The NSW Government is funding projects in 2025/26 to help women in Chester Hill, New South Wales, start and grow micro and small businesses by supporting mentorship, financial literacy and access to professional networks. The grants fund organisations to deliver these services locally, rather than providing direct individual business grants.
The Supporting Women in Business (SWIB) grants and the Investing in Women program are intended to address barriers women face in accessing business support and professional networks. Both programs prioritise cohorts that commonly experience barriers — including women from culturally and racially marginalised backgrounds, women with disability, and women living in Western Sydney — and fund organisations to deliver training, mentoring, peer networking and assistance in accessing finance.
Local MP for Auburn, Lynda Voltz, has been involved in local advocacy around Chester Hill’s infrastructure and community services and supports targeted investment that brings services into the community. The funding is awarded to eligible organisations — such as not-for-profits, chambers of commerce and social enterprises — which will deliver on-the-ground training, mentoring and networking to women who run or want to start micro or small businesses.
Application windows differ by program: the Investing in Women round ran from 10am on 15 September to 3pm on 3 October 2025 (invited organisations), while the 2025/26 Supporting Women in Business (SWIB) round was open to invited organisations between 10am on 13 October and 3pm on 10 November 2025. The SWIB 2025/26 round is a closed, non-competitive, invitation-only round prioritising highly rated projects from the previous round.
Women in Chester Hill seeking business coaching or help navigating financial networks can find information via the Service NSW Business Bureau and the Women NSW grant pages; the grants themselves are administered by Women NSW (The Cabinet Office). Successful projects awarded in this round are expected to run through to mid-2027, delivering local programs to support business growth.
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