Low Carbon Liquid Fuels Project Development Grant

Businesses in NSW that:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• are an Australian entity duly incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and hold and comply with all necessary authorisations that are material to the conduct of the business of the applicant
• are, or will be, the LCLF production and/or refining facility asset owner, or have, or will have, operational control of the facility by the full application stage
• materially comply with all:
  • obligations under employment contracts, industrial agreements and awards
  • codes of conduct and practice relevant to conditions of service and to the relations between the applicant and the applicant’s employees
  • applicable workplace health and safety legislation
• hold all insurances required by law, including public liability insurance, workers compensation and professional indemnity
• are not subject to any insolvency event, including the subject of an order or resolution for winding up or dissolution (other than for the purposes of reconstruction or amalgamation) or the appointment of a receiver, liquidator, administer or similar
• are not listed on the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade sanctions consolidated list
• disclose any legal proceedings or investigations including litigation, arbitration, mediation or conciliation that are taking place, pending or (to the best of the applicant's knowledge, after having made proper enquiry) threatened against the applicant or a related body corporate (as defined in the Corporations Act) that may adversely impact the applicant’s ability to fulfil its obligations under the funding deed
• agree to comply with any additional requests for information
• disclose all Australian state, territory and Commonwealth Government grants applied for (successful and unsuccessful) in relation to the project
• are the owner of, or have all rights to use and license, any intellectual property needed to carry out the project.

Please see the Low Carbon Liquid Fuels Project Development Grant funding guidelines for the full list of eligibility requirements.

NSW businesses that:

• submitted to the IDA Fuel Security market sounding and/or expression of interest round in May 2026
• aim to complete a project development study covering the technical, commercial, financial and environmental viability of a low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF) production and refining facility in NSW.

You must confirm that the:

• will comply with relevant local, state and federal regulatory requirements
• was submitted to the IDA Fuel Security market sounding and/or expression of interest round in May 2026
• will produce and/or refine low carbon liquid fuels including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), renewable diesel, biodiesel and intermediary products used to produce these low carbon liquid fuels in New South Wales
• has an estimated capital cost of at least $100 million to deploy the project, consistent with the minimum project value threshold applied under the NSW Investment Delivery Authority's fuel security market sounding round
• is technically mature and tested at commercial scale either in Australia or overseas
• after contract execution
• can demonstrate a credible pathway to final investment decision within a defined timeframe following completion of the funded project development study
• will use grant funding to procure and complete a project development study including pre-feasibility, feasibility study or FEED
• is requesting funding within the indicative grant size range ($500,000 to $2 million)
• will include co-investment of at least 50% of eligible project costs by your organisation or through arrangements with partnering organisations that are not affiliated with the NSW Government. Higher cash contributions towards eligible costs are preferred

Please see the Low Carbon Liquid Fuels Project Development Grant funding guidelines for the full list of eligibility requirements.

Project development studies must be complete within 18 months of funding deed execution.

The project should be started by 1 February 2027 and the project must be completed by 31 August 2028.

A completed project development study for a LCLF production facility/refinery located in NSW.

Eligible expenditure means expenditure incurred on any of the following:

• The engagement of an independent and external lead consultant/vendor to conduct and sign off the project development study, including technical, commercial, financial and environmental workstreams.
• Preparation of contracts to undertake study activities (not including the funding deed or application-related documentation).
• The engagement of external specialist consultants directly related to the study (for example, process engineering, cost estimation, lifecycle emissions assessment, market and offtake analysis).
• Labour, such as salaries and wages, including reasonable on-costs for personnel employed directly on managing or overseeing the study.
• Disbursements directly related to the study, including communications, computing facilities, travel, printing and stationery.
• Legal, audit and accounting costs related directly to the study but not including the funding deed or application related documentation.
• Activities that directly contribute to or enable knowledge sharing with the Department or as otherwise approved by the Department, including reports, databases and applications produced as part of the study.
• Relevant licence fees or intellectual property purchase costs, where required to access specific technology or modelling tools to undertake the study.

We may consider supporting any other expenditure not listed above on a case-by-case basis, with consent by us prior to you incurring the cost.

Ineligible applicants include:

• unincorporated associations
• an individual (including sole traders)
• joint applicants without a lead applicant
• insolvent businesses
• NSW state-owned corporations or statutory authorities
• corporations classified under the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) code 0700 Oil and Gas extraction
• anyone who does not meet the eligibility criteria.

Please see the Low Carbon Liquid Fuels Project Development Grant funding guidelines for the full list of eligibility requirements.

Ineligible expenditure includes expenditure:

• on capital works, construction and land acquisition
• on projects that directly relate to NSW Government planning and assessment processes, such as biodiversity, heritage, noise, air quality, traffic, water, waste or hazardous material studies undertaken for a planning approval, or council/government levies and fees
• on projects that a local, state, territory or Commonwealth Government agency has the responsibility to undertake
• on opportunity costs
• related to the general operations and administration of your organisation that you could reasonably be expected to undertake in the normal course of business
• undertaken, incurred or contracted prior to the signing of the funding deed
• on sales or promotional activities
• on interest on loans to carry out the project development study
• on membership fees, donations, or any other expenditure we determine does not directly support successful completion of the feasibility study
• related directly to obtaining government approvals or authorisations to undertake the project development study
• associated with preparing a funding application.

We are not liable for any costs, expenses, losses, claims or damages you may incur during the application process.

Activities that do not directly contribute to completing a project development study covering the technical, commercial, financial and environmental viability of the proposed low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF) production and refining facility. Examples include but are not limited to:

• research and development, including pilot scale and demonstration plants
• studies already completed or substantially underway prior to grant execution
• capital works, construction or land acquisition
• scoping studies that do not lead to a final investment decision.

To be eligible, the funding must contribute to procuring and completing an independent project development study covering the technical, commercial, financial and environmental viability of the proposed low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF) production and refining facility, and must be necessary to achieve final investment decision. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

• options analysis, site selection and feedstock assessment
• process and technology selection (for example, hydrotreated esters and fatty acids, Fischer-Tropsch, Alcohol-to-Jet, transesterification)
• capital and operating cost estimation
• lifecycle emissions assessment
• market, offtake and financial feasibility analysis.

Applicants must contribute at least 50% of the eligible costs of the project development study. Higher contributions are preferred. Contributions can be provided by the applicant’s organisation or through arrangements with partner organisations not affiliated with the NSW Government. 

To ensure the best value for taxpayers and project success, the Assessment Committee prioritises proposals that demonstrate a strong private financial commitment. Projects where the applicant’s own investment exceeds the combined state and federal grant funding are viewed as having a more robust risk profile, which will be favourably considered.