Business bulletin: 29 June 2022

The Biz Secure program has been updated to better support Territory businesses improve their security.

Key changes include cutting red tape to speed up the application process, increased funding and a reduction on some co-contributions for businesses.

From 1 July 2022, individual Territory businesses can access up to 15,000 to make a range of permanent security improvements to their premises.

The co-contribution for works that improve the physical security of the business has been reduced to 25:75. This means individual businesses and cluster applications only have to contribute 25% of the cost of works while the Biz Secure voucher covers 75% of the total.

The program will also include a list a pre-approved standard improvements that can be funded without the need for a security audit. This will enable businesses to carry out physical security jobs more quickly.

These new changes will come into effect on 1 July 2022.

For more information visit https://bizsecure.nt.gov.au/

For further assistance with these changes please email bizsecure@nt.gov.au

Territory businesses can access tailored support to establish or expand their exporting capabilities under the Global Trade Scheme grant program.

The Global Trade Scheme is a key action under the International Engagement Strategy 2022-2026 and has been designed to align with the current economic climate and the needs of industry.

The Scheme is divided into 3 streams, each offering different levels of support depending where the business is at in their export journey. Each stream is based in a 50:50 co-contribution basis.

Stream 1

• Grants of up to $3,000 to assist businesses to become export ready.

Stream 2

• Grants of up to $10,000 to assist export-ready Territory companies to grow existing and enter into new export markets.

Stream 3

• Grants of up to $50,000 to assist export-capable Territory companies to grow existing and enter new export markets through a cluster or industry association project.

The Territory is a significant contributor to Australia trade and this is demonstrated by our share of the country’s natural gas, mining and live cattle exports.

The Global Trade Scheme will ensure Territory businesses remain competitive and well positioned to take advantage of new opportunities in the global market.

Applications open 1 July, 2022 and will remain open all year round or until grant funding is exhausted.

For more information and to apply visit: nt.gov.au/global-trade-scheme

The Territory’s space industry has taken a giant leap forward with the first of 3 NASA rockets launched from Equatorial Launch Australia’s Arnhem Space Centre over the weekend.

The NASA mission will investigate heliophysics, astrophysics and planetary science phenomena only observable from the southern hemisphere. ELA’s Arnhem Space Centre is ideally positioned to support these 3 NASA missions and other launch companies from around the globe.

The first launch is carrying X-ray Quantum Calorimeter, or XQC, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

XQC will be cooled to a freezing one-twentieth of a degree above absolute zero, to measure interstellar X-rays with unprecedented precision, to better understand the structure and evolution of galaxies and stars.

The launch marks the first NASA rockets to be launched from Australia since 1995, and the first time NASA has ever launched from a commercial spaceport outside the US.

The Arnhem Space Centre is located on the Dhupuma Plateau near Nhulunbuy, on Yolngu lands. Traditional owners have played an important part in the construction of infrastructure for the Arnhem Space Centre and are now supporting its site operations including safely retrieving rockets once they have returned to earth.

NASA has a ‘clean range policy’ which means that everything involved in the launch is removed from the site and down range areas. At the conclusion of the launch campaign all spent motor cases and payloads will be recovered and returned to the US.

Two more rockets launching from the Arnhem Space Centre on 4 July and 12 July 2022 will be studying the effects of ultraviolet light and the modelling of stars.

Sun Cable’s Australia –Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) has reached an important milestone with Infrastructure Australia advancing the project to Stage 3 ‘investment-ready’ status.

The AAPowerLink is the world’s largest, solar, storage and transmission system that will transmit renewable electricity from the Barkly Region of the Northern Territory to Darwin and Singapore.

The project will deliver $8 billion in expected investment to Australia and $2 billion in expected annual export revenues from 2028.

The AAPowerLink will deliver significant benefits to Australia, including 800MW of zero carbon electricity for Northern Australia and 2.6 million tonnes of estimated carbon emission reduction.

It is also expected to create 14,000 direct and indirect jobs, most of which will be in Australia.

Sun Cable Founder and CEO, David Griffin, said Infrastructure Australia’s announcement affirms the AAPowerLink is economically viable and will deliver significant benefits for Australia and our region.

“The AAPowerLink will enable a strong economy for the long term through contracts, wages and economic diversification. It will spur enhanced capacity and skills in the construction and technology sectors and as a result of jobs and training over the lifetime of the project and pave the way for new green industries to be established and to thrive.”

The AAPowerLink is targeted to reach financial close by the start of 2024. Construction will commence in 2024, with electricity supplied to Darwin in 2027 and full operations underway by 2029.

An online Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course is providing a new pathway for international student to work in the Territory’s hospitality sector.

The free RSA International Student course has been developed in partnership between Hospitality NT and the Northern Territory Government. The non-accredited course provides an opportunity for international students to satisfy RSA requirements needed to work in the Northern Territory hospitality industry.

Hospitality NT Chief Executive Officer, Alex Bruce, said the new course will hopefully help maximise the number of international students working in local hospitality venues.

“We thank Licensing NT and the Territory Government for their practical and pragmatic approach to ensuring valued international students can continue to be a critical part of the hospitality workforce.”

This course is only applicable for international students studying in the Northern Territory and is not able to be used in other states or territories.

On successful completion of the RSA for International Students course, the credential is valid for 3 years.

The course can be found online at: www.internationalstudentsrsant.com.

Accredited RSA courses for international students that provide a qualification transmissible to other states and the ACT are available for a fee through Charles Darwin University and the International College for Advanced Education.