The online Application Form can be accessed via the Invest and Trade WA Event Support webpage.
Paper or email submissions will not be accepted. 

Financial event support is available through the Invest and Trade WA Event Support program.  The financial support is considered a ‘sponsorship’ (as opposed to a grant) and if successful, funding will be tied to the achievement of various contractual milestones. Further information on this is outlined in Section 6.1 of the Guidelines.

To be eligible for consideration under the Invest and Trade WA Event Support program, all documentation should be submitted in English using the online Application Form. Other eligibility requirements are outlined below:

• Events held within WA and overseas are considered eligible for funding.

• The event must be considered a business event, for example, an expo, trade show, trade and investment forum, business conference or similar.  

Applications for funding will be considered ineligible if:

• The funding request reflects 50% or more of the total event budget.

• The funding request is for project development costs such as early stage feasibility studies, business case development, due diligence or proof of concepts.

• The funding request is for permanent infrastructure or for costs not associated with the proposed event.

• The event is a standard meeting for its members.

• The event is a launch event for the establishment of a new Business Council or organisation.

• The event is a general networking function.

• The proposed event is also receiving funding through the Department’s Access Asia Business Grants and/or Investment Attraction Fund.

Event holders can request any funding amount up to the value of $10,000, however funding amounts over $10,000 may be awarded at the Department’s discretion if the event is considered a valuable trade and investment opportunity for the State. The level of funding being requested must be commensurate with the size and scale of the event.

The level of funding requested through the Invest and Trade WA Event Support program should be determined by your organisation based on your event budget. To be successful for funding, applicants will need to provide evidence of a stable event budget with a mix of revenue streams to support the proposed event activity.

The Event Support program formalises the way Invest and Trade WA administers sponsorship for events that promote trade and investment prospects for WA. Event Support funding is allocated annually based on available funding and in consideration of budgetary pressures.

You should submit your application a minimum of three months before the start of the event to ensure there is adequate time for the assessment, approvals and contracting process to take place. If you have less than three months until your event occurs, please contact the ITWA team as soon as possible to discuss if an exemption can be accommodated. Please note that you are encouraged to submit your application with as much lead-time as possible to ensure you are notified of the funding outcome well in advance of the event date.

The purpose of the Invest and Trade WA Event Support program is not to support delegations. The purpose of the program is to support business events, for example, expos, trade shows, investment and trade forums, business conferences or similar.

The Invest and Trade WA Event Support program supports events based within WA and overseas. The program does not support events based in other Australian states and territories.

The program will only support one application per event.

Invest and Trade WA will assess all applications for Event Support funding against the following areas of criteria.

• Industry and market, including alignment with Diversify WA
• Economic impact
• Prestige and profile
• Marketing and media
• Event budget
• Operational

Further detail on the criteria is outlined in Section 5.1 of the Guidelines.

Funding is awarded through a competitive process and sometimes events that meet the criteria may not be awarded funding due to budget constraints.

The state’s economic development framework, Diversify WA, provides an economic blueprint for collaboration between government, industry and the community, and supports the Western Australian Government’s focus on creating secure, quality jobs, growing and diversifying the economy and attracting investment. 

Diversify WA identifies eight external-facing priority sectors for strategic development that match WA’s unique strengths with global trends to achieve growth across the economy. 

The eight priority sectors are: 

• Energy 
• Tourism, events and creative industries 
• International education 
• Defence industries 
• Mining and METS 
• Space industries 
• Health and medical life sciences 
• Primary industries 

Diversify WA also recognises cross-sector activities that will improve value and productivity across multiple external-facing sectors. The cross-sector activities are: 

• Supply chain development 
• Advanced manufacturing 
• Science, innovation and technology 
• Environmental, social and governance frameworks 

To be eligible for funding, costs must only be associated with the delivery of the proposed event. For example, costs for permanent infrastructure will be considered ineligible. Project development costs such as early stage feasibility studies, business case development, due diligence or proof of concepts will be considered ineligible. Costs associated with existing business activities will also be considered ineligible. Other eligible costs will be determined on a case-by-case basis. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide evidence of an event budget with a mix of revenue streams to support the proposed event activity. It should be noted funding requests that reflect 50% or more of the total event budget are considered ineligible.

Making an application to the Invest and Trade WA Event Support program does not guarantee funding from the state.

Successful applicants will need to sign a Sponsorship Agreement before receiving any form of payment from the Department. Further information on the Sponsorship Agreement is outlined in Section 6.1.

For any questions relating to the Invest and Trade WA Event Support program, please email sponsorshipITWA@jtsi.wa.gov.au.