The programs Australian startups most often use for AI work — the R&D Tax Incentive, the Industry Growth Program, CSIRO and state grants.
dgm is an independent osFoundry integration partner — not affiliated with osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC), and dgm has no completed client integrations yet.
Australian startups have a well-worn path of programs for AI work, mostly around R&D, commercialisation and research collaboration.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| R&D Tax Incentive | Refundable offset for genuine R&D (under $20M turnover) |
| Industry Growth Program | Matched grants in NRF priority areas |
| CSIRO Kick-Start | Dollar-matched R&D with CSIRO |
| State grants | e.g. NSW MVP Ventures |
The startup funding stack
Most AI startups in Australia use some combination of the R&D Tax Incentive (refundable for under-$20M-turnover companies), the Industry Growth Program (matched grants in NRF priority areas), CSIRO Kick-Start (dollar-matched R&D), and state grants (such as NSW MVP Ventures). Together these cover R&D recovery, commercialisation and research collaboration.
Sequencing
A typical early sequence is a CSIRO or state grant for the first build, then the R&D Tax Incentive claimed on the genuinely experimental R&D — keeping contemporaneous records from day one so the claim is defensible. Program parameters, amounts, rates and round windows change frequently — confirm the current details on the official program page before relying on them.
How to start
The official starting point is the business.gov.au Grants and Programs Finder, the Australian Government’s tool for discovering the federal, state and territory supports you may qualify for, with GrantConnect (grants.gov.au) listing Commonwealth grant opportunities. Important: these are programs a business applies for directly with the government agency or, for the R&D Tax Incentive, claims through a registered tax adviser. dgm is an independent AI-integration agency — not a registered or approved program deliverer, an Industry Growth Program adviser, or a registered R&D tax agent. dgm can help scope and build the AI project; eligibility and any claim are determined and lodged by you or a registered adviser.
Where dgm fits
dgm is an independent integration partner that helps Australian businesses adopt osFoundry — scoping a first use case, handling the build, and connecting AI to the systems you already run. dgm can help you scope the AI project that a program would fund — but you apply to the program (or claim the R&D Tax Incentive with a registered adviser) directly. dgm is independent of osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC) and has no completed client integrations yet, so everything described here is a service offered, not a past result. If you want to scope a practical first project, dgm can help you map it out.