FIELD NOTES / BUYER’S GUIDE

AI grants and funding in Australia: what is open now

See which federal and state AI grants, tax incentives and free advice programs are open, paused or closed, how AI work can qualify for the R&D Tax Incentive, and how to avoid grant scams.

By Find AI Consultants · AI-assisted research and writing · Updated 24 October 2026

Last checked: 24 October 2026. Next check: late November 2026. Programs open and close often, so confirm the status on the official page before you plan around it. General information only, not financial or tax advice; talk to your accountant or tax adviser.

What is open right now.

There is no general federal “AI grant” for businesses at the moment. The Industry Growth Program, the most searched program, is paused to new applications. Most current help is a tax incentive, free advice or a small number of targeted state programs. As at 24 October 2026:

R&D Tax Incentive ↗: ongoing, for genuine experimental AI development.
AI Adopt Centres ↗: free specialist services for eligible SMEs.
CSIRO Kick-Start ↗: $20,000 to $60,000 matched, apply any time.
Digital Solutions advisory ↗: up to 5 hours of low-cost advice for small businesses.
National AI Centre training and templates ↗: free guidance and links to courses.
State programs closing soon: Queensland Tourism AI Adoption Program ↗ (10 November) and NT Grow Your Business Program ↗ (13 November).

To search for new programs yourself, use the business.gov.au grants finder filtered to AI ↗.

Federal programs.

Status as at 24 October 2026. Amounts and eligibility summarised from the official pages; read the guidelines before applying.
Program	What it funds	Who can apply	Amount	Status
Industry Growth Program ↗	An advisory report, then grants to commercialise or grow an innovative product, process or service	Companies with turnover under $20 million, in a National Reconstruction Fund priority area. Must first receive an Advisory Service report	Early-stage grants $50,000 to $250,000; growth grants $100,000 to $5 million	Paused to new applications
R&D Tax Incentive ↗	A tax offset for eligible R&D, including some AI development (see below)	Australian companies spending at least $20,000 on eligible R&D in the year	Turnover under $20 million: refundable offset at your company tax rate plus 18.5 percentage points. Larger companies: non-refundable, plus 8.5 or 16.5 points	Ongoing. Register within 10 months of the end of the income year
AI Adopt Centres ↗	Free specialist services: training, consultations and roadmaps, technology demonstrations and AI safety guidance	SMEs that trade interstate or internationally, in National Reconstruction Fund priority sectors	Free to eligible SMEs (some centre services are paid)	Open to SMEs
Digital Solutions advisory ↗	Up to 5 hours of one-on-one digital advice, plus free workshops. Topics include AI and emerging technologies	Businesses with fewer than 20 full-time equivalent employees, and sole traders	Small fee for one-on-one advice (amount not stated); workshops free	Available
CSIRO Kick-Start ↗	Research with CSIRO: prototypes, feasibility studies and product development, up to 12 months	Start-ups and SMEs with turnover and operating costs under $10 million, or trading under 3 years	$20,000 to $60,000, matched	Open, apply any time
CRC Projects (CRC-P) Round 19 ↗	Industry-led collaborative R&D. This round set aside up to $20 million for AI projects	An SME lead plus another industry partner and a research organisation	$100,000 to $3 million, matched	Closed 12 May 2026
CRC Round 28 “AI Accelerator” ↗	A new AI-focused Cooperative Research Centre over 3 to 10 years	At least 3 industry and 2 research organisations	About $50 million for at least one AI CRC, matched	Opening in 2027 (no date set)
Export Market Development Grants ↗	Overseas marketing for Australian products and services	Eligible Australian SMEs and representative bodies	$20,000 to $80,000 a year depending on tier, matched	Closed

The four AI Adopt Centres listed on business.gov.au are SMEC AI, the ARM Hub AI Adopt Centre, SAAM and ARAIN. Check which one covers your sector.

State and territory programs.

Status as at 24 October 2026. Only programs with a current official page are listed.
State	Program	What it offers	Who can apply	Amount	Status
NSW	Small Business Advisory (Service NSW) ↗	Free independent business advice; sessions cover AI and digital skills	People who own or run a small business in NSW, or plan to start one	Free, up to 4 hours a financial year	Available
NSW	MVP Ventures ↗	Grants to take an innovative product to market	NSW companies with 10 or fewer staff and turnover of $400,000 or less	$20,000 to $75,000 with a co-contribution	Closed (Round 3 closed 10 April 2026)
Vic	Digital Jobs Program (businesses) ↗	Free training to upskill staff in digital skills, including AI and machine learning	Victorian manufacturing or construction businesses with fewer than 200 employees	Free	Open, apply any time
Qld	Queensland Tourism AI Adoption Program ↗	Digital health check, workshops, mentoring and an action plan with 12 months of support	Queensland tourism operators meeting the program’s listing requirements	“Heavily subsidised” (fee not stated); 130 places	Open, closes 10 November 2026
Qld	AI uplift program (2026–27 Budget) ↗	Help for small and family businesses to integrate AI	Eligible small and family businesses across Queensland	$10 million program total	Announced; details and opening date not yet published
Qld	Innovate to Grow: Digital Technologies and AI (CSIRO) ↗	An 8-week program to turn an idea into an R&D opportunity	Queensland SMEs in digital or AI with fewer than 200 employees	Fee not stated	Closed 27 September 2026
SA	AI Capability Pilot Program ↗	A group AI build day, 5 hours of one-on-one coaching and 6 months of resources	SA small and family businesses with fewer than 20 full-time equivalent staff	$50 and $100 co-contributions per participant	Check the page: the two official pages disagree on whether it is open
WA	Innovation Booster Grant ↗	Commercialising innovative products, testing, and specialist consultancy	WA early-stage founders, start-ups and innovation-driven SMEs	Up to $50,000	Closed (2026 round closed 30 March 2026)
Tas	No current AI or digital adoption grant found ↗				None found
ACT	Innovation Connect (ICON) ↗	Matched funding for prototypes, software, market testing and IP advice	Smaller technology businesses based in Canberra	$10,000 to $30,000, matched	Closed
NT	Grow Your Business Program ↗	Co-funded advisory and specialist services, including improving digital capability	Established Territory businesses with an ABN	Up to $5,000 (tier 1) through to $20,001 to $50,000 (tier 3), co-funded	Open, closes 13 November 2026

Can AI development qualify for the R&D Tax Incentive?

Sometimes. Eligibility depends on whether there is a technical problem that only experimentation can solve, not on the fact that AI is involved. The official guidance says “using AI in software development does not make an activity eligible”, and that using an AI model or technique that is new to you does not, by itself, make an activity eligible.

Usually not core R&D: setting up logging and dashboards, cleaning data to a model’s documented format, testing with known outcomes, tuning well-understood settings, or plugging a model’s output into an app.
May be core R&D: testing whether an AI approach can overcome a performance limit when nobody knows if it will work with the available data, or investigating a new fine-tuning method after established methods have failed.
Excluded: software built mainly for your own internal administration, such as payroll, accounting or invoicing.

The program is self-assessed: you are responsible for making sure registered activities are eligible, and the content of your records matters more than their format. Changes announced in the May 2026 Budget would apply from 1 July 2028, including removing supporting R&D from the offset and raising the minimum spend to $50,000. The ATO says these are not yet law.

Read the official AI activities guidance ↗ · ATO: proposed changes ↗

Tax treatment for AI purchases.

The $20,000 instant asset write-off is now permanent law from 1 July 2026, according to the ATO. It applies per asset, to small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million using simplified depreciation, for assets costing less than $20,000. The ATO lists computers, laptops and tablets as depreciating assets. Assets used for R&D are excluded.

The ATO pages we checked cover depreciating assets, not subscriptions. Do not assume an AI tool subscription is a write-off; ask your accountant how it should be treated.

ATO: instant asset write-off ↗

Avoid grant scams and paid “grant finders”.

business.gov.au says the government will never ask you to pay for grant information, and you cannot pay for special access to a grant.
Scamwatch warns about callers offering government grants who ask for bank details or upfront fees. Hang up and look the program up yourself on a .gov.au site.
Paying someone to help write an application is allowed. Ask what they charge and when, ask for their written view of eligibility against the official guidelines, and do not let them lodge anything you have not read. For the R&D Tax Incentive, your business carries the responsibility.

Getting help from a provider.

We have not found a directory listing with published evidence of writing grant applications or preparing R&D Tax Incentive claims. Some listings work inside government-funded programs: the ARM Hub AI Adopt Centre is one of the four AI Adopt Centres, and Infoxchange describes funded technology support for not-for-profit organisations. Listing here is not a government endorsement. For a funded project, the AI project brief helps you describe the work the same way to each provider.

Common questions.

Is the Industry Growth Program still open?

No. It was paused to new applications as at 24 October 2026. Check the official page for any reopening.

Can I get a grant for an AI project?

Possibly, but cash grants are limited and mostly state-based. For many businesses the realistic options are the R&D Tax Incentive for genuine experimental work, CSIRO Kick-Start for research with CSIRO, and free advice through AI Adopt Centres or state programs.

Does using ChatGPT or Copilot in my business count as R&D?

Not by itself. The official guidance says using AI does not make an activity eligible; there needs to be a technical problem that requires experimentation.

Are there free AI programs for small businesses?

Yes, mostly advice and training: AI Adopt Centres for eligible SMEs, Service NSW Small Business Advisory, Victoria’s Digital Jobs Program for eligible businesses, and National AI Centre resources.

Can I write off a computer bought for AI work?

If your business is eligible and the computer costs less than $20,000, the instant asset write-off may apply. Ask your accountant.

Can I use AI to write a grant application?

You can use tools to help draft, but you are responsible for accuracy. Grants are assessed on merit, and the R&D Tax Incentive is self-assessed.

Are there AI grants for individuals?

The programs we found are for businesses or organisations, not individuals.

How we keep this page current.

We recheck every program on this page once a month and update the “last checked” date only after every row has been rechecked. See our methodology.

Sources and review scope

Find AI Consultants prepared this AI-assisted guide from official government pages checked on 24 October 2026. It is not financial, tax or legal advice.

Find relevant consultants ↗