs;

c)Commonwealth, State and Local Government agencies and bodies (including government business enterprises);

d)entities that do not comply with State or Commonwealth law, including the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (Cth); or

e)Ford Australia and its related companies.

6.2Project eligibility

To be eligible, a project must:

a)involve at least $100,000 in eligible expenditure;

b)generate sustainable new jobs in the Geelong region and not involve the movement of business activity from other areas of Australia to the Geelong region;

c)demonstrate that any activities to be continued after the project completion date can be undertaken without any further grant funding; and

d)be consistent with Australia’s international obligations, including under the World Trade Organisation.

In addition:

  • Projects focussed on current job retention will not be supported.
  • Funding for projects under the program must not be leveraged by any other government funding (Commonwealth, State and/or Territory governments).
  • Funding will not be provided for retrospective activities except in special circumstances with the agreement of the Program Delegate.

6.3Eligible Expenditure

Eligible expenditure includes:

  • acquisition of new equipment or machinery that can be capitalised in the applicant’s accounts; and
  • construction or fit-out of a new building or extension to premises.

Project management and direct labour costs associated with the above are eligible but only where expenditure is incurred on directly implementing and/or commissioning the agreed project and where the expenditure is directly attributable to the project and is not part of existing management, executive or ongoing operational costs. Generally these expenses would be no more than five per cent of a project’s total value.

6.4Ineligible Expenditure

The following activities and items are noteligible expenditures:

a)the acquisition of land and/or property leasing or rental costs;

b)preparing the grant application, any project variation requests and any project reports (except the costs of independent audit reports)

c)full scale production and inventory costs;

d)all forms of advertising and the production of promotional material;

e)establishing general infrastructure or obtaining resources used on the project—such as interest on loans, job advertising and recruiting;

f)general business management and administration not directly related to the eligible project;

g)website development (unless the web site is part of the value proposition of the project);

h)prospecting, exploring or drilling for minerals, petroleum or natural gas for the purpose of discovering deposits, determining more precisely the location of deposits or determining the size or quality of deposits; and

i)opportunity costs relating to forgone production and production downtime arising from the allocation of resources to the agreed grant project.

j)research or scoping activities;

k)ongoing or routine business costs, including administrative, operational and maintenance costs and employee salaries and wages;

l)retrospective activities;

m)activities that breach occupational health and safety or public safety; and

n)other ‘in kind’ contributions.

This list is not exhaustive. AusIndustry may issue further guidance setting out the types of expenditure that are eligible or ineligible under the GRIIF.

7Applying for funding

7.1Application form

Applicants must submit their GRIIFapplication on the AusIndustry form, which is available to be downloaded at For any queries relating to access of the Word fill-able application form and the ‘Annual project forecast sales revenue and expenditure’ excel spreadsheet, please contact the AusIndustry Hotline on 13 28 46, or send a query to .

To allow AusIndustry’s analysis of a GRIIF proposal to be as complete as possible, the following information should be provided:

  • For existing entities, the applicant's three most recent audited financial statements. These financial statements will be required to include income statement, balance sheet, statement of equity, statement of cash flows, notes to financial statements, signed director's report, and signed report of the auditor. If the applicant is unable to provide the above information please contact AusIndustry for advice.
  • If an existing entity is not required to lodge financial reports with the Australian Securities Investment Commission, contact should be made with AusIndustry for advice.
  • For new entities, contact should be made with AusIndustry for advice.

Additional documented supporting evidence should include:

  • a business plan for the investment proposal, where available;
  • evidence of financial contributions or investor support or interest in the proposal;
  • a letter of support from a financial institution(if applicable);
  • details of construction arrangements, contracts and contractors (if applicable);
  • evidence of the prospect of firm contracts for the sale of the goods or services, or documented evidence of an achievable marketing plan; and
  • additional information that may be relevant such as economic studies or environmental impact statements.

If uncertain of the relevance to the application of documented supporting evidence, applicants should contact AusIndustry for guidance.

The second round of GRIIFcloses to applications at 5:00 pm AEST on Thursday,29 May 2014.

Additional information concerning GRIIF can be obtained from the AusIndustry website at from the AusIndustry Hotline on 13 28 46 or .

7.2Submittingyour application

Completed applications under the GRIIFshould be submitted by 5:00 pm AEST on Thursday, 29 May 2014electronically by e-mail to on a CD, along with a signed hard copy postedto:

Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund

AusIndustry

GPO Box 85

MELBOURNE VIC 3001

7.3Acknowledgement of applications

An AusIndustry Customer Service Manager will send a letter acknowledging receipt of all applications. If an application is incomplete or the applicant ineligible, an AusIndustry Customer Service Manager will discuss this with the contact person responsible for lodging the application.

8Assessment and decision process

8.1Assessment process

Eligible applications for GRIIF grant funding will be assessed on a competitive basis relative to the merit of other applications received in a particular funding round against the project merit criteria. Applications deemed ineligible will not be assessed.

Applications will be assessed in a three-stage process.

Stage One – Eligibility Assessment

AusIndustrywill assess each application in terms of its eligibility. If an application is deemed ineligible, the applicant will be notified and that application will not progress any further in the assessment process.

Stage Two – Project Assessment

AusIndustry and the Victorian Government Department of State Development, Business and Innovationwill jointly assess each application on its strengths and weaknesses against the project merit criteria.

As part of the assessment process, applicants may be required to submit additional information to support their applications. In assessing applications, AusIndustry and the Victorian Government Department of State Development, Business and Innovationmay also seek additional information from:

  • other Australian Government agencies;
  • State or Territory government agencies;
  • local governments; or
  • any other appropriate agencies or persons that AusIndustry or the Victorian Government Department of State Development, Business and Innovation considers necessary to assess an application.

AusIndustry will submit anassessment report of all eligible applications to the GRIIF Advisory Committee for the thirdstage assessment.

Stage Three: GRIIF Advisory Committee Review

The GRIIFAdvisory Committee will review the AusIndustry assessment report and theeligible applicationsand make recommendations for funding to the Australian Minister for Industryand the Victorian Minister for Manufacturing.

The GRIIF Advisory Committee’s recommendations will include which projects should be funded and the level of funding that should be provided to each project.

Applicants should note that irrespective of eligibility and merit there is no guarantee that an offer of funding will be made.

AusIndustry will manage potential and actual GRIIF Advisory Committee member conflicts of interest through a conflict of interest process that requires declaration of any conflict of interest by GRIIF Advisory Committee members and exclusion of that member(s) from the application assessment if the Program Delegate determines that the conflict of interest is material.

8.1.1Project merit criteria

Eligible applications for GRIIF grant funding will be assessed on a competitive basis relative to the merit of other applications received in a particular funding round against the following criteria:

a)The level of net economic benefit the proposed project will bring to the Geelong region, including:

(a)The number of sustainable, new jobs generated through the project;

(b)The contribution of the project towards the diversification of the region’s economy; and

(c)the extent of new innovation, including new technology;

b)The demonstrated capacity of the applicant to successfully undertake the project outlining the skills, experience and resources to which it will have access;

c)The demonstrated capacity of the applicant to provide matching funding for the project. Applicants must be able to demonstrate commitment to a project, contribute at least 50 per cent of the overall project costs and show that the project is free of other concurrent government funding;

d)Sustainability of the project to continue after its completion date over the longer-term without the need for ongoing Government support; and

e)The value for public money offered by the project as measured by the extent to which the project would be unlikely to proceed without funding support.

All applications will be assessed against the merit criteria using the following scoring:

Table 1, Scoring to Merit Criteria

Project Merit Criteria
/
Score
a)The level of net economic benefit / 40
b)Demonstrated capacity and capability of the applicant to undertake the project successfully / 15
c)Demonstrated capacity to provide matching funding / 15
d)Sustainability of the project to continue after its completion date over the longer term without the need for ongoing Government support / 15
e)Value for public money as measured by the extent to which the project would be unlikely to proceed without funding support / 15

Applications must score highly against each merit criterion to be recommended for funding.

A competitive application must address each merit criterion to make the best possible case for funding. Claims made against each criterion must be substantiated and full details of all underlying risks and assumptions should be clearly stated.

Innovative manufacturing projects and in particular those projects that provide new job opportunities for ex-Ford / automotive supply chain workers, will attract additional weighting in the consideration of the criterion 8.1.1(a)above.

Assessments will also take into account the extent that eligible projects might compromise competitive neutrality. Where government funding for a project is judged that it might demonstrably compromise competitive neutrality (because it would be likely to reduce the competitiveness of other participants in the same market as the funding recipient), the project is unlikely to be supported for funding unless it can be demonstrated that the benefits of the grant assistance will outweigh the costs.