Regional businesses with a great idea and a drive to innovate are being encouraged to put their hands up, with applications now open for the 2026 Innovate with nbn® Grants Program.
Now in its seventh year, the program is delivered by nbn in partnership with the Regional Australia Institute and celebrates businesses across regional Australia that are using connectivity and technology to work smarter, improve productivity and create positive outcomes in their communities.
There is a very healthy $125,000 in grant funding available this year, spread across seven categories designed to recognise the diversity, creativity and ingenuity of regional business.
Categories for 2026 include AgTech and Environment; Arts, Culture & Tourism; Education; First Nations Business; Health and Wellbeing; Women in Regional Business, along with the newly introduced Innovation for Productivity category.
Each category winner will receive $15,000, while one outstanding applicant will also be named the 2026 Innovate with nbn® Champion, receiving an additional $20,000.
For businesses across the Central West and Mid-West, the program represents a fantastic opportunity to turn a good idea into something bigger.
Regional businesses are often incredibly good at finding clever solutions to everyday challenges – whether that is improving the way they operate, reaching new customers, developing a new service or creating something that benefits their wider community.
The grants program aims to recognise exactly that kind of thinking, supporting businesses using the nbn® network to drive innovation while delivering meaningful social and economic outcomes.
Importantly, businesses that have applied in previous years but were unsuccessful are encouraged to have another go. A previous application certainly doesn’t rule you out for 2026.
Applications close at midnight on Monday, 12 October 2026, so there is plenty of time to get an application together – but, as always, it is probably best not to leave a great idea sitting in the drafts folder until the final night!
For eligibility, category information and applications, visit the Innovate with nbn® Grants Program page on the nbn website.
The application page is here: Innovate with nbn® Grants Program
