Hiring & Wage Subsidy Grants in Australia (2026)

20 matching programs20 open now

About Hiring & Wage Subsidies Grants

Wage subsidies reduce the cost of hiring by reimbursing part of a new employee's wages for up to 26 weeks. If you're planning to hire anyone in the next 12 months, you may be eligible for $1,500–$10,000 per hire — depending on the type of worker and your location. These aren't competitive grants; if you hire an eligible jobseeker, you receive the subsidy.

Featured Programs

Highest value first
OpenCommonwealth·$15,698 - $750,000,000
Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program - Phase 4

Funding under Phase 4 of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program is available from 1 July 2023 to support Eligible Funding Recipients to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects across Australia. LRCI Phase 4 continues the objective of the program to provide temporary, targeted support for creating and maintaining local jobs through road infrastructure and construction activities in communities across Australia. The intended outcomes of the program are to: deliver benefits to communities, such as improved road safety, accessibility and visual amenity; and create local short-term employment opportunities through funding construction projects Eligibility: Eligible Funding Recipients for Phase 4 are the same as for Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the LRCI Program. Grant Activity Timeframe: Phase 4 project construction can only begin once funding recipients have in place an executed Grant Agreement and Approved Work Schedule. Total Amount Availa

Details
OpenCommonwealth·Up to $190,000,000
Indigenous Advancement Strategy: Support for Community Sector Organisations

This grant provides $190 million over four years (2022-23 to 2025-26) to support Community Sector Organisations (CSOs) already receiving Indigenous Advancement Strategy funding. The funding addresses wage pressures and inflation impacts on eligible organisations delivering community services. Funding amounts are based on existing IAS agreement duration, a percentage of current IAS funding, and service delivery location, with higher supplementation for remote and very remote areas.

Details
OpenCommonwealth·Up to $94,200,000
Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program

The RJED Program seeks to fund 3,000 new jobs over 3 years to support job seekers currently participating in or that are eligible for Remote Australia Employment Services (RAES), to move into employment. There are two streams of funding available, Job Creation – to fund the cost of wages and related entitlements, and the Community Jobs and Business Fund (CJBF) – to provide funding for equipment, operational costs and infrastructure to directly support bringing jobs created under the Job Creation stream into existence. For the purposes of the RJED program, a new job is: •a job which does not already exist within an organisation and does not displace an existing employee, or •a job created in a RAES Community Project. As job allocations are based on NIAA regions, you will need submit a separate application for each NIAA region where you intend to deliver a job. For example: If you apply for jobs located in more than one RAES region, but all those jobs are in the same NIAA region, you wil

Details
OpenCommonwealth·Up to $85,000,000
MRFF 2026 National Critical Research Infrastructure

The 2026 National Critical Research Infrastructure initiative invests in research infrastructure to ensure Australian researchers find innovative solutions to complex health problems in areas of unmet medical need. This grant opportunity has four streams. Stream 1 - Innovation enablers Address an area of unmet medical need by promoting the development and implementation of new research infrastructure by supporting development and/or expansion of research enablers such as biobanks, tissue repositories, novel platforms, and secure health data environments to create valuable research resources. Stream 2 - Digitisation of health care Translate or implement innovative artificial intelligence technologies into health applications that: benefit multiple health disciplines/areas involve consumers in the research journey to ensure the research is applicable to the needs of the Australian community; and increase artificial intelligence workforce capacity and capability, particularly in relation

Details
OpenCommonwealth·Up to $76,269,844
National Palliative Care Projects

The National Palliative Care Projects represent a long-standing commitment by the Australian Government to improve the quality, accessibility, and coordination of palliative care services across the country. These projects have supported national leadership, innovation, and capacity-building in palliative care through investments in research, education, workforce development, and community engagement. To view the grant opportunity documents, please select the red "Grant Opportunity Documents" button on the left-hand side. Eligibility: To be eligible you must be one of the following entity types. • Indigenous Corporation (registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006) • Company • Corporate Commonwealth Entity • Non-Corporate Commonwealth Statutory Authority • Corporate State or Territory Entity • Non-corporate State or Territory Entity • Non-corporate State or Territory Statutory Authority • Local Government • Cooperative • Incorporated Associati

Details
OpenCommonwealth·$39,000 - $67,600,000
Journalism Assistance Fund

The Journalism Assistance Fund Program, running over 3 years from 2025-26, was announced as part of the News Media Assistance Program (News MAP). News MAP aims to support public interest journalism and media diversity in Australia - recognising these are critical to a healthy democracy, social cohesion and informed citizens. Organisations producing core news content will be eligible for funding. The funding will provide a proportion of the wages for journalists producing core news content that is distributed digitally. The program aims to: support the sustainability of Australian news publishers in the face of significant disruption to the media sector support the creation of digitally distributed news content, encourage continued employment of journalists who primarily produce news that is in the Australian public interest build and maintain social cohesion in Australia Eligibility: You can apply if you: have an Australian business number (ABN) are registered for the Goods and Service

Details

Eligibility Notes

Wage subsidies are available to any Australian business with an ABN. The eligible worker must be referred through Workforce Australia (formerly Jobactive) or a similar employment services provider. Subsidies are typically paid in instalments over the employment period (usually 26 weeks). The worker must remain employed for the full period for you to receive the full subsidy amount.

More Programs

14 additional
OpenCommonwealth· $2,500 - $60,000,000
DRIVEN Charger Rebate Stream
OngoingNSW· Up to $17,692,000
NSW RNA Research and Training Network
OpenCommonwealth· Up to $3,000,000
Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) 2026
OngoingNSW· Up to $1,555,229
Supporting return to work: EmployAbility

Common Questions

How much can I receive per hire?

Between $1,500 and $10,000 depending on the worker's circumstances. Indigenous Australians, people with disability, and long-term unemployed attract the highest subsidies.

Does the worker need to come from a government agency?

Not necessarily — you can find the candidate yourself and then check their eligibility with a Workforce Australia provider before making a formal offer.

Can I get a subsidy for someone I've already hired?

Generally no — the subsidy must be arranged before the employment starts. Some exceptions apply within the first few weeks of employment.

Are apprenticeships eligible?

Yes — apprenticeship and traineeship incentives are separate from general wage subsidies and can be accessed through the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program.

Grant information is sourced from official government websites and updated regularly. Always verify details with the official source before applying.