How federal and state and territory AI funding differ, and how Australian businesses use both together.
dgm is an independent osFoundry integration partner — not affiliated with osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC), and dgm has no completed client integrations yet.
Federal and state AI funding work alongside each other in Australia. Knowing the split helps you find everything you qualify for.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Federal | R&D Tax Incentive, Industry Growth Program, NRF, CSIRO, EMDG |
| State | NSW MVP Ventures, QLD Ignite Ideas, WA, SA, Victoria (transitioning) |
| Both | Often combined without double-claiming |
| Find both | business.gov.au Finder covers all levels |
The federal layer
Federal supports — the R&D Tax Incentive, the Industry Growth Program, the National Reconstruction Fund, CSIRO programs and EMDG — are available across Australia. They cover R&D recovery, commercialisation, large-ticket finance, research collaboration and export marketing.
The state layer
States add their own: NSW MVP Ventures, Queensland’s Ignite Ideas Fund, WA’s New Industries Fund, South Australia’s Seed-Start, and Victoria’s transitioning support. Eligibility usually requires operating (and spending) in that state. Program parameters, amounts, rates and round windows change frequently — confirm the current details on the official program page before relying on them.
Using both
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.