About this grant opportunity
Round 3 of the Circular Economy Business Support Fund supports individual organisations and Collaborative Partnerships with projects that improve the capability and capacity of Victorian industry to identify, implement, commercialise, and scale circular solutions.
These projects prevent, minimise or eliminate waste and pollution and keep products or materials in use - at their highest value - for longer.
Projects must improve the environmental outcomes of products, services, industries, supply chains or systems and contribute to Victoria’s transition to a Circular Economy.
This grant is funded through the government’s Circular Economy policy, Recycling Victoria: a new economy.
Round 3 of the Fund is expected to open for applications on Tuesday 28 February 2023. The following are the guidelines for applying for this funding round.
Fund outcomes
Projects must contribute to 2 or more of the following outcomes:
- Avoidance of waste materials to any waste or Recycling destination.
- Creation of new circular products and services.
- Increase employment through direct creation of jobs
- Increase capacity to extend the useable life of products
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- Improve capacity of industry for acting on sustainability.
Funding available
Each project can receive a grant between $50,000 and $1,000,000 (ex GST).
Co-contribution
Applicants must contribute at least $1 for every $2 funded by Sustainability Victoria (1:2 Co-contribution).
Co-contributions can be either financial (cash) or In-kind.
At least 80% of the Co-contribution must be cash contribution.
Other grants cannot be used for Co-contribution.
Co-contributions must be for eligible activities (refer to 2.3 What will be funded).
Who can apply
Applicants may apply as either a single organisation, or as a Collaborative Partnership with multiple organisations.
Lead Applicant
All applications require a single Lead Applicant.
Lead Applicants must be one of the following eligible organisation types:
- Businesses (Commercial for-profit).
- Social Enterprises (must be currently registered with Social Traders or prove accreditation before entering into a funding agreement).
- Industry groups and associations (also known as an industry trade association, Business association, sector association or industry body, is an organisation founded and funded by Businesses that operate in a specific industry).
- Charities and other not-for-profits that are listed on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) charity register.
- Current Cooperative Research Centres.
- Current Rural Research and Development Corporations.
Lead Applicants must:
- have a current Australian Business Number (ABN). If the Applicant is a Trust, the Trustee - as the proper Applicant - must meet this requirement
- have been operating for a minimum of 2 years by the application closing date (to be validated by the date that the organisation’s ABN is active from). If the Applicant is a Trust, the Trustee - as the proper Applicant - must meet this requirement
- be able to demonstrate financial viability to undertake the project (will meet or exceed the minimum co-contribution requirements)
- agree to comply with the Terms of Participation in Grant Programs
- agree to comply with the General grant funding agreement terms and conditions
- submit their Fair Jobs Code Pre-Assessment Certificate Number with their application if applying for $500,000 or more (exclusive of GST). A Certificate must be held prior to applying for the grant.
The Lead Applicant is the responsible Contracting Party and is accountable for the application and project delivery, including coordinating Collaborative Partners. Only the Lead Applicant will receive grant funding. Any allocations of grant funding or financial co-contributions between Collaborative Partners and Delivery Partners must be managed by the Lead Applicant.
Applicants who do not agree with the Grant Funding Agreement Terms and Conditions will be asked to provide full details of proposed amendments that would render the contractual provision acceptable to the Applicant in the SmartyGrants application form. Applicants should note that significant or substantive variations will not be viewed favourably unless the Applicant is able to demonstrate the necessity for such variations.
Should Applicants be successful, no further amendments to Sustainability Victoria’s standard terms and conditions will be considered beyond the variations included in the application form.
Collaborative Partner(s) (optional)
The Lead Applicant may also choose to form a Collaborative Partnership for the purposes of undertaking the project. The Lead Applicant is fully accountable for the application and for project delivery, including coordinating any Collaborative Partners. Only the Lead Applicant will receive grant funding. Any allocations of grant funding or financial co-contributions between Collaborative Partners and Delivery Partners must be managed by the Lead Applicant.
Collaborative Partner(s) can be from any organisation that has:
- a direct, clear role in the project
- a current ABN
- a demonstrated co-contribution to the project.
- A letter of support (or equivalent) must be provided by the Collaborative Partner(s), signed by an authorised representative, and must be provided with the application detailing their:
- commitment to be publicly announced as a Project Partner should funding be awarded
- financial and/or In-kind Contribution to the project
- role and responsibilities to the project.
The Collaborative Partnership must have a formal agreement, such as a memorandum of understanding, in place prior to the first milestone payment. There is no limit to how many organisations are involved as Collaborative Partners.
Each Collaborative Partner will be publicly announced as a Collaborative Partner should funding be awarded.
We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
Who cannot apply
The following cannot apply for funding as a Lead Applicant but can be a Collaborative Partner:
- Unincorporated associations.
- Federal, state, or local government, including water corporations (or entities owned by federal, state, local government and/or water corporations).
- Schools, universities, and TAFEs.
- Sole traders.
- Any organisation operating with an ABN less than 2 years at the fund closing date (to be validated by the date that the organisation’s ABN is active from).
What will be funded
Projects focused on identifying, implementing, commercialising or scaling circular market solutions that prevent, minimise or eliminate waste and pollution, or keep products and/or materials at their highest use.
Eligible projects are also those that are focused on building capabilities and capacity within industry to apply circular design to achieve the above.
Projects must improve the environmental outcomes of products, services, industries, supply chains or systems and contribute to Victoria’s transition to a Circular Economy.
All projects must:
- meet all regulatory or planning requirements within 6 months of receiving funding
- ensure at least 50% of project activities are implemented in Victoria
- be completed by 15 December 2024.
Project types include:
- identification and development
- implementation, commercialisation and scaling
- training and development programs for industry.
Project activities can include (but not limited to):
- activation of waste-avoidance solutions in published industry/business-focused action plans and roadmaps
- baseline studies to understand issues and opportunities for circularity (e.g., in businesses or industries)
- waste audits and Circular economy supply chain mapping
- challenge-based projects (e.g., hackathons)
- developing, delivering or accessing Circular economy assessment tools or services (e.g., life cycle assessment)
- developing, delivering or accessing Circular economy advisory services
- delivering a campaign focused on increasing transparency and awareness of Circular economy in businesses
- facilitate networking and collaboration focused on Circular Economy business opportunities
- establishing or expanding activities in a Circular economy business focused group or cluster
- delivering Circular economy training to Businesse
- rolling out business-led product stewardship initiatives/programs in Victoria (not Recycling)
- financial and non-financial assessments (e.g., CBA, ROI, SROI)
- large scale pilots, trials, and demonstrations
- business case development and cost-benefit analysis
- purchasing, installing and commissioning infrastructure, plant and equipment or other assets
- designing and delivering promotional content for new products and services
- developing and delivering capability building for Businesses (e.g., training, education, innovation services)
- startup incubators and accelerator programs
- developing and launching a website, application, or digital platform.
Project costs must be directly related to the project and can only include:
- new or existing staff costs (such as salaries) that are demonstrated to be directly related to the project
- consultants
- contractor services
- marketing, advertising, promotion
- market research and surveys
- venue and equipment hire (including access to innovation labs and services)
- legal costs (such as costs to obtain IP)
- printing
- design and copywriting
- installation and commissioning
- freight
- project management costs
- capital purchases/assets (infrastructure, plant, and equipment)
- purchase of specialised vehicles (e.g., front-end loaders, forklifts) where equipment is integral for the project to occur, and the Applicant demonstrates they are unable to proceed with the project without funding for the vehicle.
What will not be funded
Funding will not be provided for projects and activities focused on:
- litter, microplastics and illegal dumping
- community or government focused initiatives
- aggregates and soilsenergy, emissions, or water (although these may be co-benefits of projects).
Funding will not be provided for project activities that focus on end-of-life strategies, such as Recycling, waste management or energy recovery phases, including:
- waste Recycling (including feasibility, capability building, collection, infrastructure or any other aspects of waste Recycling) or recycled content products (research, development, demonstration and commercialisation, standards and specifications)
- waste recovery (including feasibility, capability building, collection, infrastructure or any other aspects of waste recovery) litter and illegal dumping
- waste disposal (e.g., incineration, landfill, sewer)waste to energy, bioenergy and biofuel.
Funding will not be provided for projects that:
- are being undertaken to comply with regulation or a regulatory notice or order
- have received funding or support for the same activities from other sources
- do not meet regulatory or planning requirements
- do not demonstrate good value for money.
Funding will not be provided for requests for retrospective funding (where projects are completed or have commenced installation at the time of submitting the application or before entering into a Funding Agreement with SV).
Note: project equipment may be ordered or purchased prior to signing a Funding Agreement with SV to accommodate shipping and delivery time and prevent delays in completing the project at the Applicant’s own risk.
The following project costs are ineligible for funding:
- Lease or purchase of land.
- Permit, licensing and approval costs.
- Routine or cyclical maintenance works.
- Repair of facilities damaged by vandalism, fire or other natural disasters where damage should be covered by insurance.
- Operating or business-as-usual costs (such as electricity, water and other utilities).
- Existing staff costs (such as salaries) that are not demonstrated to be directly related to the project.
- Pre-construction (site preparation) such as site clearing, earthworks or accessibility works.
- Travel and attendance at conferences.
- Catering.
- Contingency costs.
- Purchase of non-specialised vehicles that do not have an essential role in project delivery.
- Associated vehicle costs (including fuel, registration, servicing etc.).
