Regional Development Australia (RDAEP) is delivering the Small Business Fundamentals Program to the Eyre Peninsula and Far West. The Small Business Fundamentals Program (2025-2027) is an initiative of the Government of South Australia’s Office for Small and Family Business and the South Australian Small Business Strategy 2023 – 2030. The program supports small businesses to build their fundamental knowledge and capability in areas critical to long term business sustainability and growth.

The program will consist of a combination of workshops around the region and mentoring programs, the details of which can be found below.

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If you have any questions about this program, please contact Tamsin Scholz, Project Manager, via reception@rdaep.org.au

Small Business Mentoring

Under the Small Business Fundamentals Program, Eyre Peninsula small businesses can acc ess up to three mentoring sessions with a mentor of their choosing, to a maximum cost of $900 ($300 per session).

To access the service, businesses must be located on the Eyre Peninsula and must first fill out our registration form which can be found here. Our Project Manager will then contact you directly.

Please note, this mentoring is not currently available to small businesses that have already accessed mentoring in the previous iteration of the program (2023 and 2024). However, this opportunity may be made available to you again the future so please keep an eye out for updates.

Are you interested in receiving mentoring, or want to learn more about it? Please email reception@rdaep.org.au. You can view our list of mentors here – if you would like to choose a mentor not currently on our list, they will need to complete a short induction form.

Business Planning Mentoring

Through the Small Business Fundamentals Program, RDAEP will be supporting up to 5 Eyre Peninsula businesses to access a mentor to develop a business plan.

Applications for this part of the program closed on 31 October 2025. If you have any questions about this, please email reception@rdaep.org.au

Drought Support

RDAEP has been funded to provide additional support to businesses financially impacted by drought.

This support will include 8 workshops held across the region over 2025-2027 (topics, dates and locations can be found under events below), and additional mentoring support for farmers and agribusinesses. This mentoring will provide up to three sessions with a mentor of your choice to a maximum value of $900 per business. Register your interest here.

Are you looking for help with succession planning? We also have a mentor available specifically for this. You can get up to three sessions worth $1000 with Lucy Pedler, from George Pedler Ag – you can find her bio here. To register your interest in this program and be connected with Lucy, please complete our survey here. Please note, registering your interest does not mean you have to undertake sessions, as we will provide you with further information and you can then make a decision if this will be useful for your business.

If you have any information about this part of the program, please contact Tamsin Scholz at reception@rdaep.org.au.

Upcoming Events

RDAEP is running a number of workshops for small business as part of this program.

  • Business Planning Workshop – Turn Your Ideas Into Action – TUMBY BAY
    5.30-8.15pm, Wednesday 2 September 2026
    Do you want to grow your business, improve profitability, attract more customers or simply gain greater clarity about where your business is heading? This practical and interactive 2.5-3 hour workshop delivered by TSM Consulting will help you develop a clear roadmap for success. Click here to register or for more information.

These events will be listed here as they are announced, and will also be shared via our social media and newsletter.