WA businesses urged to apply for federal funding to support local business events

The opening of applications for the Australian federal government’s AUD$50m Business Events Grants Programme has prompted the Western Australian business events leaders to encourage organisers and planners to apply for support. Twenty Western Australian business events have made it onto the approved schedule of business events, which are eligible for the programme that is offering between AUD$10,000 and AUD$250,000 to offset the cost for delegates and exhibitors attending pre-approved business events. Business Events Perth chief executive Gareth Martin urged local exhibitors and delegates to apply for the funding, saying it would provide welcome relief to the business event sector. “As we all know the Covid pandemic has caused monumental challenges to the business events industry, with gathering restrictions and the inability for international and interstate visitors to come to Western Australia, sparking widespread postponements and cancellations of events over the past 12 months,” Martin said. “By reducing the cost for buyers and sellers to meet, connect and collaborate at a business event, this programme is not just aiding in the recovery of the events sector, it’s also stimulating increased activity in the business events supply chain,” he added, pointing out that business events are a huge economic contributor to the local economy with conferences and exhibitions providing opportunities for local businesses such as caterers, photographers, hire companies, audio-visual and staging personnel, as well as attracting high yielding business visitors that stay in Perth’s hotels and eat in the restaurants. “The Business Events Grants Programme will be instrumental in kickstarting Western Australia’s business events sector, with generous grants available to cover up to 50% of costs incurred as part of participating in a pre-approved business event,” Martin noted. Before the onset of the pandemic, the business events sector in Australia was estimated to worth AUD$35bn in direct economic impact to the national economy, with Western Australia’s share worth about $2.5 billion. Martin added that Business Events Perth’s Event Here Now campaign had supported 110 local business events since it was launched in August 2020. “Through our Event Here Now initiative Business Events Perth is offering up to AUD$30,000 in sponsorship to local business events, and this programme has been hugely successful, bringing together more than 56,000 delegates to connect and collaborate in person,” he said. Grants are available to Australian businesses to participate as buyers or sellers at pre-approved exhibitions, conferences and conventions held before 31 December 2021. Applications are now open and close on 30 March Lodge an application here. To see the list of approved Western Australian business events, click here.