Running a small business is hard enough without also trying to find the money to grow it. If you are a woman running a business in Brisbane, the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant is one of the more accessible funding options available right now, and it is open for applications for the 2026/27 round.
This guide breaks down exactly what the grant is, how much funding is on offer, who can apply, who cannot, what the money can and cannot be spent on, and what you should get ready before you start your application.
What Is the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant?
The Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant is a Brisbane City Council initiative designed to help women who own and run small businesses in Brisbane strengthen their operations and grow their impact. It is delivered through Brisbane Business Hub, which is run by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, with Commonwealth Bank as the program’s presenting partner.
Unlike many grant programs that fund large capital projects, this one is aimed squarely at practical, business-strengthening activities: getting expert advice, building new skills, or investing in equipment that helps a business grow. Since the program began, it has distributed $1.25 million across 263 recipients and supported 533 jobs, giving a good sense of the scale and track record behind it.
Recipients are not simply handed a cheque and left to it. Successful applicants also join a 12 month business development program delivered by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency through Brisbane Business Hub, which is intended to help embed the growth the grant funding kickstarts.
How Much Funding Is Available?
Each successful applicant can receive up to $5,000 (exclusive of GST) to put toward eligible business activities. The total fund pool for this round is $250,000, which means the council expects to support somewhere in the order of 50 businesses in this round, depending on the size of individual grants awarded.
This is not a program that funds a handful of large projects. It is designed to spread meaningful, practical funding across a broad group of women-led small businesses in Brisbane, which also means competition for a share of the pool is likely to be solid rather than negligible.
Key Dates
The 2026/27 round of the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant opened at 9:00am AEST on Monday, 1 September 2026, and closes at 4:00pm AEST on Tuesday, 6 October 2026.
That is a firm cut off time, not just a date, so applicants should treat the 4:00pm AEST deadline on 6 October 2026 as the real line in the sand rather than assuming the end of the day counts. Given how many supporting documents this application requires (more on that below), it is worth starting well before the final week.
Who Qualifies for This Grant?
Brisbane City Council has set out a fairly specific set of eligibility criteria for this round. To be eligible, an applicant generally needs to meet all of the following:
Hold an active Australian Business Number and be registered in Queensland. Be headquartered in, or have business outlets based in, the Brisbane Local Government Area. Be a woman with a minimum of 50 percent ownership of the business applying. Be at least 18 years old and able to provide proof of identity. Be operating and trading for the full 2026/27 financial year, and be able to demonstrate more than one client (this rules out businesses that are still pre-revenue or reliant on a single customer). Have an annual turnover between $75,000 and $500,000. Not have previously received a Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant.
That turnover band is worth paying attention to. If your business is turning over less than $75,000 a year, this particular round is not the right fit, even if everything else lines up. Likewise, if your turnover is above $500,000, the program is designed for businesses at an earlier stage of growth than yours.
The requirement to be trading for the full financial year with more than one client is also a genuine filter. A brand new business that only launched partway through 2026/27, or one that is still built around a single foundational client, is unlikely to meet this bar as written.
Who Does Not Qualify?
Based on the published eligibility criteria, the following types of applicants and businesses fall outside the scope of this grant:
- Businesses located outside the Brisbane Local Government Area, even if they are otherwise based in Queensland.
- Businesses where a woman does not hold at least 50 percent ownership. Applicants under 18 years of age.
- Businesses that have not yet started trading, or have only been trading for part of the 2026/27 financial year.
- Businesses with an annual turnover below $75,000 or above $500,000. Anyone who has already received this specific grant in a previous round.
- Businesses without an active ABN registered in Queensland.
If your business sits outside the Brisbane LGA, it is worth checking whether your own council runs a similar program, since many local governments across Queensland now offer comparable small business or women in business grants of their own.
What Can the Funding Be Used For?
The grant is intended to fund activities that demonstrably help grow the business, rather than day to day running costs. Eligible uses include:
Professional services, covering things like business strategy advice, marketing support, ecommerce development, financial advice, and compliance related services. Training and certification delivered through a Registered Training Organisation or TAFE. Business equipment that clearly demonstrates growth, rather than simply replacing or maintaining what the business already has.
What the Funding Cannot Be Used For
Brisbane City Council has also been explicit about what this grant will not cover. Ineligible expenses include what is described as business as usual or general operating costs, property related payments such as rent or lease costs, travel expenses, franchise fees, stock or inventory purchases, and salaries for staff of the applicant business.
This distinction matters. The program is funding a step change, whether that is a new skill, new advice, or new equipment, not the ordinary cost of keeping the lights on. Applicants who frame their request around covering everyday expenses are likely to find themselves ineligible or, at best, weakly positioned against other applications.
Documents and Information You Will Likely Need
While Brisbane City Council has not published an exhaustive checklist beyond the core application form, the entry guidelines make clear that applicants need to provide original quotes from local Brisbane or Queensland businesses for whatever they intend to spend the grant on, whether that is a training course, a piece of equipment, or a professional service engagement.
In practice, before you start the application through the official grant platform, it is worth having ready:
Your ABN and business registration details. Evidence of your ownership share in the business (at least 50 percent). Proof of identity. Financial records that support your turnover figure for the relevant period. Written quotes from Brisbane or Queensland suppliers for the specific training, equipment, or professional service you want funded. A clear explanation of how the proposed spending will help grow your business, since this is likely to be central to how applications are assessed.
How Competitive Is This Grant?
With a $250,000 total pool and grants capped at $5,000 each, this round can realistically support somewhere around 50 successful applicants, assuming most requests are close to the maximum. Brisbane is home to a very large number of women-led small businesses that would meet the turnover and trading criteria, so it is reasonable to expect that demand will outstrip the available funding.
That does not mean it is not worth applying. It does mean that a vague or generic application is unlikely to stand out. Applications that clearly connect the requested spending (whether that is a specific training course, a named piece of equipment, or a defined scope of professional advice) to a concrete growth outcome for the business are likely to be viewed more favourably than requests that simply ask for money without a clear plan attached.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A few patterns are worth watching out for when you put your application together.
Applying without being sure your turnover sits inside the $75,000 to $500,000 band. Assuming general operating costs, like rent or existing staff wages, will be covered when they are explicitly excluded. Leaving the quote gathering until the last minute, since sourcing written quotes from Brisbane or Queensland suppliers takes time, especially close to the closing date. Underestimating the ownership requirement. If ownership is split with a male co-founder or business partner, you need to be confident you genuinely hold at least 50 percent before applying. Treating the application as a formality rather than making the case for how the funding will drive growth, given that a defined plan is likely to be weighed heavily in a competitive round.
What to Prepare Before You Apply
Given the firm closing time and the documentation involved, a sensible approach is to work backwards from the 6 October 2026, 4:00pm AEST deadline. Confirm your eligibility against every criterion above first, since there is little point preparing a full application only to discover a disqualifying factor at the end. Then identify the specific training, equipment, or professional service you want the grant to fund, and start collecting written quotes from Brisbane or Queensland businesses early, since this step often takes longer than expected. Finally, be ready to commit to the 12 month business development program that comes attached to a successful application, since this is a program requirement, not an optional extra.
Applications are submitted through the official Brisbane City Council grant platform rather than by email or post, so make sure you are working from the current, official application listing rather than a third party summary when you are ready to apply.
How Applications Are Likely Assessed
Brisbane City Council has not published a detailed scoring rubric for this round, and Grants Assist has not seen one either. Based on the eligibility criteria and the required documentation, though, the strongest applications tend to share a few features: a clear, specific use of the funds (a named course, a named piece of equipment, or a defined scope of professional advice) rather than a general request for money, quotes that are already in hand rather than promised, and a short explanation of how that specific spending is expected to grow revenue, capacity, or reach for the business. Because the fund is capped and the applicant pool is likely to be large, specificity matters more in a program like this than in one with a larger, less contested pool of money.
Why Brisbane City Council Runs This Program
The Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant sits within a broader push by Brisbane City Council to support women-led enterprise in the city, delivered in partnership with the Brisbane Economic Development Agency and Commonwealth Bank as presenting partner. With $1.25 million distributed across 263 recipients and 533 jobs supported since the program’s inception, the council has framed it as a long running commitment rather than a one off initiative, which is part of why the program comes bundled with the 12 month development component rather than being a simple cash grant with no follow up.
Related Funding Options
If this particular grant does not suit your business, whether because of the Brisbane LGA restriction, the turnover band, or the fact you have already received it before, it is worth looking more broadly at what else is available. Grants Assist maintains information on grants for women in business across Australia, as well as a broader range of business grants available in Queensland, which may include options with different eligibility settings or funding levels.
If you are not sure which programs you might actually qualify for, the Grants Assist eligibility assessment tool is a straightforward way to narrow down your options based on your own business details, rather than working through every program’s criteria one by one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply if my business is based outside Brisbane but I have a customer base there?
No. The grant requires your business to be headquartered in, or have business outlets based in, the Brisbane Local Government Area. Simply having customers in Brisbane is not sufficient on its own.
What if I own 50 percent of my business with a business partner?
The eligibility criteria require a woman to hold a minimum of 50 percent ownership, so an exact 50/50 split with a co-owner would meet that threshold, provided every other eligibility requirement is also satisfied.
Can I use the grant to cover staff wages while I complete training?
No. Salaries for staff of the applicant business are explicitly listed as an ineligible use of funds, regardless of the purpose.
Do I need to have already received quotes before I apply?
The entry guidelines call for original quotes from local Brisbane or Queensland businesses as part of the application, so it is best to have these ready, or well underway, before you submit rather than leaving quote collection until after applying.
What happens if I am successful?
Successful applicants receive up to $5,000 toward their proposed activity and are also enrolled in a 12 month business development program delivered by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency through Brisbane Business Hub, with support from Presenting Partner Commonwealth Bank.
Is this a one off grant, or can I reapply every year?
You cannot reapply if you have already received a Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant in a previous round. If you have not previously received it and you meet all other criteria, there is nothing in the published guidelines preventing you from applying again in a future round if this one is unsuccessful.
Does the $5,000 need to be spent all at once on a single item?
The guidelines describe eligible categories (professional services, training and certification, and growth-demonstrating equipment) rather than requiring a single purchase, so a combination of eligible activities within those categories, supported by quotes, appears to be permitted, though applicants should confirm the specifics of their proposed spending aligns with the categories before applying.
Keep Exploring Your Options
Want to keep exploring your options? Grants Assist’s online portal gives you access to detailed, regularly updated information on grants and assistance programs across Australia. Explore the Grants Assist portal to browse more programs like this one, or call us on 1300-005-999 to speak with one of our advisors.
