The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is warning small business advisers and entrepreneurs to be careful of websites that charge for grant-related services or advice when, in fact, such assistance is already freely available.
Official government information about grants is available to the public in a readily searchable form at grantslinkgov.au and business.gov.au, Decisions about grants are based on merit and you can’t pay for special access.
Despite this, some third-party websites charge a fee to access lists of government grants, even though these can be accessed for free from official sources. In other cases, small business owners are asked to pay administration fees to these third parties only to find they are not eligible for a particular type of grant.
Small business owners expecting assistance with completing and lodging their grant applications may also be disappointed. Often, traders provide lists only of available grants, with no further guidance to applicants other than letting them know what’s available through government channels.
Often, official-sounding names, logos and web addresses are used to attract people who are searching online for information about grants. This does not necessarily mean the sites are endorsed by the Australian Government. If in doubt, remember that Australian Government websites use the gov.au extension.
Some websites present very general material about government grant programs, Videos or news releases showcase successful grant recipients in a way that suggests the website is a service provided or endorsed by the Government. Closer inspection of such websites may reveal small disclaimers acknowledging no affiliation with the Government, and/or that the website has no involvement in either providing or securing grants.
Such fine-print disclaimers can easily be overlooked, especially by people who are more comfortable calling the phone numbers or using other contact points displayed on more prominent parts of the webpage. Yet using these means of contact will not put you through to an impartial government contact.
Dr Michael Schaper is deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The ACCC is also warning about outright scams in which small businesses are cold-called and offered government grants. In these instances the scammer typically claims to represent the fictitious Australian Government Grants Department and states that a company has been successful in receiving a grant. The catch is that a fee of $199 is required to release the grant funds.
Scam callers can sound very convincing. They will often recite key company information, such as business or account numbers, to try to show they’re legitimate, Scammers also move quickly with the times. A couple of years ago, for example, there were numerous reports of scammers offering grants for climate change-related programs.
In reality, the Government does not cold-call small business people offering grants and it doesn’t charge a fee to release grant funds. Be suspicious of any callers asking for bank account details in return for offers of money. If there is any doubt, get in contact with the relevant government department using contact details only from a trusted source.
Identify and avoid scams:
The ACCC’s SCAMwatch website-scamwatch.gov.au — provides accountants and small businesses with further tips and advice on how to identify and avoid scams.
