Four South Australian firms will share in a total of $2.3 million in grants to invest in projects that build capabilities aligned with Defence’s stated sovereign industrial capability priorities.
Grant recipients include NSW-baded firm Armor Australia, which will use its grant to purchase specialist tooling to produce locally designed and manufactured lightweight combat helmets for the Australian Defence Force, and AEM Consolidated, which will use the funding to improve how the company is repairing and overhauling motors for defence ships and submarines.
Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price said the Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grant program was established to encourage greater participation by Australia’s small businesses in the country’s defence industry agenda.
“We want to maximise small business involvement in delivering our $200 billion build-up of defence capability, because this approach helps create new jobs right across Australia,” Minister Price added.
The Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grant program provides eligible SMEs with matched funding grants of up to $1 million. Applications for grant can be made at any time, submitted through the Centre for Defence Industry Capability website at www.business.gov.au/cdic.
