Nine things startups need to know about the 2024-25 federal budget

It’s budget time again and in the lead up we saw a great deal of wishlists from the startup sector. Unfortunately, a great deal of them have gone unfulfilled.

And this isn’t entirely surprising. Despite posting two surplusses in a row, it’s been clear this government would be focused on measures to help alleviate cost of living pressures. The back-to-basics approach means many of the key line items have not made the cut.

But this doesn’t mean the startup and tech sectors were entirely left out. There were still a number of items that are of interest, particularly for those operating in the spaces that the government considers key industries.

But as a whole, a lot of what’s on this list isn’t specific to the Australian startup sector.

$1.7 billion for the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund

This will be over 10 years and will be administered by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

The 2024-25 budget papers are somewhat vague regarding specifics, stating the fund will support “innovation, commercialisation, pilot and demonstration projects and early stage development in priority sectors”.

The papers specifically call out renewable hydrogen, green metals, low-carbon liquid fuels and clean energy manufacturing such as batteries as target areas for the fund.

Read the full story here.

$470 million for PsiQuantum

This one was announced a few weeks back, so we doubt you missed it. This is a $940 million co-investment between the federal and Queensland governments into quantum computing startup PsiQuantum. It is based in Silicon Valley but was founded by Australians.

As part of the agreement, the startup will build its regional headquarters in Brisbane in the hope that Australia becomes a home base for quantum computing innovation.

Read the full story here.

Nothing resembling an entrepreneur program

There was absolutely no love for anything resembling an entrepreneur’s program in this year’s budget – up to and including the controversial Boosting Female Founders program.

This is disappointing, but not entirely surprising.

Here’s why.

Instant asset write-off extension

On Monday the government announced the $20,000 instant asset write-off scheme will be extended to June 2025. This is exactly what happened in last year’s federal budget, however, the legislation surrounding the extension is yet to pass parliament.

There has been some debate on whether this threshold should be increased further, with the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) calling for it to be raised to $150,000.

Here’s a full explainer on how this actually works.

$21.6 million for the National AI Centre (NAIC)

While not directly related to putting cash into the hands of startups, this measure is tangentially relevant.

The startup and tech sectors have been dominated by the AI conversation for the past 18 months. As such, seeing how the government is approaching AI is absolutely worth keeping an eye on, particularly when it can have a trickle-down effect through various grants and programs.

We saw this recently with the Australian government providing cash – which was slated in the 2023-24 budget – to encourage AI-related education in Australian small businesses.

In this case, $21.6 million over four years is going towards reshaping NAIC as well as establishing an AI advisory body within the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR).

Read the full story here.

$4.8 million for South-East Asia

We already knew about this one, but in case you missed it: $4.8 million across four years will be set aside for two additional “Landing Pads” for Australian tech startups.

These will be located in Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City and will be run through Austrade’s Landing Pads program.

Getting paid on time

Around $25 million over four years is being earmarked to improve payment times for small businesses. The cash will flow into the Payment Times Reporting Regulator to implement reforms recommended by the statutory review of the Payment Times Reporting Act 2020.

This will include more resources for the regulator and upgrading its ICT infrastructure.

It’s definitely a tangential one, but hopefully, it will help your invoices get paid in a timely manner… at some point.

Energy bill relief

Around one million eligible small businesses across Australia will be entitled to a $325 energy bill rebate. This will kick off on July 1, 2024.

Right to disconnect

Here’s an interesting one for anyone who expects their startup employees to hustle as much as they do.

The Fair Work Ombudsman is getting $20.5 million to enhance (and make permanent) the Employer Advisory Service. Part of this will be to help employers implement the new right to disconnect law.

To see SmartCompany‘s full budget coverage, click here.

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