As we approach the WA State Government election, StartupWA — the peak advocacy body for the state’s startup sector — has released an updated version of its Top Ten Policy Priorities For The Western Australian State Government.
The first version of StartupWA’s Top Ten was released in 2021 just prior to the state government election and featured ten high-level, ambitious policy areas that it believed were important to grow the startup sector. Most of those recommendations have since been adopted by the government and actioned through the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation and the New Industries Fund.
The updated recommendations have been designed based on years of consultation with the startup ecosystem to speed up the sector’s growth and recognition as a leading startup hub.
“Over the last four years, we’ve consulted extensively with stakeholders across the ecosystem to identify the areas where government support will make the biggest impact,” said Jason Balchand, Chair, StartupWA. “Now is the time to continue the momentum generated through the New Industry Fund’s programs, grants, and initiatives over the last several years and secure Western Australia’s place as a leading global startup destination.”
“Western Australia is home to some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds and groundbreaking innovations, but we need the right policies in place to fully unlock the potential of this ecosystem,” said Jason Balchand. “The state government has an incredible opportunity to help drive this next wave of growth by implementing these key policy priorities.”
The Top Ten Priorities
StartupWA has proposed the following initiatives and policy areas as a recommended focus point for the government and candidates running at the upcoming election.
Promote entrepreneurship & inspire the next generation of founders
- Actively and widely promote the successes of WA entrepreneurs and startups to inspire the next generation of founders, and attract the next wave of investment capital into the state.
- Promote entrepreneurship as a viable career option through inclusion in the curriculum at a secondary education level.
- Renew the New Industries Fund and increase its budget allocation to speed up growth of WA’s innovation ecosystem and create the jobs of the future.
Research Commercialisation
- Increase support for research commercialisation to ensure that innovations developed in WA’s research institutions translate into impactful commercial solutions.
Government procurement for startups
- Develop and fund a government-led GovTech initiative to unlock solutions to government issues while creating new businesses in WA.
- Increase willingness within government agencies to use startups for small government contracts.
- Promote gender equality in the startup and tech sector through a Female Founder Procurement Policy — similar to the existing Aboriginal Procurement Policy — to give a slight preference to companies that have gender parity (40-40-20).
Attract international talent and startups
- Build WA’s brand and visibility as the go-to destination for building a startup in Australia.
- Incentivise international talent to migrate and/or return to WA to create new startups and invest in the sector.
Continue to attract investment capital to the state
- Extend the success of the WA Venture Support (WAVES) and WA Venture Capital (WAVC) initiatives to attract an additional $1B of Venture Capital funding to the state over the next five years.