StartupWA is calling on the Cook Labor Government to commit to extending the New Industries Fund (NIF) beyond 2025 with $100M over four years, warning that without this level of support, WA’s innovation ecosystem faces significant challenges.

Launched as a $16.7M election commitment by the McGowan Government in 2017 and renewed with a further $16.7M over 4 years in 2021, the NIF has been instrumental in supporting WA’s growing startup ecosystem. Its programs, including the Innovation Booster Grant, Commercialisation Bridge Grant, WA Innovators of the Year, innovation hubs and X-TEND Grants, have been extremely popular, and are often twenty times over-subscribed. Grantees have gone on to build impressive local tech companies, commercialising groundbreaking ideas and scaling their businesses.

At West Tech Fest (December 2024), 12 local innovators were announced as the latest recipients of NIF grant funding, sharing $756,157 to support projects ranging from a digital PCR for rapid biological assessment, to an emotional support teddy bear app, to a test measuring antibacterial activity in honey. These recipients reflect the diversity and ingenuity of WA’s startup community, including regional, youth, female, and culturally diverse founders.

More than 230 companies applied for this funding, showing both the quality and quantity of innovation here in WA, but also the scarcity of funding that exists for early-stage startup companies.

However, with funding set to end in June 2025, Startup WA is concerned about the future of these critical programs.

“If the NIF is not extended, WA risks losing its momentum as a hub for innovation,” said Charlie Gunningham, Chair of Startup WA. “We are already seeing pressure on businesses and households from the rising cost of living. Removing this funding would make it even harder for entrepreneurs to succeed, jeopardising not only jobs but the economic diversification that our state urgently needs.”

“WA would risk falling further behind other states in their innovation journey.”

While it was encouraging to see the one off $33.6M Lower Carbon Fund grant recipients announced at West Tech Coast, plus the $45M WA Venture Capital Initiative recipients, the NIF needs to be extended and boosted, as it provides such broad sector support across a range of important measures to a larger ecosystem than existed when the fund was first launched.

“The NIF received a top up two years ago to $25.8M, but its funding expires next June. StartupWA, believes the NIF should be a $100M commitment over the next four years,” Mr Gunningham said.

 “The NIF is more than just a funding mechanism; it’s a lifeline for WA’s entrepreneurial talent,” added Gunningham. “It supports cutting-edge research, new technologies, and home-grown businesses that fuel our economy. Pulling this funding would send the wrong message to innovators and investors alike.”

“The sector is much larger than it was back in 2017, and the programs and initiatives it now needs, for the second half of this decade, are different to those it started with 8 years ago,” he said.

StartupWA is urging the government to make a $100M commitment to extend the NIF beyond 2025 to ensure that the state’s innovators can continue to thrive, as an election commitment.

WA’s economic future depends on growing innovation and entrepreneurship. Extending the NIF will not only secure the immediate growth of local businesses but also position Western Australia as a global leader in innovation.