Small Business Grants for Women in Australia

Three Kinds of Grant for Women in Business

Grants for women in business in Australia come in three shapes, and knowing which is which saves weeks of chasing the wrong one. The first is a grant paid to the founder or her business, usually in a competitive round with a co-contribution: the Boosting Female Founders Initiative nationally, FoundHer in South Australia, Brisbane's Lord Mayor's Women in Business Grant, and the concessional stream of NSW's MVP Ventures that includes majority women-owned businesses. The second is co-investment, where the government matches money that private investors put in, sometimes taking equity: Victoria's Alice Anderson Fund and Queensland's Female Founders Co-Investment Fund. The third is money paid to organisations to run programs that women then join, such as Queensland's Accelerating Female Founders, where the founder applies to the program rather than for the grant.

Most run in rounds that open for a few weeks a year, and several of the best-known are closed at any given moment. This guide lists what each program offers and where it stood on 9 September 2026, checked against the administering agency's own page, and finishes with how to find the next open round.

How to Find a Round That Is Open

Two habits do most of the work. Search the grants and programs finder on business.gov.au, which lists federal and many state programs with their status, GrantConnect (grants.gov.au) for Commonwealth grant opportunities, and the grants finder on your state's business portal (Business Victoria, the NSW Government's grants page, Business Queensland, business.sa.gov.au, WA.gov.au, Business Tasmania, the ACT and NT business sites). Then sign up for the alerts on any program that interests you, because rounds are often announced weeks before they open and close four to six weeks later.

Read the eligibility before the amount. Most grants for women require majority female ownership and leadership, an ABN, a turnover cap, and a cash co-contribution that the business must show it can fund; several are limited to innovation-driven or exporting businesses rather than any small business.

National Business Grants in Australia

Boosting Female Founders Initiative

The Commonwealth's Boosting Female Founders Initiative funds start-ups that are majority owned and led by women to scale into domestic and global markets. Round 3 offered grants of $100,000 to $400,000, and up to $480,000 for priority groups, on a co-contribution basis; in Round 2 the grant covered up to 50% of eligible project costs, or up to 70% for applicants meeting additional criteria, with the business paying the rest in cash. As at 19 August 2026, both Round 2 and Round 3 are closed to applications, including Round 3's expression of interest stage, and the program page says further rounds will be available. It is the largest women-specific grant in the country and the one to watch.

Business Grants in Victoria

The Alice Anderson Fund

LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund is a $10 million sidecar fund for women-led start-ups. It co-invests $50,000 to $300,000 alongside private investors at a 3:1 ratio, and 85 cents in each dollar is taken as equity with the remaining 15 cents provided as a non-dilutive grant. The start-up must be Victorian, with at least half its assets and employees in the state, and the application comes from the investor rather than the founder. Applications are taken on a rolling basis; as at 30 July 2026, investment committee dates for the second half of 2026 were still being finalised.

Victorian Women's Trust

The Victorian Women's Trust funds community projects that benefit women, girls and gender-diverse people across Victoria, with the grants listed on its page ranging from about $1,400 to $15,000 and going to organisations rather than businesses. It is not a business grant, but a founder running a community-facing project with a not-for-profit partner may find it fits.

Business Grants in New South Wales

MVP Ventures Program

The NSW Government's MVP Ventures Program funds the commercialisation of a minimum viable product by early-stage businesses headquartered in NSW with turnover of $400,000 or less and no more than ten full-time equivalent staff, founders included. Stream 1 offers $20,000 to $50,000 with a 50% co-contribution. Stream 2 offers $20,000 to $75,000 with a 25% co-contribution to businesses that are majority women-owned and managed, regionally headquartered, or majority Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander owned and managed. The program ran three rounds between September 2025 and April 2026, each open for about four weeks, the last closing on 10 April 2026; as at 16 March 2026 the page announced no further round, so sign up for its alerts.

2026/27 Investing in Women

Women NSW's Investing in Women program funds projects under the NSW Women's Strategy with grants of $25,000 to $750,000, and its eligible applicants include majority women-owned and managed small businesses that are incorporated with an ABN, though not sole traders or individuals. The 2026/27 round opened on 17 February 2026 and closed on 13 March 2026; it has run annually, so the next round is the one to prepare a project for.

Business Grants in Queensland

Female Founders Co-Investment Fund

Queensland's Female Founders Co-Investment Fund pre-approves grants of $50,000 to $200,000 (excluding GST) for innovation-driven businesses that are Queensland-headquartered, at least 51% owned by women and led by a woman in a primary executive role, with no more than 50 full-time staff and no more than $500,000 raised in previous capital raises. The grant is paid once the business secures external investment at a 1:3 ratio, within 180 days of provisional approval. As at 18 June 2026 the fund was open on a first-come basis with a closing date of 30 June 2027, but described as close to fully allocated, so an application now is a long shot worth taking quickly.

Accelerating Female Founders Program

Accelerating Female Founders funds organisations to deliver business support initiatives for innovative Queensland female founders. Round 2 provider applications are closed and, as at 16 July 2026, most of the Round 2 initiatives had finished delivery, with only a couple still taking registrations; watch the page for a Round 3.

Lord Mayor's Women in Business Grant

Brisbane's Lord Mayor's Women in Business Grant, run by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency through Brisbane Business Hub, offers up to $5,000 excluding GST from a $250,000 pool to women with at least 50% ownership of a business headquartered or with outlets in the Brisbane local government area, with an active Queensland-registered ABN, annual turnover between $75,000 and $500,000 and a full financial year of trading. The current round opened on 1 September 2026 and closes at 4pm on 6 October 2026, which makes it the one women-in-business grant in this guide open on the day it was checked.

Business Grants in South Australia

FoundHer Grant Program

South Australia's FoundHer Grant Program, delivered with Women in Innovation, offers $110,000 a year to South Australian women founders: four $20,000 Launch Grants for founders validating an opportunity and preparing to scale, and one $30,000 FoundHer Elevate Grant for a high-growth business expanding nationally or internationally. Applications for the 2026 program have closed, with recipients to be announced at the Women in Innovation Awards on 6 November 2026; the program ran in earlier years as the Fearless Innovator Grant.

Seed-Start

The state's Seed-Start program, part of the Research and Innovation Fund, is open to any South Australian company commercialising an innovative product or service, not only women-led ones. Seed Grants run from $50,000 to $100,000 at 2:1 matched funding over up to two years; Start Grants from $100,001 to $500,000 at 1:1 over up to three years. The company must be GST-registered with average net sales under $2 million over the prior three years. The page carries an application form with no closing date; confirm the current round with the Department of State Development before committing time.

Business Grants in Western Australia

Women's Grants for a Stronger Future

The WA Government's Women's Grants for a Stronger Future fund initiatives under Stronger Together, WA's plan for gender equality, including women's economic independence and leadership, with annual grants of up to $10,000 (excluding GST) for one-off initiatives and up to $150,000 under a safety and justice stream. It is a community grants program for organisations and community groups rather than a business grant, so a founder needs a project and a partner rather than a business case. The 2025-26 round closed in October 2025; the page, updated 3 August 2026, is where the next round will be announced.

Business Grants in the ACT

Innovation Connect (ICON) Grants

The Canberra Innovation Network runs ICON for the ACT Government: matched-funded grants of $10,000 to $30,000 for early-stage innovative entrepreneurs and start-ups in Canberra, open to founders of any gender. Applicants start with an introductory meeting booked through the program page, which as at September 2026 shows no current round dates and lists recipients from 2024 as the most recent, so ask CBRIN before planning around it.

Business Grants in the Northern Territory

Business Innovation Program

The NT's Business Innovation Program, which offered up to $30,000 in grant funding plus advisory support across planning, development and commercialisation stages, is closed and under review as at the page's last update on 22 September 2025.

Global Trade Scheme

The Global Trade Scheme stays open all year or until its funding is allocated, for NT businesses with turnover between $75,000 and $10 million: up to $3,000 to become export ready, up to $10,000 to grow export markets, and up to $50,000 for a cluster or industry association project.

Business Grants in Tasmania

Tasmania has no women-specific business grant open as at September 2026. The state's Supporting Women to Succeed program funded projects run by organisations, including private enterprises, to improve outcomes for women in industry rather than a woman's own business, and its only round closed in July 2021. The small business growth grant this guide once listed is no longer published on Business Tasmania, whose grant finder is the place to check for current small business rounds.

What to Have Ready

Rounds close fast, and many applications are knocked out on eligibility and paperwork before merit is assessed. Have the ABN and company details, the last two years of financials or a start-up forecast, evidence of the co-contribution cash, quotes for what the grant would buy, a one-page project plan with milestones, and proof of ownership and leadership by women ready before a round opens. Read the guidelines twice, answer the assessment criteria in order, and ask the program office the questions the guidelines leave open.

Grants Are Not the Only Money

Grants are competitive, slow and tied to a project. A business that needs working capital, equipment or a vehicle this quarter is usually better served by finance sized to the purpose, with a grant application running alongside it. Emu Money's finance specialists compare options from 50+ lenders; complete the get started form and someone will be in touch.

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