Managed by Tourism Australia’s specialist business unit, Business Events Australia, the Business Events Bid Fund Program (BFP) is a subvention fund designed to increase the conversion of new international business events for Australia through the offer of financial support at the critical bidding stage. The BFP is designed to deliver conversion of business in situations where Australia is bidding against international competitors for the right to host the business event.The BFP supports expenditure on goods and services within Australia for the purposes of delivering confirmed, qualified business events. The BFP does not subsidise administrative, logistics or marketing costs for international bids, for example for overseas travel for client meetings or marketing materials.

The provision of funds via the BFP is designed to ensure a material difference to the event costs. This can include, but is not limited to hard costs for accommodation, venue hire, transport and other event costs in the Australian destination.

Funds from the BFP will only be accessible once the specific bid application has been confirmed for Australia and contracts are finalised. Funds will be provided in instalments and will be dependent on the delivery of key performance metrics and achievement of delegate numbers, as outlined in BFP contract.

Tourism Australia recognises that bidding for international business events is ongoing and therefore there are no deadlines for submissions to the BFP. Please note however that the BFP is only available to support bids where an international decision is made by 30 June 2026 and where the event is being held by 31 December 2029.

Mandatory Eligibility Criteria

All submissions to the Bid Fund Program (BFP) will be assessed against the following Mandatory Eligibility Criteria. Before submitting your application, please ensure you have reviewed and addressed the following: 

• The BFP is designed to increase the conversion of new and qualified international business events. Submissions to the BFP must be for new and qualified face to face business events. 
• The BFP is designed to support international business events being held entirely in Australia. No dual international destination events will be considered or virtual events. 
• Submissions to the BFP must request funds to cover actual event costs, including but not limited to accommodation, venue hire, transport and other event costs. 
• Submissions must not be for the purposes of administrative, logistics or marketing costs for bids, or for marketing collateral or delegate acquisition. 
• The BFP is not for the purposes of supporting the delivery of existing business events being held in Australia. Already confirmed business events will not be considered. Requests for support for international delegate acquisition activities for existing business events in Australia should be made via Tourism Australia’s Advance Program. 
• Submissions must be for a minimum of A$50,000 (excluding GST). 
• A bid application cannot be submitted after the international decision date has lapsed. 
• All bid submissions are subject to a minimum four-week turnaround time and applicants have allowed enough time in their application for this process. 
• If the bid decision has not been made by the specified international bid submission date, TA has the right to release the pledged or supported BFP funding. 
• A bid that is supported in a specific year cannot roll into future financial years and a new bid application for the future year must be submitted. 
• Submissions must be able to demonstrate the economic value of the event to Australia. Events with the highest return on Tourism Australia’s investment will be prioritised for the BFP however Tourism Australia will allocate funding in its sole discretion. 
• Submissions must demonstrate at least matched cash funding to the requested BFP funds, note that an in-kind contribution is not considered as part of matched funding. 
• For international association events, meetings and exhibitions, submissions must demonstrate that the event for which support is requested will attract a minimum of 400 international visitors. 
• For international incentive events, submissions must demonstrate that the event will attract a minimum of 700 international visitors and/or bring an economic value of more than A$3 million to Australia. 
• Applicants must have the legal capacity to be able to enter into an agreement with Tourism Australia in accordance with Australian law. 
• Applicants must not be insolvent and must be in good financial standing to enter into an agreement with Tourism Australia. 
• Applicants must agree to transparency with Tourism Australia regarding bid details, economic impact calculations, lead agencies, additional support requested and/or secured from other entities and financial information. As such, all applicants must provide supporting documentation if requested by Tourism Australia. 
• Applicants must respond to all mandatory questions in the BFP application form in order to submit an eligible submission. Tourism Australia reserves the right to reject submissions that did not complete all mandatory questions. 
• Applicants must agree that any support already secured through other programs does not contravene BFP Terms & Conditions, reporting requirements, and key performance indicators (KPIs). 
• Applicants must comply with all applicable Australian laws and Tourism Australia policies, including those relating to work health and safety, privacy, anti-bribery, modern slavery, corruption and insurance requirements. 
• If applicable, submissions must demonstrate any economic benefit due to regional dispersal of event or delegates, i.e. pre/post touring, an event or part of an event being held in a regional destination.

• Email: bea@tourism.australia.com