Industry Transition Fund

Aim

The ITF provides $50 million to support firms with the potential to move into new and emerging industries as well as those that contribute to the State's baseline capabilities that underpin our industry sectors.  The fund will operate until June 2010. 

As a guide there will be a cap of $2 million on financial assistance to any one firm. All grants from the ITF will require co-contributions. Applicants should aim to have a co-contribution of $2 for every $1 granted from the ITF and preferably a higher contribution. 

Nature of Assistance

ITF assistance is to be used for the following purposes:

• investing in plant and equipment that will increase the company's productivity and competitiveness
• developing a next generation of products and processes;
• mergers and acquisitions that create sustainable, growth oriented businesses where at least one participant is unlikely to survive on a stand-alone basis;
• retaining skills and/or capabilities that may not otherwise survive the economic downturn but which will be required once conditions stabilise; and/or
• supporting the on-going viability of industries that play a major role in local communities, especially in regional Victoria.

ITF assistance will not be provided for normal "business as usual" operations such as meeting payroll or for payment of redundancies.

Eligibility Criteria

Companies meeting the following criteria (A and B) will be eligible for consideration:

A:  The proposed investment has the potential to deliver a net economic benefit to Victoria and lead to sustainable increases in productivity through:

• development of an innovative product, process and/or market that will generate broader benefits to the community;
• mergers and acquisitions that will create sustainable growth-oriented entities;
• upgrades to existing infrastructure and/or;
• purchase of new plant and equipment or technology.

B:  The company needs to demonstrate that it can meet the co-contributions requirement of the funding principles as described above and that it has investigated and/or sought funding from appropriate Commonwealth Government programs and other State Government programs where appropriate before applying to the ITF (funding from such Government programs can form part of the co-contribution commitment).

Preference will be given to proposals that:

• are in strategic industries;
• are essential to the ongoing viability of significant upstream or downstream producers;
• make a significant contribution to a region or locality in terms of employment;
• retain substantial numbers of jobs in key skill areas that are at risk of retrenchment;
• support small and medium sized enterprises and /or;
• support regional communities.

Contact

For more information and to apply for ITF assistance contact:

Department of Innovation, Industry & Regional Development on the Victorian Business Help Line 13 22 15.