Export Finance Australia: government-backed finance for exporters and their suppliers

Winning an overseas order is exciting until you work out the cash flow. Materials have to be bought, staff paid and freight booked, often months before the foreign buyer pays. Banks can be cautious here, because the customer is offshore, the contract is governed by unfamiliar law, and the business may be small. Export Finance Australia exists to fill exactly that gap.

It is the Australian Government’s export credit agency. It lends directly to exporters and their suppliers, and it also stands behind banks so they can lend more than they otherwise would. This profile covers its products and published criteria as at October 2026, taken from its own website, and where it sits alongside your bank and other lenders.

Is Export Finance Australia a lender or a backstop?

Both. The agency says it operates on a commercial basis and is designed to complement banks, not compete with them. In practice, its products fall into three groups:

1. Direct loans: it lends to you itself, from the Small Business Export Loan up to very large term facilities.
2. Guarantees: your bank lends to you, and Export Finance Australia guarantees part of that lending so the bank can say yes.
3. Bonds: it issues contract security documents your overseas buyer asks for, or supports your bank in issuing them.

That makes it different from every other lender in this directory. Your bank is often still the main relationship, and banks remain an excellent, low-cost source of finance for exporters who fit their criteria. Export Finance Australia steps in when the bank wants more security than you have, or when the deal is simply outside its comfort zone.

What is the Small Business Export Loan?

This is the product most smaller exporters will start with. As at October 2026:

Feature	Published detail
Amount	$20k to $350k
Security	No property or inventory security required
Borrower	Company or trust, with an ACN
Trading history	At least two years
Turnover	More than $250k a year
Export link	Direct exporter or part of an export supply chain
Repayments	Usually principal and interest; interest-only for the first six months available on 24-month loans, subject to extra criteria
Fees	$1,000 application fee at drawdown, plus any documentation fees; no ongoing fees
Early repayment	Allowed at any time with no penalty

The loan can fund pre-shipment working capital for contracts and purchase orders, market development such as promoting your products offshore, and investment in platforms to grow international sales. You start with an online eligibility check, then create an account and apply.

Two details stand out. First, suppliers to exporters can qualify. For example, a Geelong metal fabricator making components for an Australian company that ships finished machines overseas may be eligible on the strength of its supply contract, even though it never ships anything abroad itself. Second, the agency says businesses with overdue tax may still be considered if they have an ATO-approved payment plan.

What paperwork will you need?

The Small Business Export Loan doesn’t ask for property, but it does ask for a full picture of the business:

• Six months of statements for your main trading account, and for the account the loan will be paid into if different.
• Accountant-prepared financial statements for the past two years.
• An aged accounts receivable summary.
• Current-year management figures (P&L plus balance sheet) once more than three months of the financial year have passed.
• Your most recent tax statements from the ATO portal.
• A 12-month profit and loss forecast.
• A personal statement of assets and liabilities for each director.
• Two forms of ID for anyone owning or controlling 25% or more.

What the money is for decides the extras: think copies of export contracts or purchase orders, an export market development plan, or supplier quotes for equipment. The agency says it runs an Equifax credit check only with your permission, and not at the moment you first submit.

If you’re still waiting on your accountant for those financials, let us know where things stand. There are lenders that can bridge a contract gap on lighter paperwork, and asking doesn’t show up on your credit file.

What does it offer above $350k?

For larger needs, Export Finance Australia offers:

• Term loans for one-off investments with a clear timeline, such as fulfilling a large contract, buying production machinery or opening an overseas warehouse.
• Revolving loans (lines of credit) for working capital needs that rise and fall, such as seasonal inventory or gaps while you wait for overseas payment.
• Guarantees to your bank, starting at $350k with no upper limit, for businesses with an export-related contract who can’t get the full amount of bank finance on their own.
• Bonds: advance payment, performance, warranty and bid bonds, plus US surety bonds through a partner. Its Small Business Starter Bond runs from $20k to $500k, and its Business Finance Bond Facility from $20k to $70 million.

Loans run from $350k to more than $350 million and can be written in foreign currency as well as local currency. These facilities are arranged through a conversation with a specialist rather than an online form.

Who is Export Finance Australia right for?

A natural fit:

• Established exporters of goods or services with two-plus years’ trading and turnover above $250k.
• Manufacturers and suppliers inside an export supply chain.
• Businesses that have won a big overseas contract and need to fund delivery before the buyer pays. Our guide on funding a big contract covers this in more depth.
• Companies whose bank will lend, but not enough.

A harder fit:

• Sole traders and partnerships, because the criteria call for an ACN.
• Businesses trading for less than two years.
• Anyone needing money in days. A government agency’s process takes longer than a fintech’s, so allow time.
• Purely domestic businesses with no export link.

Other routes for exporters and importers

• Your bank’s trade finance. Banks offer letters of credit, trade finance and foreign currency facilities, often at the lowest cost when you qualify.
• Invoice finance. If you’re already exporting on terms, invoice finance can turn unpaid offshore invoices into usable cash.
• Specialist export lenders. Our page on export finance compares non-bank options for pre-shipment and post-shipment funding.
• Grants alongside finance. Austrade’s Export Market Development Grants can help with marketing costs; see our comparison of grants vs business loans.
• Other government-backed lenders. The Regional Investment Corporation supports eligible farm businesses, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation funds clean energy projects.

When the export deal can’t wait for the paperwork

Export Finance Australia is a valuable partner for exporters, and if you fit its criteria and have the time, it’s well worth applying. But a buyer’s deadline doesn’t always match a government process, and not every business has two years of financials ready.

If you need to move sooner, or your structure doesn’t fit, tell us about the contract. The form is about a minute’s work, enquiring is invisible to credit bureaus, and your file isn’t distributed among a pool of lenders. A real member of our team reads it and calls to discuss what’s realistic. Accurate figures, especially on the contract value and when the buyer pays, help us match the right funding the first time.

Talk to us about funding my export order →