Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program

Businesses throughout regional and remote Australia are facing wide-reaching challenges that have been rarely experienced before.

Even with all this adversity, they still continue to maintain their competitiveness and relevance in the market through innovation and determination.

To support these companies and in partnership with the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), we have developed the Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program.

The Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program aims to recognise and showcase individuals, businesses or organisations that are:

  • Innovators, disrupters or entrepreneurs inspiring others in their community
  • Champions of digital adoption
  • Continuing to facilitate the digital capabilities and benefits of nbn
  • Advocates of supporting regional businesses

Through this grant program, we aim to encourage you and your business’ technology-led ideas, supporting you as you take them to the next level by facilitating further growth and innovation.

Who can apply? 

We’re looking for digital savvy individuals, businesses and organisations in regional and remote Australia. Disruptors, innovators, entrepreneurs. People who live and breathe everything digital who are:

  • Harnessing the benefits of the nbn™ network to enable regional Australians to live, learn and work in a digital society
  • Innovative digital businesses that are disrupting traditional markets in regional Australia
  • Organisations who are lifting digital participation and stimulating regional economies
  • Champions of digital adoption for regional Australia
  • Regional businesses supporting Australians in similar areas

Grant categories

We are aiming to recognise business-led initiatives in the following categories:

Health

We're looking for individuals, businesses or organisations who are championing digital health in their community. This could include how they're delivering healthcare digitally, or helping to improve people's confidence in using innovative health solutions, like wearables, telehealth, electronic health records and e-prescriptions. 

1217351253

Arts

The digital transformation of your region’s arts and culture community is the key here. We’re looking for businesses and artists that are driving content and engagement, evolving the way artists engage digitally with their audiences, not just locally, but globally.

1224017404

Education    

We're looking for digital savvy individuals, businesses or organisations who are pushing the envelope with the way people learn and teach online, and helping to redefine the opportunities for regional and remote education.

1216391310

Agriculture

Are you an innovative producer, farmer or agribusiness owner looking to explore new tech opportunities? Are you looking for innovative ways of streamlining the way you do business - connecting the paddock to the plate and beyond? The Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program may be able to help!

1180642027

Tourism

We’re looking for successful tourism specialists with hopes of further optimising their business’s unique experience through digital channels. Ideally, you want to increase the exposure and reach of your local region to potential travellers by engaging would-be travellers with digital innovation.

Receptionist working at the front desk

Women in regional business

As women in business you connect with audiences inside and out of their regional communities, helping to expand market-reach and operations, with an end-goal of driving community-led change through digital innovation.

1180466061

Indigenous Business

As an Indigenous business owner you aspire to bridge the digital divide and positively encourage digital independence, growth and strive for self sufficiency.

1225016353

Grants

The program will award one grant of $10,000 to an organisation or business project aligned with each of the above categories. Application are only open to one category. Additionally, one regional/remote business or individual will be recognised and awarded with the inaugural ‘Innovate with nbn™ award’ worth $25,000.

5 x $10,000

Covering each of the segments:

  • Agriculture
  • Health
  • Education
  • Tourism
  • Arts

$10,000

Innovate with nbn™ Regional Women in Business Grant

$10,000

Innovate with nbn™ Indigenous Business Grant

$25,000

Innovate with nbn™ Overall winner

Applications

Applications closed on 30 November 2020.

Successful Grant recipients will be announced February 2021.

If your application has been successful, we will contact you to discuss next steps and when we will announce the winners. If you’re not selected for a grant in one of our designated categories, we’ll email you a notification in the new year to let you know. As you can imagine, with so many great applications, deciding where to allocate funds won’t be easy.

Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program partners:

nbn

nbn is commited to lifting the digital capability of Australia, helping Australians to have access to a fast, reliable broadband network.

Regional and remote communities across Australia are a priority for nbn, and in 2019 a dedicated business unit - nbn™ Regional & Remote – was created to help meet the needs of customers in rural and regional Australia, while aiming to raise the digital capability of these areas.

Regional Australia Institute (RAI)
The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) is a think tank that’s passionate about issues concerning regional Australia. The Institute works with regional leaders and all levels of government across the nation to help understand the challenges, strengthen opportunities and initiate future possibilities for regional Australians.