Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program
Support innovation in NSW through sponsorship funding for events and activities that connect startups, investors and industry.
About the program
The Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program (the program) is designed to support activities that enable the innovation ecosystem to connect, learn and develop.
The program supports innovation, enabling activities that:
- drive equitable participation in the innovation sector
- enable opportunities for startups in regional NSW and Western Sydney
- connect local startups with investors and venture capitalists
- support founders and startups to commercialise ideas and scale operations.
Key dates
Round 4 has now closed.
If you’re planning an activity that helps innovators connect, learn, or grow, this is your chance to secure support.
- Applications open: Tuesday 17 February 2026
- Applications close: Tuesday 10 March 2026, 4:00pm AEDT
- Results notified: June 2026
- Delivery period: 1 August 2026 – 31 May 2027.
An applicant can only qualify as a sponsorship recipient if the organisation, the proposed activity, and associated costs meet the below defined eligibility criteria.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- be a legal entity
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or be registered as a not-for-profit organisation
- have appropriate public liability insurance cover for the proposed activity to the value of at least $10 million (for in-person events only)
- be registered for the purposes of GST
- have a business account with an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution (banks, building societies and credit unions).
To be eligible, the activity must:
- be held in NSW
- generate short- and/or long-term impact for innovation-intensive businesses and the overall innovation ecosystem
- align with the key priorities and strategic objectives of the NSW Government and Investment NSW, including the NSW Industry Policy and the NSW Innovation Blueprint 2035 (refer to the assessment criteria in Section 7 of the Guidelines).
For more information on NSW Government priorities, view the NSW Industry Policy, NSW Innovation Blueprint and NSW Trade and Investment Strategy.
To be eligible, costs must:
- be a cost directly related to the activity
- be incurred within the financial year in which the sponsorship activity is delivered
- be a true and accurate reflection of costs required to deliver the activity.
Eligible costs include:
- speaker fees including local airfares and accommodation
- event management fees
- marketing and promotion
- utilities
- labour expenditure for temporary employment for the activity
- the cost of any agreed activities you contract to another organisation such as:
- hire of temporary equipment, e.g., audio visual services
- venue hire costs
- meeting spaces and catering.
Please note other costs may be considered subject to your activity type.
Who can’t apply
You are not eligible to apply for sponsorship if you are:
- insolvent
- an individual
- a trust
- a partnership
- an unincorporated association
- a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government agency or body excluding government corporate entities
- an organisation already receiving funding under the Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program for the proposed activity
- any organisation not included under ‘Who is eligible to apply’.
Examples of eligible sponsorship activities include:
- Awards ceremony
- Pitch event
- Panel discussion
- Festival/conference/summit
- Networking event
- Research and publication.
What we don’t fund
The sponsorship cannot be used for the following activities:
- Prize money
- Programs or projects i.e. accelerator programs
- Grants/investment
- Insurance
- Costs incurred in the preparation of this application or related documentation
- Retrospective costs
- Wages (although funding can be used for fixed term staff appointed for the duration of the activity)
- Activities requiring ongoing funding from the NSW Government
- Costs incurred during the normal course of business e.g. rent
- Research and publications that primarily serve internal organisational needs and do not provide value to the broader innovation ecosystem.
- Activities delivered outside the funding period.
How to apply
Applications have now closed.
To apply, you need to:
- read the program guidelines and sample sponsorship agreement below
- complete the full application form
- demonstrate how you meet the eligibility and assessment criteria
- provide a high-level budget and note any confidential information
- apply before the published deadline.
Recent round recipients
The following recipients were successful in round 3 of the Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program to support activities that enable the innovation ecosystem to connect, learn and develop.
Round 3
| Organisation | Activity |
|---|---|
| Australian Fashion Council Ltd | AFC Fashioning the Future: Manufacturing Innovation Program |
| Greenhouse as part of Innovillage Pty Ltd | Climate Innovation and Investment Summit |
| Hunter IF PTY LTD | Hunter Innovation Festival: What If... We Power the Future Through Clean Energy, Smart Manufacturing, Skilled People & Bold Ideas? |
| InnovationAus.com Pty Ltd | InnovationAus Awards for Excellence 2025 |
| Invest Rural (trading as Go Remote) | Invest Rural |
| Remarkable (Cerebral Palsy Alliance) | Remarkable Disability Tech Summit 2025 |
| Salus VC Pty Ltd | Deep Tech Sovereignty Summit: Building Our Industrial Future |
| Scale Investors Pty Ltd | Equity Clear - Show Us the Data |
| Shoshanna Group T/A Entrepreneurial Small Business Women Australia | Western Sydney Innovation Connect: Women Founders x Industry |
| Tech Ready Women | FoundHER Summit: Innovation x Investment |
| University of Technology Sydney | UTS Scaling Up Summit 2026 |
| UNSW Founders | Pitch Night Southwest and MedTech & Health Innovation Workshop Wagga Wagga |
| Western Sydney Tech Innovators Inc | Western Sydney AI Innovation Summit & Hackathon |
Past sponsorships
Below are past sponsorships that we have funded.
| Organisation | Activity |
|---|---|
Greenhouse - Innovillage Pty Ltd | Climate Innovation and Investor Summit |
Connect Macquarie Park Innovation District | Macquarie Park Semiconductor Summit |
Cut Through Venture | The State of Australian Startup Funding report launch & Pitch-a-Palooza |
Climate Salad Pty Ltd | 2024 Australian Climate Tech Festival & Awards |
Impact Asia Pacific Pty Ltd | Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific |
Spacecubed | Plus Eight Innovation Festival |
University of New South Wales | HealthTech Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking |
Proto Axiom Pty Ltd | The Challenger Summit |
Startmate | Demo Day for the Winter24 Accelerator founders |
UNSW Founders | Deep Tech Investors Summit |
Spark Festival Ltd | Spark Festival 2024 + Ecosystem Engagement and Regional Events |
PrimeLife Partners | Longevity Economy Innovation Ecosystem |
Business Western Sydney | Westmead Health & Innovation District Conference |
| Organisation | Activity |
|---|---|
Cicada Innovations | Tech 23 |
EnergyLab | Going from Startup to Scaleup - Climate Tech Edition |
HunteriF | Festival Conference and Showcase |
NiceTo (Joy Cubes) | Climate & Impact Tech |
InnovationAus | InnovationAus Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner |
Tank Stream Labs | Startup to Scaleup (S2S) Summit |
Scalare Partners | Australian Technology Competition 2024 |
Liverpool Innovation Precinct (UNSW) | MedTech Breakfast Series |
Spark Festival | Spark Sydney South Innovation Showcase |
Startmate | Demo Day |