National Reconstruction Fund (NRF)

About this programme

The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) is a corporate Commonwealth entity established under the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023, with the objective of increasing flows of finance into priority areas of the Australian economy. It is governed by an independent board appointed by the Minister for Industry and Science and the Minister for Finance, with a CEO responsible for day-to-day administration.

The NRFC does not make grants. It provides debt, equity or guarantees, investing through a General Portfolio and three sub-funds set up under the 2026 Investment Mandate: the Net Zero Fund (NZF), the Economic Resilience Program (ERP), and the Forestry Growth Fund (FGF). Each carries its own benchmark return and focus — ERP, for example, provides zero-interest-rate loans and has no benchmark return, while the General Portfolio targets the 5-year Australian Government Bond rate +2–3%.

Investment is targeted at eight Priority Areas defined in the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (Priority Areas) Declaration 2026: renewables and low-emission technologies, enabling capabilities, defence capability, transport, value-add in resources, value-add in agriculture/forestry/fisheries, medical science, and industrial manufacturing and critical supply chains. The NRFC explicitly will not directly finance coal extraction, natural gas extraction, pipeline infrastructure for those activities, or native forest logging.

This is a commercial investment process, not a support programme: proposals are assessed on their own merits through a disciplined due-diligence process, and receiving or discussing a proposal does not create any binding obligation or commitment of finance on the NRFC's part. Any offer of finance follows extensive due diligence, formal investment approval and satisfactory legal documentation.

How it works

Screening — an initial pre-screening of the proposal against eligibility and alignment with the NRFC Act and the Investment Mandate.

Due diligence — conducted in three phases of increasing detail, assessing financial fit (returns, valuation/credit quality against fund benchmarks), commercial fit (management capability, exit pathway, business model scalability, IP protection), technical readiness, market fit, impact fit (public-policy outcomes), governance, risk tolerance, and portfolio fit.

Investment approval — the proposal is reviewed by the Investment Committee, and 'approval to invest' is granted per the NRFC's delegation of authority for proposals that clear due diligence.

Investment — commercial and financial close, at which point the investment is executed and announced.

Investment management — ongoing monitoring over the life of the investment, including investment management plans, routine reviews, valuations and portfolio management.

Exit — realising the investment return, either by exiting an equity position or through repayment of a debt facility.

Who can apply

Eligible proposals must be solely or mainly Australian-based, or otherwise demonstrate a clear and material Australian nexus, and must align with at least one of the NRFC's eight Priority Areas.

A proposal must not fall within a prohibited investment category (coal extraction, natural gas extraction, related pipeline infrastructure, or native forest logging), and must demonstrate a risk/return profile consistent with the Investment Mandate and the specific portfolio or sub-fund it is assessed against.

Investee companies must be undertaking constitutionally supported activities for both debt-to-trust and equity investment structures, and proposals may need to provide an Australian Industry Participation (AIP) plan where the NRFC requires one.

Because the NRFC provides debt, equity and guarantees rather than grants, proposals are expected to demonstrate a positive return on investment or the ability to service and repay debt, alongside the public-policy outcomes the NRFC Act and Mandate direct it to weigh — industrial capability, value-adding activity, economic diversity, crowding-in of private capital, decarbonisation, secure jobs, supply-chain resilience, and commercialisation of Australian IP, among others.

How to apply

1. Read the NRFC's investment guidance (available on the website and as a downloadable PDF) to understand the requirements and process before preparing a proposal.
2. Confirm the proposal fits at least one of the eight Priority Areas and does not fall into a prohibited investment category.
3. Prepare enough information for the NRFC to review and understand the proposal — the site does not publish a fixed template, but the due-diligence factors listed above (financial, commercial, technical, market, impact, governance, risk, portfolio fit) indicate the ground a proposal needs to cover.
4. Submit the proposal via the NRFC's online form at nrf.gov.au/contact-us/your-proposal, or contact the NRFC first via its contact page if you have questions before submitting.
5. Note that the NRFC states it is not associated or affiliated with any third-party providers that offer or claim to assist with developing or referring investment proposals for submission — proposals should be submitted directly.

Documents you’ll typically need

• NRFC Investment Guidance (PDF, published by the NRFC — downloadable from the investment guidance page) sets out the requirements and process in full and is the primary reference document for preparing a proposal.

Frequently asked

Reviewed 2026-08-16. Programmes change — confirm current eligibility, amounts and deadlines on the official page before you apply. CapEasy is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government authority.