If you have an idea for a new tourism accommodation offering or a visitor attraction in Western Australia, but you are not yet sure whether it stacks up, the Tourism Accommodation and Attractions Proposals (TAAP) Program is built for exactly that stage. It funds the early planning and feasibility work needed to find out whether a project is viable, before you commit to construction or major investment.
This article covers how much funding is available, who can apply, what the money can and cannot be used for, key dates, what to prepare, and common mistakes to avoid.
What Is the TAAP Program?
The TAAP Program is a Western Australian Government initiative, delivered through Tourism WA, that supports early-stage planning and feasibility work for new or enhanced tourism accommodation and visitor attraction projects across WA. The program’s focus is deliberately narrow: it is not a construction grant or an operating subsidy. It exists to help genuinely promising, “destination-driving” tourism projects get through the early research and planning stage so they are ready to move toward approval, investment and delivery.
This makes TAAP a useful stepping stone for proponents who have a strong concept for a tourism accommodation development or attraction but need funded support to properly test feasibility, assess the site, and build a credible case before approaching investors, lenders or local government for the next stage.
How Much Funding Is Available?
TAAP provides funding of up to $50,000 per eligible project. The program’s official page does not state a minimum grant amount or a total funding pool available across all applicants, so individual project funding is assessed on the merits and scope of what is proposed, up to that $50,000 ceiling.
Because no total pool figure has been published, it is not possible to say how many successful projects the program expects to fund in this round. What is clear is that the per-project cap sits well above many small planning grants, reflecting the genuine cost of proper feasibility work, environmental and heritage assessments, and master planning for a tourism development.
Who Can Apply?
TAAP is open to individuals, local governments, and privately owned or commercial organisations. To apply, you need an Australian Business Number (ABN) or an Australian Company Number (ACN), and you must be a legal entity capable of entering into a legally binding and enforceable funding agreement with the WA Government.
Your proposed project needs to be a destination-driving tourism accommodation or visitor attraction project located in Western Australia. The program is aimed at genuinely new or substantially enhanced tourism offerings, rather than routine maintenance or minor upgrades to existing facilities.
Who Does Not Qualify?
The official program page does not publish a specific exclusion list beyond the core eligibility requirements. In practical terms, this means a proposal is outside scope if it does not have an ABN or ACN attached, if the entity applying cannot legally enter into a funding agreement, or if the project itself is not a tourism accommodation or visitor attraction proposal located in Western Australia.
If your project is already well past the planning stage and you are instead looking for funding toward construction, fit-out or ongoing operating costs, TAAP is not the right program: as covered below, those costs are explicitly excluded.
What the Funding Can Be Used For
TAAP funding is intended for early-stage planning, feasibility and pre-development activities that help a project move toward approval, investment and delivery. The program names a broad, non-exhaustive list of eligible activities, including:
- feasibility studies
- site surveys
- fauna and flora surveys
- site and soil assessments
- environmental assessments
- cultural heritage assessments
- Traditional Owner engagement
- geotechnical reports
- bushfire assessments
- hydrology studies
- master planning
Because this list is described as “not limited to” these items, other genuinely early-stage planning or assessment activities connected to a tourism accommodation or attraction proposal may also be eligible, assessed on a case by case basis.
What the funding cannot be used for. The program is explicit that funding is not intended for capital works, construction, or operational expenditure. If your project has already moved past the planning and feasibility stage and you need funding for building works, fit-out, equipment purchase, or day to day running costs, you will need to look at a different funding source for that stage of the project.
Key Dates and Deadlines
As of this article’s publication, TAAP is listed as open, with applications closing Monday 14 December 2026. The program’s official page does not state a specific opening date, so it is best treated as currently open for applications now.
This gives prospective applicants a meaningful lead time to prepare a solid application rather than rushing one through at the last minute, but feasibility studies, site assessments and heritage or environmental reviews often take real time to commission and complete, so starting your preparation well ahead of the closing date is worth factoring into your planning.
Documents You May Need
Before applying, it is worth pulling together:
- your ABN or ACN details and basic business or organisation registration information
- a clear description of the tourism accommodation or attraction concept you are proposing, including its location in Western Australia
- any existing site information you already hold (land ownership or lease details, existing approvals, prior studies)
- a rough scope and budget for the specific feasibility or planning activities you want funded (for example, which of the eligible activity types listed above your project needs)
- an outline of how the proposed feasibility work will feed into your project’s next steps toward approval and investment
Because several of the eligible activities (environmental assessments, cultural heritage assessments, Traditional Owner engagement, geotechnical reports) can involve specialist consultants, it is worth identifying which of these your project genuinely needs before you apply, rather than requesting funding for every category on the list.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Budgeting for construction or operating costs. Because the program explicitly excludes capital works, construction and operational expenditure, any budget line that strays into these categories risks weakening or disqualifying part of your application. Keep your proposed budget tightly focused on the planning and feasibility activities listed above.
Treating this as a construction-ready grant. TAAP is designed to get a project to the point where it is ready for approval and investment, not to fund the build itself. Applicants who present a project as already fully planned, with no genuine feasibility work left to do, may struggle to justify why TAAP funding is needed at all.
Underestimating assessment lead times. Environmental, heritage and geotechnical assessments can take weeks or months to commission and complete. If your project genuinely needs several of these assessment types, build realistic time frames into your project plan rather than assuming they can be rushed.
Not clearly tying the project to a Western Australian location. Since TAAP is specifically about WA tourism accommodation and visitor attractions, your application should clearly establish the project’s location and its connection to Western Australia’s tourism offering from the outset.
How to Apply
Applications for TAAP are submitted through Tourism WA’s application process rather than through a general business.gov.au portal. The practical application involves describing your proposed tourism accommodation or visitor attraction project, confirming your ABN or ACN and legal entity status, and setting out the specific feasibility or planning activities you are requesting funding for, along with a budget for each.
Because the program funds a defined set of early-stage activities rather than a general development budget, it is worth structuring your application around the specific eligible activity categories (a feasibility study, an environmental assessment, a heritage assessment, and so on) rather than presenting a single lump-sum request. This makes it easier for assessors to see exactly what the funding will be used for and why each activity is necessary for your project to progress.
Given that the program does not publish a minimum grant amount, a smaller, tightly scoped request for a specific piece of feasibility work is just as valid an application as a larger request closer to the $50,000 maximum, provided the budget genuinely reflects the cost of the work proposed.
Why This Stage of Funding Matters
Tourism projects, particularly new accommodation developments or visitor attractions, often fail not because the underlying concept is weak, but because proponents move toward construction or investment approaches without having properly tested feasibility first. Skipping environmental, heritage or geotechnical assessments at the planning stage can lead to costly surprises later: a site that turns out to have significant environmental constraints, a heritage issue that was not identified early, or a market feasibility gap that only becomes apparent once significant capital has already been committed.
By funding this early-stage work specifically, TAAP is designed to reduce exactly this kind of risk. A tourism accommodation or attraction proposal that has been through proper feasibility, site assessment and master planning work is in a much stronger position to attract private investment, secure finance, or move through local council and state approval processes, than one that has skipped straight to a construction budget without that groundwork.
This is also why the program’s exclusion of capital works and construction costs makes sense in context: TAAP is one part of a longer funding and development pathway for a tourism project, not a one-stop source of funding for the entire project lifecycle. Proponents should plan for separate funding sources, whether private investment, finance, or other grant programs, for the construction and operational stages that follow a successful feasibility outcome.
How Competitive Is It?
The official program page does not publish a formal scoring rubric or state how many applications it expects to receive relative to available funding. Because no total funding pool is stated, applicants should not assume funding is unlimited: a lack of a published cap does not mean every eligible application will be funded, only that the per-project ceiling is $50,000.
Given the program’s clear focus on “destination-driving” projects, a strong application is likely to be one that can demonstrate a genuine tourism drawcard, whether that is a distinctive accommodation concept or a visitor attraction that would meaningfully add to Western Australia’s tourism offering, rather than a routine or incremental addition to an existing facility.
What to Prepare
Focus your application on demonstrating two things clearly: that your project is a genuine, destination-driving tourism opportunity for Western Australia, and that the specific feasibility or planning activities you are requesting funding for are the right next step to test and de-risk that opportunity.
Be specific about which eligible activities you need (a feasibility study, an environmental assessment, a heritage assessment, master planning, or a combination) and why, rather than requesting a broad, undifferentiated planning budget. Where you already have some supporting information, such as a concept design, site details or early community or stakeholder interest, include it to strengthen the case that this is a credible, well-considered proposal rather than an early-stage idea with no groundwork done.
Related Funding Options
If tourism funding more broadly is relevant to your business, our guide on how to use a tourism grant to grow your business covers the broader landscape of tourism-related funding support available to Australian operators. If your Western Australian business is looking at other types of support alongside a tourism project, such as practical operational grants, our coverage of the WA Small Business CCTV Rebate is a useful example of the kind of smaller, practical WA business support available outside the tourism-specific space.
Reviewing funding options like these alongside TAAP can help you build a fuller picture of what support might be available at different stages of your project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use TAAP funding to build my tourism accommodation project?
No. TAAP funding is specifically for early-stage planning, feasibility and pre-development work. It explicitly excludes capital works, construction and operational expenditure, so a separate funding source would be needed for the build itself.
Do I need to already own the land for my proposed project?
The official program page does not state a land ownership requirement as a strict eligibility condition, but your application will need to clearly describe your project’s location and your connection to the site, since the program is assessing specific, real proposals rather than general concepts.
Is there a minimum amount I can apply for?
The program’s official page does not state a minimum grant amount, only a maximum of $50,000 per eligible project. This suggests funding requests are assessed individually based on the genuine scope of the feasibility or planning work proposed.
Who can apply for TAAP?
Individuals, local governments, and privately owned or commercial organisations with an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN) can apply, provided they are a legal entity capable of entering into a binding funding agreement and their project is a tourism accommodation or visitor attraction proposal located in Western Australia.
When does the current round close?
Applications close Monday 14 December 2026. The official program page lists the program as currently open, without stating a separate opening date.
What kinds of assessments can TAAP funding cover?
Eligible activities include feasibility studies, site surveys, fauna and flora surveys, site and soil assessments, environmental assessments, cultural heritage assessments, Traditional Owner engagement, geotechnical reports, bushfire assessments, hydrology studies and master planning, among other early-stage planning activities connected to your proposed project.
Can a local government apply, or is this only for private businesses?
Local governments are explicitly named as eligible applicants alongside individuals and privately owned or commercial organisations. This reflects the fact that some destination-driving tourism infrastructure and attraction projects in Western Australia are led or co-led by local councils rather than private operators.
Can I apply more than once if I have multiple tourism projects?
The official program page does not state a limit on the number of applications an applicant can submit. If you have more than one genuinely distinct tourism accommodation or attraction proposal, it would be reasonable to prepare a separate application for each, with its own project description, location and feasibility budget, rather than combining unrelated projects into a single request.
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.
