20 Jun 2017
Early Commercialisation Fund
The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN ( 14:53 :11 ): My question is for the Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation. Last week, in answer to a question, you indicated that since its inception, TechInSA has administered the government’s Early Commercialisation Fund. Can you advise the chamber whether TechInSA charges a fee to administer the fund? If so, is the fee paid out of the fund?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) ( 14:53 :43 ): I am happy to go away and get a more detailed answer, but I can inform the honourable member that I am pretty sure how the arrangements work and if I need to add to or subtract from that, I am happy to do so to clarify. TechInSA is the old BioSA. It survives on state government funding to help it work.
In terms of the South Australian Early Commercialisation Fund, it is administered through TechInSA, with help from DSD, and it is administered through officials that TechInSA already employ, with help from DSD. I don’t believe there is any charge that TechInSA cross-charges back to the government to help do the things in terms of selection, in terms of the due diligence and in terms of the monitoring of those grants.
I believe that is part of the function that the old BioSA, now TechInSA, has had for quite a long time but I am happy to double-check that. I am pretty sure that it’s the case that there is no charge back fee from TechInSA to the government. This is part of TechInSA’s work that they have done in the past that is now an expanded remit that is also helped by officials from DSD.
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