Asbestos Control Program

The Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Grants Program is a AUD 79.1 million capital co-investment program, and its Round 2 offers AUD 12.5 million in matched grants of AUD 100,000 to 1.5 million (roughly 66,000 to 990,000 US dollars) covering up to half the cost of adopting advanced manufacturing technology. Eligible purchases include advanced robotics, cobots and automation, Industry 4.0 and 5.0 equipment such as simulation and digital-twin systems, autonomous equipment and AR/VR, and AI, IoT and ERP/MRP/MES integration, along with installation, commissioning, training, servers, twelve months of software licences and cybersecurity. Half of the Round 2 pool is reserved for regional Queensland, which improves odds for manufacturers outside south-east Queensland. The program is for capital adoption rather than research: R&D, leased equipment and costs incurred before the grant agreement are ineligible, and freight and infrastructure upgrades are capped at 10 per cent of equipment costs. Applicants must co-fund at least 50 per cent in cash, and the government may require security such as a bank guarantee. Applications are submitted through SmartyGrants and close on 25 November 2026 at 1:00 pm AEST with no late applications accepted; further rounds are expected roughly every six months through 2028.

Industrial AI Upper Austria 2026 is a regional call run by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) for the Province of Upper Austria under the #upperVISION2030 strategy and the state's WunderKInd OÖ AI initiative. It funds cooperative research and development projects that apply artificial intelligence to raise the efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of Upper Austrian industrial and manufacturing companies. Applicants choose one of three topics: AI-supported machines, meaning near-machine AI used in industrial and production companies; AI-supported production and manufacturing processes; and AI-supported networks and supporting business processes. About EUR 4 million is available. Each project can receive between EUR 100,000 and EUR 600,000, and the funding rate depends on each partner's organisation type and the research category. Projects can last up to 36 months, must be located in Upper Austria, and must be written in German. Proposals go through the FFG eCall system by 10 December 2026 at 12:00 noon, and funding decisions are expected from mid-March 2027.

Virginia has established the AIS Innovation in Education Pilot Program in statute at Code of Virginia Section 22.1-20.2:1, directing the Department of Education to fund, evaluate and scale safe and innovative uses of artificial intelligence systems in public elementary and secondary schools. The programme supports school divisions piloting AI applications across five named uses: instruction, tutoring, student engagement, operational efficiency and teacher support. Two statutory requirements give the programme more analytical weight than a typical technology pilot fund. Every selected division must include professional development for educators on AI literacy and responsible use, and every division must develop and submit an evaluation plan measuring the impact of AI use on student learning, teacher workload and equity outcomes. The explicit inclusion of teacher workload as a measured outcome is notable, since it treats staff time as a primary rather than incidental effect of classroom AI. The Department is directed to prioritise proposals from divisions serving diverse student populations, including high-poverty, rural and under-resourced divisions. The programme is supported by 2,000,000 dollars in the FY2027 to FY2028 budget and expires 1 July 2030, giving it a defined four-cycle life. School divisions or consortia apply competitively by 1 August each year, with annual reports required to legislative committees.