The Private Sector Pathways (PSP) Program supports innovative small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) based in Queensland to collaborate with corporate partners to develop commercialisation opportunities.

This Private Sector Pathways (PSP) Program Challenge seeks to partner with innovative Queensland based organisations with practical and scalable solutions to strengthen visitor management across ecotourism destinations within Queensland.

Some of the primary sustainability challenges faced by ecotourism destinations include:

• Managing the growing number of visitors and improving access to visitor data in remote areas.
• Promoting awareness of responsible visitor behaviours, such as avoiding environmentally sensitive zones like turtle nesting sites.
• Ensuring availability of and engagement with visitor information across various locations and platforms, tailored to specific environmental conditions and visitor and ecotourism operator needs.

The owner of this challenge is the Tourism Division within the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI).

Solutions must prioritise sustainability, accessibility and operational practicality. They should be capable of adapting to different landscapes and site conditions without creating additional maintenance obligations or reliance on increased staffing. Proposals should integrate with existing systems, leverage existing data and complement existing on-ground management practices rather than duplicate or replace them. Embedding these principles into solutions, the aim is that visitor experiences are not only enhanced but are also delivered in ways that minimise environmental impact, promote responsible behaviour and maintain the cultural and ecological significance of each site.

Corporate eligibility 

• Organisations must have an office in Queensland
• Be a legal entity and hold an active ABN or Australian Registered Body Number
• Corporate pays tax in Australia and employs staff in Queensland
• Ideally operates within one of the priority industry sectors - advanced manufacturing, hydrogen, bio-futures, biomedical, defence, aerospace, space, resource recovery and mining technology
• Have obtained internal approval to make the application, including approval to co-fund all project costs not covered by financial assistance provided through the program
• Have the financial ability to deliver the project.

Applicant eligibility

• Queensland-registered ABN
• Registered for GST (at time of contract execution)
• Be an established Queensland-based startup or small to medium enterprise (SME) with a full-time equivalent (FTE) employee count below 200
• Applicants must have a product - being developed in Queensland - which is at, or beyond, the minimum viable product (MVP) stage
• Applicants who have had previous commercial contracts from the participating corporate are not eligible to apply. The PSP program intends to provide new opportunities for applicants to work with participating corporates.

• Email: partnerships2@detsi.qld.gov.au