Tasmanian Business Advice Service – Generalist Business Advisor Grant Program

This program provides funding for on-ground generalist business advisors to support small businesses across Tasmania.

The Generalist Business Advisor Grant Program will appoint a broad and diverse pool of suitably qualified and experienced generalist business advisors under the Tasmanian Business Advice Service (TBAS).

Grants will be provided to successful business advisory organisations and sole traders to provide the following services, commencing from 1 July 2023:

• Up to five hours of free business advice per financial year to any established Tasmanian small business (including not-for-profits) in any sector that has held a current Australian Business Number (ABN) for a minimum of 12 months.
• Delivery of general advisory services will be tailored to the needs of each client, ensuring services are relevant, useful and compliant.
• Advice may include, but is not limited to, business planning, budgeting, cash flow and financial planning, profitability analysis, management of debts and liabilities, marketing, governance frameworks, risk management, contingency planning, and diversification strategies.
• All generalist advisors must have an established presence in the region they will operate within, and be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge and experience of the region.
• Services can be provided to any client across the state, however face-to-face delivery of services must be offered to any business physically located within the service provider’s allocated region.

The full scope of services to be delivered is available in the program guidelines. A Probity Advisor has been appointed to provide independent probity advice to the Department of State Growth in relation to the application and assessment process.

Service Regions

There are four regions to be serviced by the on-ground advisors. These are the North, West and North-West, East and South regions, which closely align to the Regional Jobs Hub Network.

Each region will comprise of two sub-regions to maintain comprehensive service provision across the State, with up to eight service providers appointed in total.

Further detail on the regions, including a map, is available in the program guidelines.

The Tasmanian Government’s independent business advisory services

The Tasmanian Government’s business advisory services are currently delivered through the Enterprise Centres Tasmania program.

Following an external review of the Enterprise Centres Tasmania program in 2022, the Tasmanian Government is staging the implementation of an updated service model that addresses all findings and recommendations from the review.

The updated service will be renamed the Tasmanian Business Advice Service (TBAS) and will play a key role in delivering the objectives of the Small Business Growth Strategy 2026 by assisting to create an optimistic, resilient and collaborative small business sector that supports growth.

This service continues the Tasmanian Government’s provision of free and independent business advice to the small business sector, which has been in place for approximately 30 years through various iterations of the Enterprise Centres Tasmania program.

Timeframes

How to apply

1. Read the Program Guidelines
2. Apply via SmartyGrants here, before 2.00 pm, Wednesday 12 April 2023.