Who can Apply? 

To be eligible for this grant, you and your business must meet the following criteria. See our Frequently Asked Questions  and Terms and Conditions.

Please note, past grant recipients are unable to apply again this year.

Entry Guidelines

The Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant 2026 will provide funding to support women owned businesses to grow and develop their business.

The grant will provide an opportunity for eligible organisations to apply for funding of up to $5,000 (exclusive of GST) to build their business capability or gain professional services that will boost local economic impact.

The grant will open for applications at 9:00am AEST on Monday, 1 September 2025, for five weeks and close at 4:00pm AEST on Tuesday, 7 October 2025. A total fund of $250,000 is available for this Lord Mayor Grant, with up to $5,000 (exclusive of GST) available per successful application. A limit of one application per business will be accepted.

Grant Objective

Women in business are key to the success of the local economy, representing up to 35% of small business owners. This grant will enable the following objectives to be achieved:

• Support women in business to thrive and grow with confidence
• Provide a business community of like-minded experts for networking and collaboration
• Boost the local economy through skill development and local buy

1. Eligibility and Program Requirements

Who Can Apply? Eligibility Criteria:

To be eligible for this grant, you/your business must:

• Have An active Australian Business Number (ABN) and be registered in Queensland
• Be Headquartered/have business outlets based in the Brisbane Local Government Area (LGA) and be able to provide rates notice/utility bill/proof of location)
• Be an Australian Resident/Citizen
• Be a woman in business with a minimum of 50% ownership of the business.
• Be 18 years of age (proof of ID) at time of application
• Be operating/trading for the full financial year of 2024/25 and demonstrate more than one client
• Not be insolvent or have owners/directors that are bankrupt
• Have An annual turnover between $75,000 and $500,000.
• Provide One application per business for up to $5000 (exclusive of GST and delivery fees). This is non-matched funding.
• Provide original quotes from local Brisbane/QLD businesses where quotes proposed as part of the Grant. Supplier invoices can include GST
• Have the Approved Use commencing after the grant is received
• Expend the funding and have an outcome delivered for acquittal by 30 June 2026.
• Not be a previous recipient of the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant.
• Complete grant related surveys provided periodically by BEDA, which may extend beyond the term of the Grant.
• Participate in the 12 month business support program developed for Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant recipients

Application Requirements: Ineligible Applications

Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) may, in its absolute discretion, make determinations in respect of the eligibility of any applicant including any question of conflict of interest. All such determinations will be final, and no discussion or correspondence will be entered into.

2. What Can Be Funded?

The grant will support women to build their personal capability as a business owner, enabling their business to grow and build a sustainable, strong, local small business economy. Grants will support procurement of professional services, training and education and operationally critical business equipment.

Examples of what can be funded:

• Procurement of professional services for:
  • Development of business strategy
  • Marketing and brand services
  • Ecommerce services
  • Financial services
  • Compliance and industry regulations relevant to business.

• Training and Education:
  • Certification by an RTO/TAFE
  • Professional development on leadership/business strategy
  • Financial literacy
  • Digital marketing
  • Expert training relevant to your business
  • Cost of running or attending a convention, expo or business learning event.

• Business equipment:
  • Equipment that demonstrates tangible growth for your business, tool or Product that is key in delivering your business outcomes. E.g. Sewing machine for a fashion business, labelling machine for packaging, camera for photographer, etc.

All applicants will be automatically signed up to the Brisbane Business Hub community and provided with networking, education and training upskill opportunities.

The following will NOT be funded:

• Activities deemed “Business as Usual”
• Activities purchased using cryptocurrencies, barter, or services in-kind
• General business operating costs (e.g. bookkeeping/accounting, tax returns)
• Payments relating to real estate/property including for example, hire costs, lease, or rent fees
• Payments for services or fees from related parties (including companies with common shareholdings, directors, employees, or immediate family)
• Travel
• Franchise fees
• Purchase of stock
• The payment of GST, registration for GST
• Maintenance of existing digital technologies
• The purchase of computer hardware (e.g. computer servers, PCs, tablets/iPad, mobile phones)
• Products and/or services purchased via direct selling (e.g. by party plan or network marketing)
• Fees including delivery fees, credit card fees, transaction fees, membership fees and joining fees
• General office expenses (e.g. printers, phones, computers)
• Salaries of staff of the applicant
• The cost of website hosting.

In keeping with Council’s Local Buy Policy, local contractors and/or suppliers within the Brisbane LGA are to be utilised.

This is not an exhaustive list, should applicants have any enquiries please contact the Brisbane Business Hub through [email protected].

GST

If the applicant organisation is GST registered, 10% GST will be added to the funding provided as an itemised GST gross-up.

For advice on GST, applicants should contact their tax advisor, or the Australian Taxation Office on 13 24 78 or visit www.ato.gov.au.

3. Assessment Criteria and Process

Eligible applications will be assessed against demonstrated evidence of how your business will grow revenue, profit, create jobs, and be sustainable because of the grant provided.

The application form will outline key questions to provide this evidence.

• An external judging panel will be selected by BEDA based on abilities and expertise. This expert panel will review and make recommendations for funding.
• The grant recipients will be chosen on a determination of merit. Entries will be reviewed in accordance with the responses to the questions on the nomination form.
• In some instances, successful applicants may not receive the full amount of the funding requested. If the proposal cannot proceed without the full amount of funding requested, this should be indicated in the application.
• The external panel will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
• The external panel may, in its sole discretion, request further information from entrants at any time as part of the judging process.
• The external panel’s decision is final, and no discussion or correspondence will be entered into.

Application Process

To apply for the Grant, entrants must:

Create a profile via the application portal available at https://brisbane.grantplatform.com/; and fully and correctly complete an official application form (in accordance with the instructions on the relevant application form), and submit the application form online.

Application forms are available on the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant website at businesshub.brisbane.qld.au (the Website).

Entries for the Grants will open at 9:00am AEST on Monday, 1 September 2025 and close at 4:00pm AEST on Tuesday, 7 October 2025.

BEDA may in its sole discretion determine whether an entry has been received within the time period noted above.

Applicants may only enter their business once.

Once an applicant has submitted an application through Grantplatform.com the applicant will receive an email confirming receipt of the application.

The submitted application will be kept confidential, and the contents will not be disclosed to any person outside the application and assessment process.

Successful applicants will receive a letter of confirmation outlining the process to obtain funding.

Feedback will not be given to unsuccessful applicants.

4. Enquiries

Please contact the Brisbane Business hub via [email protected] for all queries, including technical queries.

5. Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions can be viewed here.

6. Glossary

This Glossary contains a number of terms and phrases applicants may need to be familiar with when planning an application.

Eligible means that the applicant or project satisfies the conditions for funding.

GST stands for goods and services tax payable pursuant to the GST Laws. If an applicant or auspice not-for-profit organisation is GST registered, 10% GST will be added to the funding as an itemised GST gross-up.

GST Laws mean the GST law (as defined by A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth)) together with all other laws and regulations which impose or regulate the implementation and operation of the GST.

Not-for-profit organisation is the term applied to organisations where the constitution states that any profits or surpluses must be used to further the objectives of the organisation rather than benefit an individual or group of individuals.