No images? Click here Save the date for Cairns Meet the Buyer 2023!When: Tuesday 2 May 2023 Presented by the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training and Cairns Regional Council as part of Queensland Small Business Month, Cairns Meet the Buyer 2023 is an opportunity for small businesses to connect with large, local organisations across numerous sectors who regularly procure goods and services. One-on-one ‘speed networking’ sessions will allow small businesses the opportunity to speak directly to decision makers and procurement teams within large private and public sector organisations. Registrations for small businesses open soon! If you’re interested in attending as a buyer (large organisations), please email economicdevelopment@cairns.qld.gov.au. Council backs small businessA recent report has revealed significant outcomes have been delivered through Council's commitment to small business under Queensland Government’s Small Business Friendly Council Charter. In a demonstration of support for small business, Council signed the Charter in March 2021. As part of the Charter, Council committed to initiatives that would support a prosperous small business sector, including improvement in communications, cutting red tape, and raising their profile. Read more. There are more than 13,800 registered small businesses in Cairns, which accounts for about 97% of all businesses in the Cairns Local Government Area. Meeting future workforce needsCouncil recently endorsed a submission to the Queensland Parliament’s Education, Employment and Training Committee on the delivery of vocational education and training in regional, rural, and remote Queensland. The submission makes a series of recommendations including for a Workforce Development Plan to be prepared for the Cairns region, which would identify the medium to long term skills needs for priority industries. Read more. Progress being made on Cairns 2050 Shared VisionThe long-term vision to make Cairns the world’s most liveable and enterprising regional city has made significant progress in key areas, with more than half of the 41 projects and initiatives either progressing or completed. Read more. Brisbane 2023: what's in it for Cairns?Help shape how Cairns will benefit from Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Brisbane 2032 Legacy Plan will define how Cairns can take advantage of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games to drive local investment, infrastructure, economic and participation opportunities that ensure lasting benefits before, during and after the Games. Share your hopes and dreams for Cairns! Council news in briefCollaborations with local universities deliver positive outcomes Strong progress has been made under of a four-year Memorandum of Understanding between Cairns Regional Council and CQUniversity. Areas of collaboration have included the proposal of anew CQUniversity city centre campus, the Smart Green Economy project and integrated learning placements. Read more. A strong partnership between James Cook University and Cairns Regional Council continues to deliver educational, cultural, health, environmental, and economic benefits for the Cairns community. Under the Memorandum of Understanding between JCU and Council, several joint research and funding projects have been undertaken across disaster resilience, water and environmental compliance, water and resource recovery, and economic development. Read more. Membership to Advance Cairns will provide stronger voice Council is joining Advance Cairns to strengthen collaboration, provide more effective advocacy for the city, and deliver better outcomes to the community. Council recently voted to join Advance Cairns on a platinum membership level. Read more. Winds of the north to power Cairns to net zero In a leap towards achieving its commitment to net zero, Council has signed a historic agreement with publicly owned CleanCo Queensland that will see 80 of the Council’s largest facilities acquire 100 percent of their electricity requirements from renewable sources from July 2024. Read more. Council identifies key areas to grow Smart Green Economy Net zero emissions, the circular economy, and biodiversity and carbon markets are three target areas identified in a recent report on the Smart Green Economy (SGE) project, that could deliver substantial benefits to the Cairns region. Read more. Council tenders and procurementCurrent opportunities to tender for Cairns Regional Council work and procurement opportunities are listed below.
Businesses or individuals must create an account in Tenderlink to apply for Council contracts or tenders. You will need your Australian Business Number (ABN) at hand. All current public tenders are also listed on our Tenderlink website. Workshops and trainingFree Business and Workforce Planning CoursesThe Queensland Government and University of the Sunshine Coast have teamed up to create deliver free course programs to help small and medium sized business owners plan for the future of their business and their workforce. Free ATO small business webinarsAustralian Taxation Office (ATO) is running free webinars to improve your knowledge about starting, running a business, employing and paying workers and specific industry issues. Visit the ATO website to find out more. Applying and pitching for government grants webinarThe Department of Employment, Small Business and Training is running a free webinar about what makes a successful grants application, how to understand guidelines and tax obligations and why having a pitch is important. When: Monday, 27 February 2023 at 9.00am Find out more about the small business webinars and workshops available. Grants and business supportSmall Business Wellness Package Small business owners can sit down with a locally based coach and work through their unique and personal business challenges, needs and opportunities – in a free one-on-one, confidential, understanding environment. Get in touch with your Cairns Business Wellness Coach now! Small Business Financial Counsellors The Small Business Financial Counsellors provide free, local financial counselling that will help you better understand how to run your small business. Communities Innovation Fund The Communities Innovation Fund will provide up to $200,000 per year to community organisations for innovative services that create meaningful connections for Queenslanders experiencing social isolation and loneliness. Smaller grants of up to $50,000 are available for eligible organisations to conduct one-off activities or projects, with larger, multi-year grants of up to $200,000 per year available to trial promising interventions and evaluate them over time. Grant closes 27 February 2023. Manufacturing Hubs Grant Program Round 3 Grants through the $28.5 million Manufacturing Hub Grant Program are now available for eligible manufacturing small to medium enterprises in the Cairns region. Round 3 of the funding provides grants between $10,000 and $500,000. Grant closes 30 June 2024 or until fully allocated. Female Founders Co-Investment Fund The $3 million Backing Female Founders program supports Queensland female founders to grow and scale their innovation businesses and assist at different stages of the entrepreneurial lifecycle. The two new initiatives are:
Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Round 1 This grant opportunity will support businesses up to $25,000 to upgrade or replace inefficient equipment to improve their energy efficiency and reduce costs. The grants are from $10,000 to $25,000 to cover up to 100% of eligible project expenditure. This grant opportunity is for small and medium-sized businesses with an employee headcount of 1 to 199 employees. Applications open Monday 6 March until Wednesday 19 April 2023. Find a grant!You can search for grants based on different criteria, including your industry, objectives, goals and your business turnover range. Searching for keywords (e.g. 'agriculture' or 'start-ups') can help to narrow down your options and find more appropriate support for your business. Many grant opportunities are provided on grant and support program websites, including: Queensland Government's Australian Government's Find local economic data available through CouncilCouncil can provide project-specific data to assist you to quantify economic impact or jobs created. This can be used to support grant applications, business cases for new projects in the region. To find out more, contact Council’s Economic Development team at economicdevelopment@cairns.qld.gov.au. The Black Business Finder (BBF) is Queensland's online Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business directory. Commissioned by the Queensland Government's Industry Capability Network, the BBF connects project owners to Indigenous suppliers of goods and services. Share your feedbackWe’re always interested in improving our communications and welcome your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of. Email us with your thoughts. Council business resourcesVisit our Business and Economic Development web pages. Want more Council news? Subscribe now!Keep up to date with all of Council's news and find out about what's happening in your community. Subscribe to Council's e-newsletters. |