The AU$2.9 billion, five year scheme could see research and development benefits weighted too heavily in favour of companies that don't need the help, according to chief executive of state-funded incubator Playford Centre, Geoff Thomas.
He said the incubator, which is funded by the SA government and several major IT companies, already sees too many small high tech businesses and start-up operations forced to reject government grants because administrative requirements were too lengthy.
-It is important for any scheme to be simple to implement for businesses of any size," he said. -A standard level of reporting hits small business disproportionately."
Thomas said commonwealth funding bodies only approved grants for IT businesses that supplied detailed reports on long-term future developments.
-If you're a small company it's going to be hard to write a plan and stick to it for three months. In three months someone could do something you planning were planning to do, and you have to change direction," he said.
-A large company will plan things three years in advance." He said small IT companies could rarely afford the lost revenues associated with stopping work to complete the detailed, highly speculative paperwork.
-Clients have been offered money by the Federal Government. They've said it's too much paperwork. It takes time to fill it out when they should be developing their business."
At least one small IT business had turned its back on a AU$50,000 government grant because it could not afford the expense of stopping work for the length of time it took to fill in the forms, he said.
Meanwhile, academics have applauded the scheme.
A senior IT professor at Melbourne's Monash University said the spend would be -overall very good news for Australia's IT industry". He said the Howard government had produced a -good, original model".
The Association of Professors and Heads of Computer Science issued a statement saying the scheme was strong because it addressed all levels of IT education and research.
