Hedland Economic Development and Diversification Fund - Economic Diversification Stream Guidelines

Applicant Eligibility

The applicant to be considered eligible for funding, it should:

• have a business project or idea which requires EDDF investment
• be an established business (at least 12 months of trading)
• have plans for new or expanded business operations within the Town of Port Hedland boundaries.
• have evidence that other funding avenues have been explored
• have evidence that the business/organisation does not have sufficient capital to proceed with the project without EDDF support
• be able to contribute at least 50% of the project’s capital costs
• be able to declare any conflicts of interest
• be able to demonstrate compliance to relevant laws, trading requirements and standards
• not have received Town of Port Hedland funding within the past two years.

Project Eligibility

For a project to be considered eligible for funding, it should:

• be located in the Town of Port Hedland’s boundaries
• demonstrate a market need/gap
• demonstrate considerable economic and/or social benefits to the Port Hedland community
• demonstrate alignment with the Town of Port Hedland’s strategic priorities, projects, and objectives
• represent value for money, demonstrated through a competitive procurement process.

Co-Contribution

Applicants are required to contribute at least 50% of the project’s capital requirements. This can include contributions by third parties, such as other grant funding received.

The Town will not recognise:

• any retrospective payments made towards the project as a contribution towards the required amount of capital
• ‘in-kind’ contributions.

The Town will favourably consider applications that demonstrate a capital contribution of more than 50%.

Ineligible Applicants

The Town will not consider applications from:

• Commonwealth or State Government Departments
• a political party
• an employee or elected member of the Town, or their immediate family, however this does not include an application from an organisation that an employee, elected member or their immediate family member may be a part of.
• an application with overdue or outstanding debts to the Town
• an applicant who is in legal conflict with the Town
• an applicant who has failed to finalise acquittal requirements from previous Town funding
• an applicant auspicing the grant on behalf of another body or entity
• an applicant that has already received Town funding for the same project within the same financial year
• an applicant that has already applied for Town funding for the same project within the same financial year and has been refused.

Ineligible Projects and Costs

The following projects or costs are ineligible for funding under the Economic Development and Diversification Fund:

• Projects that do not demonstrate substantial benefits to the diversification of the Port Hedland economy.
• Projects that do not demonstrate substantial benefits to the improvement of local services available to residents, businesses and/or visitors to Port Hedland.
• Projects that do not demonstrate a meaningful contribution to local employment, economic output and/or enhanced liveability within the Town of Port Hedland
• Projects that do not meet a demonstrated market gap with the Town of Port Hedland
• Projects that do not align with the objectives of the Town’s Economic Development and Tourism Strategy
• Projects covered by other grants offered by the Town of Port Hedland Capital expenditure for mobile assets
• Projects directly related to the resource industry or service the resource industry (unless substantial local benefits can be demonstrated)
• Projects are inconsistence with the values of the Town of Port Hedland
• Projects are covered by other grants offered by the Town
• Costs already incurred (retrospective funding)
• Costs associated with project administration and employee salaries
• Costs associated with operational expenses

Project and cost eligibility is at the sole discretion of the Town.

Assessment Criteria

Applicants will be assessed on the extent to which they address the following criteria:

• Capital investment
  • Amount of funding requested
  • Amount of capital contributed by the Applicant
  • Amount of third-party investment received
  • Evidence that capital has been sourced from alternate sources
  • Evidence of insufficient capital for the project without Economic Development and Diversification Fund.
• Local impact
  • Economic and community impacts
    • New jobs created
    • Impact on local supply chains
    • Benefits to the community
    • Forecasted additional revenue.
  • Market demand
    • Demonstrated evidence of market demand
    • Differentiation from existing products/services.
  • Sustainability
    • The long-term sustainability of the project.
• Strategic alignment
  • Alignment to the Town’s strategic priorities, projects, and objectives
  • Community support for the project.
• Project risks
  • Capacity for the applicant to deliver the project
  • Current or future risks to sustainability of the applicant and/or the project
  • Risks to the Town’s reputation for supporting the project.
• Application
  • Completeness and comprehensiveness of the application.

Maximum Contribution

The Town will support a maximum of 50% of the project costs, up to $150,000.

Assessment, Decisions and Notification

Applications are assessed by a three-person panel. The funding panel will make a recommendation of full, part or no funding to the Town of Port Hedland Council for their endorsement. The panel will consider all applications in the context of its ability to support other projects through the Economic Development and Diversification Fund.

The Town reserves the right to request further information from the applicant regarding the project as well as the right to reject any application for any reason.

Applications may be accepted in full, accepted in part or rejected. The decision made is final and not subject to further appeal.

Applicants should allow up to three months from the application closing date to be notified of the outcome of their application.

Funding decisions may be delayed to a future funding round if the competitiveness of the application cannot be immediately determined.

Successful applicants will be listed on the Town of Port Hedland website, along with a summary of the supported project.

Funding Agreement

Successful applicants must enter into a written funding agreement with the Town before funding is provided.  Terms of the funding agreement are at the sole discretion of the Town. The Town will not be under any obligations in relation to a successful applicant until the parties execute an Agreement.

The funding agreement will specify the funding provided and commit the successful applicant to any funding conditions including timeframes, outputs and outcomes, and the contribution amounts. The applicant is required to provide the Town with regular project updates, a copy of the final report, any supporting documentation and a financial acquittal of the funds.

The applicant must enter into an agreement with the Town within one month of being notified of their project being successful. Failure to enter into an agreement within this timeframe will result in the funding offer being rescinded.