Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price has announced an $81.4 million funding boost for the Defence Sovereign Industrial Capability Program (SCIP) to provide grants to industry for the next three years.

Funded as part of the 2022-23 Defence Budget, Minister Price said the grant guidelines have been changed to make the SCIP a competitive program.

“The program will allow Australian businesses to continue making crucial investments in our sovereign industrial base by developing a broad range of critical capabilities,” she said in a release. “Small to medium Australian businesses will now be able to apply for a grant of up to $1 million with a co-contribution ratio of 50:50. This is capped at $3 million in a three-year period per recipient.

Minister Price said the co-contribution ratio and minimum and maximum grant amounts would return to their pre-COVID-19 stimulus levels, after being increased to help stimulate the economy during the Covid downturn.

“I have no doubt that this level of support will be welcomed by SMEs and demonstrates our commitment to developing a defence industry capable of building what we need at home when we need it,” she said.

Grant applications will be available on the business.gov.au website Tuesday 12 April 2022.