Just lately launched Freedom of Info paperwork have raised questions on gender illustration amongst companies permitted for grants below the federal authorities’s Business Development Program.
This system has been one of many federal authorities’s flagship commercialisation and development initiatives.
It was designed to help startups and SMEs working throughout precedence sectors together with know-how, manufacturing, clear power and superior business.
As previously reported, the Business Development Program was quietly paused for brand spanking new purposes throughout finances week.
Business Development Program paperwork inform a well-known story for girls founders
FOI paperwork obtained from the Division of Business, Science and Assets (DISR) recommend women-owned and women-led companies accounted for a smaller share of permitted Business Development Program grants than they did among the many broader applicant pool.
It’s price noting that the information shouldn’t essentially be handled as definitive. The FOI paperwork present gender info was collected on a voluntary foundation and was not obligatory for candidates.
Which means some candidates selected to not disclose gender-related info, whereas others chosen “favor to not reply”.
Nonetheless, the figures present women-owned companies accounted for 375 of the 1,876 purposes submitted to the Business Development Program throughout 2024. This was roughly 20% of candidates. Girls-led companies accounted for 297 purposes, or round 16% of the pool.
Separate figures launched by DISR present 9 women-owned companies and 11 women-led companies obtained permitted Business Development Program grants between July 2024 and December 2025.
In response to questions from Startup Every day, DISR confirmed 104 grants had been permitted throughout that interval.
Based mostly on the disclosed figures, women-owned companies accounted for roughly 8.6% of permitted grants, whereas women-led companies represented round 10.6%.
The FOI paperwork additionally reveal this system operates by means of a ‘service-led’ construction, with companies required to first enter the Business Development Program Advisory Service earlier than turning into eligible for grant alternatives.
Individually, the paperwork present advisory companies had been assigned 905 occasions throughout 2024, together with 150 women-owned companies and 112 women-led companies.
A DISR spokesperson informed Startup Every day there are “no particular eligibility or preferential necessities for any specific demographic below the IGP”.
Startup Every day just isn’t suggesting bias or discrimination inside the program. Nonetheless, the figures reveal a familiar story relating to illustration and outcomes for girls inside Australia’s startup and commercialisation funding ecosystem.
The disclosure additionally recognized some acquainted startups and scaleups that had entered this system pipeline, together with Gilmour Area, Endua, Liquid Devices, Zetifi and Athena Synthetic Intelligence.
The division stated present Business Development Program Advisory Service individuals would proceed to obtain recommendation and present grant agreements would proceed to be honoured.
The spokesperson additionally confirmed no new grants had been permitted between Could 12 and Could 19 following the pause.
