The Federal Government has announced a further $24 million in defence industry grants for small businesses as part of its efforts to build a robust and internationally competitive defence industry.
Making the announcement, Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price said the funding – which comes on top of the current funding of $17 million per year – would be provided over the next two financial years to the Sovereign Industry Capability grants and industry support grants, bringing the total to $58 million over the period FY2020-22.
“Supporting Australia’s military capability remains critical due to the important role this sector plays in the nation’s recovery,” Minister Reynolds said.
“Developing an industrial base with the capability, posture and resilience to meet our future defence capability needs remains a long-term endeavour.
“The Morrison Government remains focused on supporting the defence sector through the difficult period ahead.”
Minister Price said the additional funds would help innovative Australian SMEs ‘to access support quickly and more easily’ as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The extra funding we are announcing today is designed to support the opportunities for Australian business to deliver world-class capability for our Defence Force,” the Minister continued.
“It will also allow grant recipients more flexibility in completing projects and assist cash flow by accelerating the delivery of funds to small businesses.
“Once again the Morrison Government is demonstrating its commitment to developing a stronger defence industry that can capitalise on the opportunities presented by our $270 billion investment in defence capability.”
