Reduce Your Investment

Government funding for your AI project

Federal and Queensland programs can cut the cost of an AI project.

Tax incentives Matched grants Subsidised advice
How It Works

Three shapes government support takes

Programs come and go, and their rules change. The shapes stay the same.

Tax incentives

Claimed through your tax return

Offsets and deductions that reduce what you pay when a project involves research and development, or when you buy equipment and software to run it. Your accountant claims these, and they usually need the project costed and documented as it happens.

Matched grants

You put money in, the program matches it

Federal, state and university programs that match your investment in a defined project, often one that involves research partners or new technology. These open in rounds, carry eligibility rules on turnover and industry, and reward a scoped project with numbers behind it.

Subsidised advice and programs

Free or low-cost expertise

Advisory sessions, research access and accelerator-style programs funded by government or run through universities and research agencies. A good fit when you want expert input before you commit to a build.

Where To Look

The official sources for what is open now

These are the pages the programs themselves are published on.

business.gov.au

Federal grants and programs finder

The Australian Government's single list of grants, programs and tax incentives, filterable by state, industry and business size.

Business Queensland

Queensland Government grants and support

State programs for Queensland businesses, including the small-business grants that open in rounds through the year.

Australian Taxation Office

Tax incentives and deductions

The current rules for research and development incentives and for deducting equipment and software. Your accountant works from here.

CSIRO

Research partnerships for small and medium businesses

Matched-funding and research-access programs for businesses building something new with a research partner.

University of the Sunshine Coast

Regional industry partnerships

Industry partnership and research collaboration programs for businesses on the Sunshine Coast and across regional Queensland.

Austrade

Support for businesses selling overseas

Export-related grants and market programs, relevant if the AI project supports work you sell outside Australia.

Where We Fit

Arrive with a costed project

Programs fund defined projects with numbers behind them. That is what the AI Scan produces.

1. Scope it

The AI Scan finds the one job worth handing to AI first and sizes it in hours and dollars, with the build described in plain terms.

2. Check it

You and your accountant or grant adviser take that scope to the official sources above and confirm which programs fit and what they need.

3. Build it

Funded or not, the build runs the same way: a live pilot on your own work, with the numbers tracked from day one so the result is documented for any claim.

Common Questions

Funding questions we get asked

Can government funding cover an AI project?

Often, yes. Federal and Queensland programs support small and medium businesses adopting new technology, in three shapes: tax incentives, matched grants and subsidised advice. The official sources on this page show what is open now.

Which programs apply to my business?

It depends on your turnover, your industry and what the project involves. The official finders at business.gov.au and Business Queensland let you filter on those, and your accountant or a grant adviser confirms eligibility before you apply.

What is available for a Sunshine Coast or Brisbane business?

State and federal programs both apply across South East Queensland, and regional universities including the University of the Sunshine Coast run industry partnership programs for local businesses. Check Business Queensland for state programs and business.gov.au for federal ones.

Does Blue Seas AI help with the application?

We scope the project. The AI Scan gives you the job, the hours and the dollars an application needs. The application itself sits with you and your adviser.

Start with the project

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