Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am so pleased to be part of a government that really does care about our trade relationships. On Wednesday 20 March, the Albanese government tabled in parliament our plans to reform the Export Market Development Grants program, focusing on improving this program for our exporters.

The Export Market Development Grants program is one of the most comprehensive programs of its kind in the world. Our government is committed to supporting Australian businesses to grow and expand both here and overseas. We know businesses that export contribute to our economy in a number of ways, and support higher-paying Australian jobs. Since coming to government, a review has been undertaken of the Export Market Development Grants program, one of the most significant and generous programs of its kind globally. This program is an important source of support for Australian businesses to start, expand and diversify their exports into overseas markets. After extensive business and industry consultation, it was clear that the uncertainty about and declining size of EMDG grants significantly reduced the value of the program for our exporters.

The updated rules will see increased grant sizes so that eligible Australian businesses can access more money to support export market activities. These changes will also allow the Export Market Development Grants program to encourage Australian businesses to diversify their trade by allowing Austrade to identify key markets for grant tiers. Additional changes include improved eligibility requirements so that grants can go to businesses that are ready to start, expand and diversify their exports. This will be in addition to the ability to show applicants what the maximum grant amounts are upfront, giving exporters greater certainty about how much grant funding they will receive if they're successful. Consistent with other government programs, grants will be awarded to eligible businesses in the order in which applications are assessed, with rounds closing as soon as funds are fully allocated. These changes were the result of extensive consultation with business and industry, and will take effect for the next grant round, which is expected to open later this year.

Our government is committed to supporting exporters who contribute to our economy and support high-paying good Australian jobs. Our operational review of the Export Market Development Grants program found there was a need to better balance the level of interest in the Export Market Development Grants with available funds in order to increase grant amounts. Unfortunately, the former government relaxed eligibility criteria so much that when the introduced changes started in 2020-2021, the program fell into disrepair. Those changes meant that the size of grants fell through the floor, almost halving their average value and making the grants less impactful. This meant that the previously successful Export Market Development Grants program stopped delivering, diminishing the value for Australian exporters who relied on it to support their growth and development. We promised at the election to review this important program and to clean up the mess it was left in by the previous government. We've delivered on that promise so that Australian exporters can trust that this program will deliver for them.

Our government knows that taking on the immense challenge of export requires significant capital, patience and, of course, blood, sweat and tears. The former government's changes meant that the grants were not only smaller but that many firms couldn't spend the money they were given. We know trade is a force for good in addressing Australia's current and future challenges. One in four Australian jobs relate to trade and 27 per cent of Australia's economic output is supported by trade. Our government is focused on generating new and diversified trade and investment opportunities for Australian businesses. Trade diversification is a key plank of our government's trade policy agenda, and negotiations have commenced with a number of countries on trade agreements.

As a government, we're committed to strengthening economic ties in the region, as demonstrated by our efforts with ASEAN in Melbourne earlier this month. I'm really proud to represent a government that's committed to supporting our export industry.

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