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Algal Bloom Fisheries and Aquaculture Assistance Grant

Supporting commercial fisheries and aquaculture licence holders impacted by algal bloom.

Up to $225,000 in grant payments are available through the Algal Bloom Fisheries and Aquaculture Assistance Grant to support licence holders significantly impacted by the algal bloom.

Two payments of up to $100,000 each (amounts tiered based on previous turnover) may be available to eligible businesses to meet fixed costs and overheads - including utilities, rent, finance and interest payments.

In conjunction with the second grant payment, businesses may also be eligible to apply for an additional payment of up to $25,000 to support employee wages.

Applications are open until 31 July 2026.

There are three ways you can demonstrate business impact for the purposes of this grant:

  • having fishing licence fees waived by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions; or
  • a 30 per cent or more decline in catch or harvest; or
  • being subject to government harvesting area restrictions or closures (due to elevated levels of brevetoxin).

November update: What’s changed?

Applications for the Algal Bloom Fisheries and Aquaculture Assistance Grant have been further extended until 31 July 2026.

You may be eligible for a second $100,000 grant payment if your business continues to be impacted by the algal bloom. To help you cover wage costs during periods of reduced business activity, an additional payment of up to $25,000 is also available to supplement employee wages.

If you have already received a grant and would like to apply for a second payment, log in to the application portal to complete an additional grant payment form.

How it works

Eligible businesses can apply for an immediate initial payment of $25,000 by demonstrating, in any consecutive three-month period from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2026, either:

  • the closure of your harvest area for more than 1 month as a result of a direction by PIRSA due to elevated levels of brevetoxin; or
  • a decline in catch/harvest of 30% or more, compared to the corresponding three-month period in the year prior; or
  • that you have been approved for a licence fee waiver under the Algal Bloom Fee Relief Program.

If you can demonstrate that your business has also experienced a decline in business turnover of 30 per cent (relative to a comparable period the year prior, as set out in guidelines), you may be eligible for an additional payment.

Additional payments are calculated as follows:

  • $25,000 if business turnover in 2023-24 was above $200,000.
  • $50,000 if business turnover in 2023-24 was above $400,000.
  • $75,000 if business turnover in 2023-24 was above $600,000.

Once your grant application has been assessed, a second payment of up to $100,000 may also be available if your business continues to experience financial hardship over a different three-month period between 1 April 2025 and 30 June 2026.

In conjunction with the second payment, you may also be eligible for additional payments of up to $25,000 depending on your number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, to help you retain existing employees and cover their wages. This can be calculated through a combination of full-time, part-time, or casual employees.

Don’t quite meet the requirements of this grant?

Exemptions to this program's eligibility criteria can be granted in exceptional circumstances to support businesses in relevant industries genuinely impacted by the algal bloom event.

Our team can work with you to determine if this is appropriate in your case. However, if we don’t have your details, we’re not able to help.

To ensure you’re given every opportunity to access South Australian Government supports, please:

  • Begin an application for the Algal Bloom Fisheries and Aquaculture Assistance Grant, even if you’re not certain of your eligibility;
  • Contact our team to discuss your unique situation. Once we have your details, we can get in touch if additional or alternative support becomes available; and
  • Visit algalbloom.sa.gov.au to view the full South Australian Government Algal Bloom Response Package. Here, you can also sign up for news and updates on further support as it becomes available.
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