The abolition of Commercialisation Australia removes a vital lifeline for Australian startups and much needed support for angel investment, says StartupAus.

Government must move quickly to fill gap left by abolition of Commercialisation Australia, Innovation Investment Funds, and take swift action on Employee Share Schemes.

Steven Baxter, board member, StartupAUS managing director River City Labs commented: “The reality is there’s nothing in this budget that indicates the government wants to support tech startups in Australia. The concerning top-level conclusion is that a “saving” of $845.6 million over five years is another way of saying the government will reduce its support for innovation by nearly $170 million a year.

“Australia invests a fraction of what other developed countries do funding tech startups, and the budget has provided no solid proof that the government intends to rectify this. We need tech startups as a major focus of the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme as they are an important driver of economic growth and their needs are very different to those of regular small businesses.”

 

Read the full response, and have your say here on the StartupTasmania blog.