Through its Strategic Community Plan the City is committed to providing for a sustainable and diverse local economy that attracts increased investment and provides local employment.
The Economic Development (Business) Grants program provides a focus on supporting the local business community through facilitating opportunities for local business, local activity centres and industry to thrive.
To apply for Community Funding for Local Economic Development, an applicant must:
Applicants that will be procuring from suppliers based within City of Cockburn will be favourably considered.
Grants of $5,000 are available in the following streams:
Projects must be delivered within 12 months, with an acquittal submitted within one month of completion.
Application criteria can be found below for each grant stream.
A. Technology/Digital enhancements
Costs associated with online and e-commerce activities, including the purchase of software, hardware and services in any of the following areas, to support a business’s sustainability and promote economic growth:
Hardware purchases must be matched funding (i.e. the City will contribute 50% of the cost provided that the applicant contributes 50%)
B. Enhancements to local retail and employment centres
Costs associated with enhancing the destination and visitor experience in local activity centres. A local retail and employment centre is a community focal point, and can include activities such as commercial, retail, entertainment, tourism, civic/community, education and medical services. Eligible improvements may include the following, subject to council approval where required:
Please note:
Applicants must obtain the relevant approvals and permits, including compliance with the City’s planning framework and the Building Code of Australia
Applicants that will be procuring from suppliers based in the City of Cockburn will be favourably considered.
C. Promotion of innovation
Encouraging new and innovative practices and products in small to medium businesses in the City of Cockburn, across three areas:
Other projects with an innovation focus may also be considered, so please consider applying for this funding if your business is eligible.
D. Assisting businesses with COVID-19 recovery
The City is committed to helping the local business community recover and rebound from the impacts of COVID-19.
This program will fund measures that will assist businesses to reopen and adapt following the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant has been developed to encourage businesses within the City boundaries to develop capacity, invest in their premises, encourage community visitation, attract new customers, build exposure and ultimately be a financially sustainable business.
The maximum funding available to any organisation in Community Funding for Local Economic Development category will not exceed $5,000.
Please note that Economic Development Grants will be offered ongoing throughout the year, broken into two separate rounds. Applications will be assessed and awarded on an ongoing basis.
Funding cannot be awarded retrospectively.
IMPORTANT: Please read information below to assist you in completing your application online.
Welcome to the City of Cockburn's online grant application service, powered by SmartyGrants.
You may begin anywhere in this application form. Please ensure you save as you go as you will be logged out after 60 minutes of inactivity.
If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
On every screen (page of the form) you will find a Form Navigation contents box, this links directly to every page of the application. Click the link to jump directly to the page you want.
You can also click 'next page' or 'previous page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the application.
If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off.
You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.
You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it.
Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.
Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible.
When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register.
If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted.
Hint: also check the email hasn’t landed in your spam or junk email folder.
You may need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is very simple, but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device.
You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.
A number of people can work on an application using the same log in details as long as only one person is working at a time. Ensure you save as you go.
Most internet browsers (including Firefox v2.0 and above; Safari; and Google Chrome) have spell checking facilities built in – you can switch this function on or off by adjusting your browser settings.