Frequently Asked Questions - Algal Bloom Resilience Grant

Applications open Tuesday, 21 October 2025 and close 31 March 2026, or when funding is exhausted (whichever occurs sooner).

Applications will be assessed and approved subject to a merit-based process, on a rolling basis, in the order as they are received (i.e funding will be awarded on a first come first served basis). Once funding has been fully allocated, the program will close.

A total of $3 million is available, with grants ranging from $25,000 up to $150,000 per eligible business.

To be eligible, you must be a South Australian fisheries and/or aquaculture licence holder. The full list of eligibility criteria is listed in the grant guidelines.

The Algal Bloom Resilience Grant must be used on an eligible project that builds business resilience, take advantage of new opportunities or help protect jobs. Funding may be used towards project-related costs, including:

• the purchase of new equipment, including freight and installation costs
• the replacement or upgrades to existing equipment which substantially improve resilience, expand business capabilities/operations or support algal bloom clean-up and repairs
• mentoring, research and development
• research providers and other service providers for capability development
• training and re-skilling existing staff
• payments to consultants (e.g. designers, engineers and technical specialists)
• algal bloom clean-up or repair of harvest area infrastructure.

This funding is not intended to support businesses seeking to exit current industries completely or cease operations in South Australia.

The Department is required to treat your personal information in compliance with the Government’s Information Privacy Principles. The Department may provide the personal information collected from you to Government employees, advisers or third parties so that the Department can manage, monitor and assess the program.

The Department or the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science may publicly announce details of successful applications including but not limited to, the name of applicant, project summary, estimated and actual economic outcomes and amount of funding, and publish personal information on the Department’s social media and websites.

Yes. To be eligible for this grant, your business must be impacted by the algal bloom and be able to demonstrate this by either:

• having been approved to receive/received a grant under the Algal Bloom Fisheries and Aquaculture Assistance Grant program; or
• had your licence fees waived by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions under the Algal Bloom Fee Relief Program.

Applicants are required to submit the following documents to support their application – failure to submit any of these documents may make your application ineligible for funding:

• a Resilience Plan for the proposed project using the supplied template;
• the most recent two years of financial statements and reports (displaying financial outcomes for at least three (3) full years), including a Profit and Loss Statement and a Statement of Financial Position, which identifies both assets and liabilities, prepared by a registered tax agent;
• copies of project quotes;
• details of all State and Commonwealth grants and loans received in the past two (2) years and any pending applications for grants and loans;
• any other supporting project preparation documentation (e.g. cost-benefit analysis, project scoping, options studies, design and other relevant work) demonstrating compliance with the Eligibility Criteria; and
• any other information requested from time to time by the Department of State Development or Department of Treasury and Finance through the application process.

Your projections should clearly outline expected business performance as a direct result of the project.

Projections should include:

• Fish sales and other income
• Operating expenses
• Depreciation
• Interest paid
• Fuel and oil costs
• Other relevant business expenses.

Your projections should clearly show the additional revenue and expenses as a result of the project, compared with existing operation.

Providing clear and realistic projections helps demonstrate value for money, long-term resilience and how the grant funding will strengthen your business over time.

You can download a Financial Projection Template here.

No. Any costs associated with preparing or submitting an application - such as engaging an accountant, consultant or other professional services - are the responsibility of the applicant.

Applicants should consider this when deciding whether to engage external assistance during the application process.

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide a Resilience Plan. The Resilience Plan template will help you reflect on your business and implement a project that will assist you with your long-term resilience and ongoing viability.

The Resilience Plan is a document that outlines details of the project you are applying for funding, including:

• details of your business and strategy/vision
• details of the project scope
• details of how the project will deliver any/all of the following:
  • improve and develop new capabilities, processes, products and/or services
  • improve the productivity and efficiency of existing operations
  • expand business capabilities/operations to create new revenue streams or to mitigate risks
  • retain or create employment opportunities within the business
  • maintain or increase business turnover/profitability
• market analysis (including opportunities, trends, size, competitors, barriers to entry)
• detailed project budget and costs, including in-kind or other financial contributions
• profit and loss and cash flow projections (including key assumptions) for:
  • the project construction/implementation phase
  • operational phase for at least three years
• details of other project financing (if relevant)
• project timeline
• key risks to delivery/project dependencies.

The amount of detail provided in a Resilience Plan should be relative to the project size, complexity, and grant funding amount requested.

You can download the Resilience Plan project template.

If you have any questions or need further assistance in completing this template, please contact the Office for Small and Family Business by calling the Business Grants Infoline on (08) 8429 0700 or emailing us at algalbusinesssupportgrants@sa.gov.au.

Only one application can be submitted per licence and ABN at any time. If you are unsuccessful in your application, you may submit an additional application for a different project. If your application is successful, you cannot apply for or receive another Algal Bloom Resilience Grant.

Funding cannot be used for business-as-usual activities. A more extensive list of ineligible expenditure is in the Program Guidelines.

Yes, as long as the project meets the required objectives and criteria for the program and both companies meet the eligibility requirements.

No. All applications first undergo an eligibility check to confirm they meet program requirements. Eligible applications are then assessed by an independent panel through a competitive, merit-based process.
Meeting eligibility requirements does not guarantee funding as all eligible applications are assessed based on their individual merit against the program objectives and requirements.

Strong applications clearly show:

• Long-term benefits for your business and the broader industry
• Practical and cost-effective activities
• Measurable outcomes that are proportionate to the amount of funding requested
• Request grant assistance that is the minimum amount required to deliver your project.
• Clear business improvements such as efficiency, safety or productivity gains
• A proactive plan for growth, recovery or handling future disruptions.

Yes. Portable or transferable assets such as boats, vehicles, trailers, fishing licences or quotas are not automatically ineligible.

However, applications that mainly focus on these assets may be less competitive unless they clearly demonstrate long-term resilience outcomes and strong value for public funding.

South Australian Government grants generally prioritise investments that deliver lasting public value and long-term benefits, rather than items that can be easily removed, resold or redirected for private gain. Because of this, projects mainly focused on portable assets may be less competitive unless strong long-term outcomes are clearly demonstrated.

Resilience means putting your business in a stronger position to deal with future or evolving algal bloom events. This could include:

• Improving systems, skills or technology
• Diversifying income streams or markets
• Reducing costs or risks if your business is still able to generate income/operate
• Strengthening your ability to adapt to future algal blooms or industry challenges.

Projects should provide lasting benefits beyond the grant period.

Value for money compares the benefits of your project to the upfront cost of your project and the amount of funding being sought. For your application to be competitive you should demonstrate a need for government funding, and your requests for grant assistance should reflect the minimum required to deliver your project.

Applications should clearly show what the funding will deliver, such as:

• New or sustained jobs, including the number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions created or protected
• Increased long-term revenue or reduced long-term operating costs
• Improved efficiency, productivity or safety
• New systems, technology or capabilities that strengthen your business long term and build resilience to deal with future algal bloom events or survive a crisis
• Clear benefits to the broader fisheries and aquaculture industry (if applicable).

If possible, include:

• How long the benefits will last beyond the grant period
• Why the funding amount is reasonable for the outcomes you are proposing.

Only in special circumstances - please email algalbusinesssupportgrants@sa.gov.au or call 8429 0700 for further information.

No, there is no requirement for applicant co-contributions towards projects under the Algal Bloom Resilience Grant Program. However, assistance provided through the grant is not intended to be ongoing and is designed to meet only the transitional costs associated with any submitted project proposal.

No. Being invited to reopen your application does not mean you need to start again or submit a new application.

Reopening your application simply gives you the option to:

• review the information you have already provided
• change or strengthen parts of your existing application if you choose to
• add further detail to better demonstrate long-term resilience, value for money or project outcomes.

You can keep the content that is already accurate and only update the sections you wish to improve. Reopening your application is optional and is intended to give you an opportunity to strengthen your submission before final assessment.

If you need assistance reviewing your application, you can contact:

• Rural Business Support
  • 1800 836 211
  • enquiries@ruralbusinesssupport.org.au

• Seafood Industry South Australia

No. The grants team will contact you to discuss your expected timeframes for updating your application and any relevant deadlines.

Applicants are encouraged to complete any updates as soon as practicable to support timely assessment.

Once you have finalised any changes, your application will continue through assessment.

Each application will be considered on a case-by-case merit basis, against the Eligibility Criteria, objectives and other program/evidence requirements.

Eligible applications will be assessed and scored against the following merit criteria:

The Project

• Overall alignment with ABRG Program objectives;
• Robustness of Resilience Plan i.e. extent to which it addresses elements outlined at section “What to submit”;
• Benefits to the South Australian economy, and specifically the fisheries and aquaculture industry; and
• Competitive neutrality – that is, the project will not be to the economic detriment of other South Australian commercial fisheries and aquaculture licence holders.

Financials

• Robustness of project costs and likelihood project can be delivered on budget;
• Reasonableness of financial assumptions/projections;
• Financial viability/sustainability of the business proposition over the long term without further government assistance; and
• Value for money (justification of the requested grant amount against the projects expected benefits and results).

Project Delivery

• Likelihood the project will commence, and be completed, within twelve months of any funding agreement;
• Managerial capability and financial capacity to implement the project without further assistance; and
• Business capability or expertise in relation to new business opportunities.

Applicants should note that irrespective of eligibility and merit, there is no guarantee that an offer of funding will be made. The Treasurer and/or their delegate, reserves the right to award a lower grant funding amount than sought by the Applicant.

Payments will only be made to successful applicants on achievement of agreed milestones, to the satisfaction of the Department of State Development, as the project is progressed. Applicants will be required to submit a financial acquittal following completion of their project to confirm that the grant has been properly applied in accordance with the guidelines.

Projects may commence any time after a funding agreement has been executed or such other time as agreed with the Treasurer, and must commence within the timeframes published for the program.

However, an Applicant may, entirely at their own risk, choose to incur expenditure towards their proposed project from the date the applicant applies for funding from the program. Eligible expenditure incurred from that date will remain eligible for reimbursement should the applicant’s project be approved.

We understand that businesses may be keen to commence projects as soon as possible. However, funding is dependent on the outcome of the assessment and approval process.

Funding is only confirmed once:

• a formal offer has been issued; and

• a grant agreement has been signed by both parties.

Before the project work commences, successful grant applicants must execute a grant agreement stipulating the obligations of the applicant and the conditions under which any assistance is given, including any relevant payment milestones, clawback and reporting requirements.

Payments will generally be paid in instalments and made on a reimbursement basis, meaning you may need to provide evidence that project expenses have been incurred before payment is made.

Eligibility for future programs will be determined by each individual program, and applicants should consult the Program Guidelines for the programs they are interested in.

If you anticipate potential project delays, please raise this with the funding agreement government contract manager or the Department as soon as these issues arise.

Yes. The Department must ensure the funding is spent according to the Program Guidelines, and requires updates from the successful applicant to do this.

Projects must have commenced and be substantially progressed within six months and completed within twelve 12 months of the grant agreement being executed, unless otherwise agreed.

Eligible Project expenditure includes direct project-related costs, including any third-party service providers engaged to implement a solution. This includes payments to consultants (e.g. designers, engineers and technical specialists), training organisations, research providers and other service providers for capability development, mentoring and research and development work undertaken on the project.

Should you have further questions regarding this program, please contact the Office for Small and Family Business by calling the Business Grants Infoline on (08) 8429 0700 or emailing us at algalbusinesssupportgrants@sa.gov.au.

If you need help with your application, support and advice is available through the Seafood Industry South Australia and Rural Business Support. We encourage you to reach out to discuss your circumstances with these organisations.

Feedback is available by request once the evaluation process is complete, and you have been notified of the outcome.

Please email algalbusinesssupportgrants@sa.gov.au for further information.

Grant funding may have taxation implications depending on your individual business circumstances. Applicants should seek advice from their accountant or financial adviser about how receiving grant funding may impact their taxable income or financial position.

The program team cannot provide taxation advice.