Not a grant writer. The remit runs funding intelligence → eligibility → strategy → partnerships → applications → acquittals → next opportunity, across federal, Victorian and local government, the R&D Tax Incentive, EMDG, commercialisation programs, research and university partnerships, government tenders and international funding. Every opportunity is scored before anyone writes a word — that is what stops a funding function becoming an application factory.
A target rather than a hope. Secured counts only what has actually been awarded; the pipeline figure is discounted by each opportunity's own probability-of-success score, because an undiscounted pipeline total is the number that makes a funding plan look healthy right up until nothing lands.
Deliberately not a single large success commission — that pays for submissions, not judgement, and judgement is the thing being bought. A GO / NO-GO score is required before every application.
| Stage | Fee | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Funding audit | A$2,000–A$5,000 | A complete 24-month funding map. |
| 2 · Retainer | A$1,500–A$4,000/month | Continuous search and assessment of opportunities, scope-dependent. |
| 3 · Major applications | Fixed project fee | A$3,000–A$7,500 small · A$7,500–A$20,000 substantial · A$20,000+ major collaborative submission. Success incentives negotiable where appropriate. |
At least three, not the first one approached. Claims below are each firm's own; verify current capability and references at interview.
| Firm | Why they're on the list |
|---|---|
| GrantHelper | States it covers the whole process — identification, strategy, preparation, submission — and has specialised in Australian government grants for more than a decade. |
| GrantWise | Melbourne-based. Founder reports 20+ years across grants and incentives including 13 years at PwC and Deloitte, and the firm also does government engagement and advocacy — the government-relations capability is what makes them interesting, since the requirement is more than grant writing. |
| Grant Help | Prahran-based, specialising in the R&D Tax Incentive, EMDG and specialist grants, and states it is a registered tax agent — potentially the strongest fit for the R&D side. |
| Grant Savvy | States it supports federal, state and local grants alongside export and R&D funding. |
The larger opportunity is not governments funding Audema, but governments buying Audema to help thousands of other businesses. That needs its own deck — an Economic Impact deck alongside the investor deck, arguing SME productivity, AI adoption, jobs, skills, export growth, regional accessibility, Australian IP and commercialisation.
| Division | Buyer |
|---|---|
| Audema for Councils | Local government economic development units |
| Audema for Business Chambers | Chambers of commerce, industry associations |
| Audema for Regional Development | Regional development authorities |
| Audema for Universities | Commercialisation offices, research partners |
| Audema for Government SME Programs | State and federal SME support programs |
Each criterion scores 0–10 where 10 is always best for Audema. The three marked cost are burdens, so 10 there means the burden is light — scoring them the other way round would rank a punishing grant as a good one.