Adrian Spencer

The Commercialisation Australia program, the successor to the Government's COMET scheme, has proved a boon to many but a bane to others. Inevitably it was going to have a few teething problems. As with any new incentive program, it can involve navigating the industry-specific details to work out whether it's right for your business. Here, Adrian Spencer explains the pros and cons that the grant can have for the technology sector.

In a pre-Christmas treat, the Rudd Government uncorked $196 million of funding, to be delivered through Commercialisation Australia (CA).While most of us were busy opening presents and welcoming in the New Year, this one gift remained for many to discover after returning to work! So how does it work?

Firstly, let's clear up some confusion. Commercialisation Australia is not going to pay for your marketing campaign, help you with advertising or fund you to break into your desired market. CA will help you up to the point that you are ready to go commercial. That is, it will help with pre-commercialisation.

The Federal Government has just launched a new grant for third party service providers to help small and home based businesses with: • ‘free or low cost’ IT skills development • training and mentoring services • improved web presence and e-business capability Funding is available up to $500,000.

The place of interaction between government and industry is often clouded with confusion, perplexity and frustration, where it seems as though no one is...