International Partnerships in Critical Minerals

Eligible projects must be early to mid-stage critical minerals projects that occur between the post-exploration and final investment decision stages and contribute to building end-to-end supply chains with Australia’s international partners in the critical minerals sector. Activities must be substantially undertaken in Australia and must produce, or be planning to produce, one or more critical minerals listed on Australia’s Critical Minerals List. Eligible activities include pilot plants, feasibility studies, capacity expansions, scoping work for infrastructure upgrades and research and development collaboration. Project expenditure must be incurred between the project start and end dates specified in the grant agreement; expenditure incurred before the project start date is not eligible. Overseas labour costs are eligible but are capped at AU$175,000 per annum per overseas staff member and count towards a 10% cap on overseas spending for the project; if overseas staff are not direct employees they must be claimed as contractors. The depreciated cost and running costs of pre-existing plant and equipment used directly on the project during the project period are eligible if verifiable and in accordance with Commissioner of Taxation rules. Applicants must be incorporated in Australia, be a trading corporation with an ABN/ACN, be non-income-tax-exempt and registered for GST. Commonwealth, State, Territory or local government bodies, including government business enterprises, are not eligible. State and territory governments are therefore ineligible. Aboriginal-owned entities are eligible if they meet the general entity requirements (ABN/ACN, non-income-tax-exempt, GST-registered). Overseas entities cannot apply as the lead applicant. International partners may include foreign governments, state-owned enterprises, private sector and other commercial entities, but must take an active involvement in the project and enter into a formal arrangement with the lead applicant prior to execution of the grant agreement. At application stage, applicants must provide evidence of the relationship with the international partner, such as a letter of support, and include information about the relationship as set out in the grant opportunity guidelines. Applicants must declare all known foreign affiliations for both the lead applicant and all project partners, including the international partner. Applications are assessed against three merit criteria (allocated 40, 40 and 20 points respectively) and must score at least 50% against each criterion to be considered for funding, as well as demonstrate value with relevant money. The minimum grant is $2 million and the maximum is $20 million, covering up to 50% of eligible project expenditure, implying a minimum total eligible project expenditure of $4 million. Government bodies at all levels are ineligible to apply.