Proven Tips to Claim Export Market Development Grants

The Export Market Development Grant reimburses up to 50% of eligible export promotion expenses for Australian businesses entering or growing in international markets.

If your business has been testing offshore demand, attending trade shows, or building an international presence, EMDG is one of the few government programs that can recover costs already spent. Unlike other grant schemes that require upfront applications or project plans, EMDG operates as a retrospective reimbursement. You incur the expense, document it properly, and claim it back once the financial year closes.

The scheme is managed by Austrade and designed specifically for small to medium businesses. It covers a range of promotional activities that would otherwise sit as sunk costs on your P&L. The maximum grant varies depending on how many times you have claimed before, but first-time applicants can receive up to $150,000 in a single year. Repeat claimants are capped at lower amounts, with the total number of grants per business limited to eight over its lifetime.

What separates a funded claim from a rejected one is how well you connect each expense to genuine export promotion and how thoroughly you document the activity. Austrade does not fund general business operations or domestic marketing that happens to mention overseas interest. The expense must be incurred for the purpose of promoting goods or services to export markets.

What Expenses Qualify Under the EMDG Scheme

Eligible expenses fall into defined categories, all of which must relate directly to promoting your product or service to buyers outside Australia.

Overseas travel is claimable when the purpose is attending a trade event, meeting prospective distributors, or conducting market research in the target country. Flights, accommodation, and meals are all included, but only for the number of days directly connected to export activity. If you extend the trip for a personal holiday or unrelated business, those days must be excluded. Marketing and advertising expenses in offshore markets qualify, including digital campaigns, print media in foreign publications, and promotional materials translated for a specific region. Website localisation costs are claimable if the site is developed specifically for an export market, such as hosting a version in Mandarin for Chinese buyers or setting up region-specific payment gateways.

Trade show costs are among the most commonly claimed expenses. Booth fees, stand construction, freight of display stock, and staff travel to the event all qualify. Representation at offshore trade shows by an agent or distributor also qualifies if you are paying the cost of their attendance on your behalf. Free samples sent to potential buyers, provided they are clearly promotional and not sold, can be claimed at cost price. Insurance, patents, and trademarks registered in export markets are eligible, as are communications expenses such as dedicated phone lines or video conferencing subscriptions used for liaising with offshore clients.

Consider a manufacturer of skincare products that attended a beauty trade show in Los Angeles and ran a three-month Instagram campaign targeted at US consumers. The business spent $12,000 on the trade show, including booth hire, flights for two staff members, and freight of product samples. The social media campaign, managed by a US-based agency, cost another $8,000. Both expenses are fully claimable under EMDG, provided the business can show that the campaign was geo-targeted to the US and that the trade show was an approved industry event. The reimbursement on $20,000 of eligible spend would be $10,000, assuming the business met the minimum threshold and claimed at the 50% rate.

How the Calculation and Thresholds Work

EMDG does not reimburse every dollar spent on export promotion. There is a minimum threshold of $15,000 in eligible expenses before any grant is payable, and only the amount above that threshold is reimbursed.

If your total claimable expenses are $25,000, the grant is calculated on $10,000, which would result in a $5,000 reimbursement at the standard 50% rate. First-time applicants are reimbursed at 50% of expenditure above the threshold, up to a cap of $150,000. For second and third claims, the cap reduces. By the time you reach your seventh or eighth claim, the maximum reimbursement drops significantly, and the scheme is designed to taper off support as your export activities mature.

The $15,000 threshold applies to eligible expenses only. You cannot include domestic costs, general overheads, or salaries to reach the minimum. The expenditure must be clearly tied to export promotion and incurred during the relevant financial year. Some businesses rush to meet the threshold by inflating claims with borderline expenses. Austrade reviews every line, and poorly supported claims are either reduced or rejected outright. If you are close to the threshold but not confident you will exceed it, consider whether deferring certain activities to the following year would result in a stronger claim.

Ineligible expenses include general staff salaries, office rent, legal fees unrelated to IP protection in export markets, and any cost incurred in Australia that does not have a direct offshore promotional purpose. Goods sold to overseas buyers are not claimable, even if sold at a loss. EMDG is not a subsidy for product pricing. It is a reimbursement for the cost of reaching the buyer, not the cost of the goods themselves.

Registration and Application Timing

You must be registered with Austrade as an EMDG applicant before you lodge your first claim, and ideally before you start incurring the expenses you plan to claim.

While retrospective registration is allowed in some cases, registering in advance shows intent and reduces the risk of a compliance issue later. Registration requires you to nominate the goods or services you intend to export and provide evidence that your business is capable of delivering on offshore contracts. You do not need to have completed an export sale at the time of registration, but you do need to demonstrate that export activity is underway or imminent.

Claims are lodged annually and must be submitted within four months of the end of your financial year. If your business operates on a standard 30 June year-end, the claim is due by 30 November. Missing the deadline means forfeiting that year's grant entirely, and there is no mechanism to lodge late without exceptional circumstances. Austrade does not send reminders. The responsibility to lodge on time sits with the applicant, which is one reason many businesses engage an advisor to manage the process and keep the lodgement schedule under control.

Once lodged, claims are assessed by Austrade officers who review supporting documentation, cross-check expenditure against the eligibility criteria, and may request additional evidence if anything is unclear. Payment is typically made within 60 to 90 days of a successful assessment, though this can extend during peak lodgement periods.

Record Keeping and Documentation Standards

Austrade requires a level of documentation that exceeds what most businesses maintain for standard tax purposes. Every expense claimed must be supported by a tax invoice, proof of payment, and evidence of the export-related activity.

For travel expenses, you need flight itineraries, accommodation receipts, and a record of the meetings or events attended. A calendar entry or email confirmation from the trade show organiser is usually sufficient. For marketing costs, provide the invoice from the agency, proof that the campaign was delivered to an offshore audience, and screenshots or reports showing the geographic targeting. If you paid for a booth at a trade fair, include the event brochure, your booking confirmation, and photos of the booth setup if available.

Payment records should show that funds left your Australian bank account and were received by the offshore supplier. Credit card statements are acceptable if they clearly identify the recipient and the amount. If you paid an agent or contractor to represent your business overseas, document the scope of their work and confirm that the activity they performed falls within EMDG guidelines.

In our experience, the most common reason claims are reduced is incomplete documentation, not ineligible activity. A marketing campaign that clearly promotes your product to offshore buyers will be rejected if you cannot prove the campaign ran, where it ran, or what you paid for it. Build the evidence file as you go rather than reconstructing it months later when details are harder to recall.

For businesses working with an R&D advisor or accountant, the documentation standards for EMDG are comparable to those required for R&D tax claims. Both schemes demand precision, and both benefit from structured record-keeping systems set up before the expenditure occurs.

When EMDG Works Alongside Other Funding Programs

EMDG can be claimed in the same financial year as other government grants or incentives, provided there is no double-dipping on the same expense.

If you received a state government grant that reimbursed your trade show costs, you cannot also claim those costs under EMDG. However, if the state grant covered product development and EMDG covers offshore marketing, both can run concurrently without conflict. The key is separating the expense categories and ensuring that each dollar claimed is only reimbursed once.

Some businesses combine EMDG with the R&D tax incentive when they are developing a product for export and simultaneously promoting it offshore. The R&D claim covers experimental development costs, while EMDG covers the promotional work. This approach works particularly well for technology companies, manufacturers, and food producers who are innovating and internationalising at the same time. An R&D registration with the ATO and an EMDG claim with Austrade can both be lodged in the same year, each targeting a different cost base.

If you are applying for other business grants, check the terms carefully. Some grants prohibit using the funded amount as the basis for another claim. Others allow it but require you to disclose all sources of government support when lodging. Austrade asks explicitly whether any of the claimed expenses have been reimbursed elsewhere, and providing inaccurate information can result in the entire claim being disqualified.

Building a Claim That Reflects Genuine Export Intent

Austrade assesses not only whether an expense is claimable, but whether your business is genuinely engaged in export activity as opposed to testing the water with minimal commitment.

A single exploratory trip offshore with no follow-up, no ongoing marketing, and no evidence of export readiness is unlikely to be viewed favourably. EMDG is designed to support businesses that are actively building offshore revenue, not those dipping a toe in occasionally. If your claim shows a pattern of sustained activity, multiple markets, repeat engagement, or a clear progression from research to promotion to sales conversations, it is far more likely to be approved in full.

That does not mean you need to have completed an export sale before claiming. Many businesses lodge their first EMDG claim while still in the lead generation phase. What matters is that the activity you are claiming for is purposeful, targeted, and part of a broader export strategy rather than ad hoc spending with an international flavour.

One scenario we see regularly involves a business that runs a digital marketing campaign across three offshore markets, attends two trade events, and engages a distributor in one region. Total expenditure sits at $35,000. The business has not yet made a sale, but it has a pipeline of qualified leads, signed terms with the distributor, and a content calendar for the following quarter. That claim would typically be assessed positively because the expenditure is coherent and the intent is clear. Compare that to a business that spent $18,000 on a single offshore trip with no structured agenda, no follow-up plan, and no ongoing activity. Even if the expenses are technically eligible, the lack of strategic context may lead to questions or reductions.

Engaging Support to Manage the Claim Process

Many businesses lodge EMDG claims without external assistance, particularly if the expenditure is straightforward and the documentation is well organised. Others engage a consultant or accountant who specialises in government incentives, particularly when the claim is large, the activities are complex, or the business is lodging for the first time.

An advisor familiar with the EMDG guidelines can review your expenditure before year-end, identify any gaps in documentation, and structure the claim to align with Austrade's assessment priorities. They can also help you plan future export activity to maximise eligibility in subsequent years, particularly if you are approaching the threshold or managing expenditure across multiple financial years.

If your business already works with a virtual CFO or advisory team for strategic planning, EMDG should be part of the conversation when building your budgeting and forecasting model. Export costs are often treated as discretionary spending, but if half of that cost is recoverable through EMDG, the ROI calculation changes significantly. Planning offshore activity with the grant in mind allows you to commit to higher-impact marketing, attend more events, and move faster in target markets without overextending your cash flow.

Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you to discuss how EMDG applies to your export plans and whether your current expenditure supports a viable claim.

Frequently Asked Questions