New defence grants program launched

Small-to-medium businesses will be able to apply for grants of up to half a million dollars after Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price launched the Skilling Australia’s Defence Industry (SADI) Grants program. The SADI program will deliver A$39 million over the next three years, with A$17 million per year in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, to support a skilled workforce in the defence industry sector. The funding is part of the government’s A$1 billion investment package to boost Australia’s defence industry and support thousands of jobs across the country. The SADI program will fund activities including support for technical and trade skills training, improved human resources practices, apprenticeship supervision, and on the job training support. Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price. “I am proud to support small-to-medium Australian businesses in the defence sector by providing opportunities to upskill and retrain their staff through the SADI Grants program,” Price said. “This initiative will provide certainty to businesses looking for ways to grow their workforce skills and ensure those skills are up-to-date.” Funding is also available for industry associations to facilitate training for defence industry small-to-medium businesses to meet their Defence capability training requirements. “This is just one of the ways the Morrison government is supporting small businesses during this time of economic uncertainty,” Price said. “The development of a robust, resilient and internationally competitive defence industry is key to supporting Defence capability needs and will foster economic growth. I encourage businesses nationwide to take advantage of this unique skills program.” The program is a key initiative of the government’s 2019 Defence Industry Skilling and STEM Strategy, and will be delivered through the Centre for Defence Industry Capability. More information is available here. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Director of Sales Graham Joss at [email protected]