Commercialising Emerging Technologies

The Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) is a program set up by the Australian Government which is a program whose goal is to support individuals, early-growth stage and spin off companies in improving their potential for successful commercialisation of their innovation.

Support through this scheme is provided in two ways. Firstly through business assistance, which comes from a network of private sector COMET business advisors, and secondly through merit-based financial assistance to successful applicants. These merit-based criteria include the areas of product, marketing and management.

COMET financial assistance for companies is available through a two tier funding structure:

  • Tier 1: Grant value up to $64,000 (exclusive of GST). The rate of assistance is available at 80 per cent of the eligible expenditure
  • Tier 2: Grant value of up to an additional $56,000 (exclusive of GST). The rate of assistance is available at 50 per cent of the eligible expenditure. Assistance to individuals is available to develop management skills required to progress their innovation towards commercialisation. Grants to individuals are limited to $5,000

For many companies, COMET assistance is a valuable and much needed source of funding. However assistance through this program is only available to 30 June 2011 so there has never been a better time to apply. Don’t delay or you may lose out on this fantastic opportunity to secure the future of your business.

Are you eligible?

If you fit the following criteria you may be eligible for the COMET grant and should contact us immediately:

  • The innovation must have potential to be commercialised
  • The company must be less than 5 years old or have traded for less than 5 years
  • The applicant must not be related to a university
  • At least 51% of the applicant’s current business activities, employees or assets must be located within Australia.
  • All intellectual property necessary to commercialise the innovation must be controlled by the applicant
  • Turnover for the last 2 years must be less than $8 million, with not more than $5 million turnover in either year
  •  Early-growth stage and spin off companies must be prepared to become a body corporate before they receive assistance

Furthermore if you wish to receive a capital injection you must be prepared to enter into a success fee agreement with a COMET business adviser.

How We Can Help

As COMET is such a competitive grant, it is essential that the business advisor you choose to work with is experienced and highly focused on getting the most out of your COMET grant.

That’s where we come in. Let the experienced people at Eardley Enterprises take the hassle out of the complicated application process and ensure that your chances of successfully receiving COMET assistance are the best they can be.

We will assist you throughout the whole process through:

  • Determining whether you are eligible for the program
  • Helping develop and implement an assistance plan
  • Guiding you through the claiming process
  • Developing and outlining procedures which will help you increase your chance of a successful application
  • Preparing and lodging your final application
  • Providing an assessment of your application to the COMET National Manager, Board delegate and Program delegate

Eardley Enterprises also works in other fields of Government grants such as R&D Tax Concessions and Offsets, Climate Ready and many others. We can determine whether you should apply for any other of these grants and help you with these as well, so contact us today and help us grow your business together.

 

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