The Biosciences Fund (BioSF) is a $3.5 million, competitive biological sciences (biotechnology and life sciences) commercialisation program funded by the NSW Government. It is administered by the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer (OCSE) within the NSW Premier’s Department.
The objectives of the BioSF are to:
- improve commercialisation opportunities for NSW-based start-ups and businesses
- provide financial support to progress the development of new and innovative devices and systems across the branches of the biological sciences (biotechnology and life sciences), including biomanufacturing, genetic engineering, synthetic biology and agrifood
- realise benefits from innovation in NSW.
The BioSF targets companies with innovative products/systems within Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3 – 7 and aims to help them move along the TRL scale, to commercialise their idea and attract large-scale private investment.
The NSW Government recognises the importance of capturing potential commercial applications of NSW research. By addressing gaps in the product life cycle between early-stage research and mature investment opportunities, the BioSF delivers grants to drive the commercialisation of highly innovative ideas into new devices, systems, processes or services.
The BioSF program complements the Physical Sciences Fund (PSF), a competitive technology development and commercialisation program delivered by OCSE since 2019. In 2025/26 the BioSF is providing $3.5 million funding for grants of between $200,000 to $2 million.
NOTE: The 2025 round of the BioSF closed on 1 May 2025.
Important dates
Activity | Timeframe |
Stage One: Preliminary Applications open | 1:00pm AEDT 5 March 2025 |
Information Session Webinar | 11.00am AEDT 20 March 2025 |
Stage One: Preliminary Applications close | 1:00pm AEST 1 May 2025 |
Stage Two: Full Applications open | August 2025 |
Stage Two: Full Applications close | September 2025 |
Notification of Stage Two outcomes | October 2025 |
Announcement | November 2025 |
NOTE: these dates are subject to change.
2023 BioSciences Fund Recipients
The successful recipients from the 2023 BioSciences Fund were presented at the 2024 NSW Commercialisation Showcase at the Aerial Function Centre, UTS on Wednesday 17 April 2024.
Contact
If you have questions regarding the BioSF, contact us at grants@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au
If you would like to receive further information about the BioSF or future programs and activities run by OCSE, please register using this form to be added to the mailing list.