Grants, finance and funding

Managing money is essential for business stability, growth, and decision-making, ensuring resources are used effectively to maintain profitability and achieve long-term success.

Grants, finance and funding quick links

Financial literacy

Assess your business viability – this tool helps you identify whether you can repay outstanding debts and continue meeting your financial commitments.

Manage business finances – Access templates and strategies for budgeting, cash flow, and financial planning.

Improve your cash flow – Get tips and tools for forecasting and managing expenses effectively.

Different ways to fund your business – Learn about your options including loans, grants and crowdfunding.

Help managing debt

If you’re a small business owner in financial difficulty, it’s good ask for help and advice early.

The Small Business Debt Helpline is a free service for small business owners that was set up in 2020 by Financial Counselling Australia.

You can call the Small Business Debt Helpline on 1800 413 828 from 9am to 5.30pm AEST, Monday to Friday. A qualified financial counsellor will listen and provide independent and confidential advice. They can help you with:

understanding business and personal debts, and personal guarantees and their implications
grants and training for small business owners that you may be able to access
considering business viability
disaster relief for events such as bushfires and COVID-19
options for payment arrangements with the Australian Tax Office (ATO), creditors, suppliers and service providers
information about closing your business, where you can access dispute resolution, emotional support

Visit the ACCC website for information and links to other services that may help if you’re struggling with debt.

Tax advice

As a business owner you need to navigate a complex landscape of legal and regulatory requirements covering a range of areas like taxation and consumer protection. There are a number of organisations that can help, and many offer free advice.

View tax and super information for business and organisations, including not-for-profits from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website.

National Tax Clinic Program

The National Tax Clinic program provides support to eligible businesses and individuals who can’t get tax advice and help due to financial, social or personal challenges.

You may be eligible if you:

are a low-income earner experiencing financial hardship
are the victim of domestic or financial abuse
are homeless, in jail or living in a detention centre
live in a remote location with no access to professional tax support
can’t access professional tax support due to cultural or language barriers
are affected by health issues including illness, disability or mental health challenges.

Eligibility is determined by each tax clinic. Support offered also varies for each clinic.

Find grants to apply for

The Shire hosts Funding Finder to assist businesses search for external funding external.

It curates grants from local, state and federal government along with philanthropic organisations and large institutions. You can filter the search to target grants that are relevant to your business.

Grants open and close all the time, so a good tip is to set up email alerts so that you get notified when new grants open.

It is a free service; all you need to do is register with your email address.

There are links to tips, training and support on the site as well.

Get simple tips on how to write a grant application,

Shire grants and sponsorship

The Shire runs an annual program of grants and sponsorship under the Community Investment Finding for local voluntary no-for-profit groups across a range of programs. There are limited opportunities for businesses to access these funding streams.

Find out about the current Mornington Peninsula Shire grants and sponsorship opportunities.

Winning tenders

Tender submission require a lot of planning and take time to get right.

The Shire uses a tender process to source contract suppliers. Businesses need to register through Tenderlink prior to submitting.

Enrol in Business Victoria’s free, self-paced course Winning government grants and tenders.