Victoria-Israel Science and Technology Research and Development Fund (VISTECH)

The VISTECH program supports collaborative R&D projects aimed at achieving commercialisation of new or improved products, processes or services that can potentially contribute to the economic development and public benefit of Victoria and Israel through the following types of activities:

• Technology-based products processes or services
• The advancement of these technologies to commercial readiness
• The identification of steps for realisation of economic benefits for all parties concerned; and/or
• The support of new technologies from proof of concept to a minimum viable product (MVP) stage of development in respective markets. This would directly support businesses that have proven the feasibility of their technology.

MVP projects are designed for pre-revenue technology businesses to help engage potential business, customers, or market channels to achieve market validation prior to first sale.

Please read all the information on this page and the program guidelines before submitting your application.

Program guidelines

Victoria-Israel Science and Technology Research and Development Fund (VISTECH) – Program guidelines (PDF 395.9 KB)

Victoria-Israel Science and Technology Research and Development Fund (VISTECH) – Program guidelines (DOCX 367.04 KB)

Applications to the Victoria-Israel Science and Technology Research and Development Fund (VISTECH) will close at 5pm on 11 September 2023.

Eligibility criteria

To be considered for funding, applicants must co-operate on innovative market-driven development of an innovative technological product, process, or service.

The project partners must include:

• At least one Victorian company with a trading history and ABN
• At least one Israeli company.

Victorian Applicants must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible:

• The application is an eligible for-profit entity type or commercially focused not-for-profit; and
• The applicant is operating in Victoria; and
• The applicant has a registered office and principal place of business located in Victoria; and
• Be non-tax exempt; and
• Active ABN; and
• Registered for GST; and
• Can contribute a minimum of 50 per cent of the project cost.

Collaborating companies take forward parallel applications in Victoria and Israel. Academic institutions can participate as subcontractors only.

Israeli applicants are required to be an industrial corporation registered in Israel and operating according to the laws of the State of Israel, which conducts research and development for commercial needs.

Grant recipients must pass risk assessments by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR) related to financial risk and business unit risk.

The Victorian applicants must therefore provide:

• Audited Financial Reports for the last three financial years. This should be the ‘final accounts’ with Directors’ Report and Declaration and should include Profit & Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flows, and notes to the accounts.
• The company’s financial projections for the next three financial years, including Profit & Loss and Cash Flow.

OR (For companies that have been registered for less than 3 years):

• Provide evidence you have been a registered company for less than 3 years.
• Provide evidence of your ability to fund at least 50 per cent of eligible project expenditure, such as funding strategy, a bank statement, or loan agreement.
• You must also provide an Accountant Declaration that confirms your ability to fund the project and supporting documentation in the form of Letters of Support from investors, Management History, and/or Personal Assets and Liabilities.
• Audited Financial Reports from date of registration until application date. This should be the ‘final accounts’ with Directors’ Report and Declaration and should include Profit & Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flows, and notes to the accounts.

If there is no trading history, a statutory declaration is required.

Companies are required to make a co-contribution of an equal or greater value than the grant amount requested. The Government funds can be used to leverage funding from other programs separate from VISTECH itself. However, the requirement remains for the partners to at least match the Victorian Government’s contribution.

VISTECH funding can be applied flexibly to project related expenses; funding is not intended to cover ‘business as usual’ expenses.

Project costs and activities

Eligible project costs and activities may include:

• Personnel costs for staff dedicated to the project
• Cost of purchasing, leasing, or renting equipment or instrumentation
• Cost of sub-contracting and consultancy services used exclusively for the project
• Other operating expenses (e.g., cost of materials, consumables, and other supplies)
• Premarketing expenses
• Outlays to meet regulatory requirements
• Business planning
• Knowledge transfer to industry and other end users
• Necessary travel.

Corporate overheads as well as financial charges are not eligible.

For more details, please read the program guidelines.

What you get

VISTECH collaborations provide partner companies with access to additional skills, capital, technology transfer and know-how.

How to apply

Proposal submission

To enable any collaborative project to succeed, it is essential that the parties are aligned as to project objectives, skills, and ethos.

A search and matching service can be provided to assist Victorian and Israeli companies seeking to identify partner organisations. Please send an email to innovation.programs@ecodev.vic.gov.au.

Information will be shared with the Israel Innovation Authority to identify potential partner organisations.

Applicants must undertake the following steps to apply:

1. Carefully read the program guidelines.
2. Compile all necessary supporting documents to apply as detailed in the ‘Documentation and Information Requirements’ section of the Program Guidelines, including the jointly completed  VISTECH General Bilateral Cooperation Application Form (DOCX 119.5 KB) and a Letter of Intent (LoI) or Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (DOCX 37.04 KB).
3. Submit your application:
   1. Victorian applicants can submit an application by emailing DJSIR at innovation.programs@ecodev.vic.gov.au. Total email file size cannot exceed 20MB.
   2. Israeli applicants can submit their applications via the Innovation Israel website.
4. Ensure you receive an email confirmation of application submission. Please check spam/junk mail if the confirmation email is not in your inbox.
5. Only final applications that are lodged with the Department or the IIA will be considered and assessed.

Israeli applicants are subject to the evaluation procedures of the IIA, which generally includes on-site visits and interviews by an assigned professional evaluator. The IIA Research Committee then makes a decision regarding whether the project is eligible for funding and for what amount.

The projects are then reviewed by a Joint Management Committee. Only those projects that are approved by both Government authorities receive funding.

Letters of offer are sent by the IIA to successful Israeli applicants.

Selection criteria

Applications will be assessed on the following criteria.

Technical strength

Technical strength includes:

• The level of innovation and novelty of the product
• The technological barriers, risks, and opportunities of the development
• The creation of intellectual property.

Business – commercial potential

Commercial potential includes:

• The potential market size
• The path to adoption (commercialisation/utilisation) will achieve the identified outcomes
• The funding sought will generate a return on investment
• The solution answers market needs
• The global market size
• The expected market share for the company
• Significant competitive advantage based on a comparison of competitor companies and products.

Collaboration – organisational capabilities

Organisational capabilities include:

• The position of the organisations in the sector
• The capabilities of the management and research and development teams
• The ability of the collaboration to achieve the intended results
• Financial capability
• Past performance.

Contribution to the economy

Contribution to the economy includes:

• The potential contribution of the technology to the economy and society
• The potential of an industry sector or user group to make productivity gains from the technology
• Additional investment, export, and employment opportunities.