Quick Response Fashion Grants

Program objective

Quick Response Fashion Grants support business development and industry engagement, with dedicated funding for First Nations designers, and applicants from Western Sydney and Regional NSW.  The Program will enable designers to purchase essential equipment or pursue professional development opportunities.

The Program supports emerging fashion professionals and businesses to grow, helping sustain NSW’s fashion industry. Grants of up to $10,000 are available for:

1. Professional development opportunities
2. Purchase of equipment

The Program aims to provide opportunities for applicants to:

• Undertake professional development for their career progression
• Produce new works
• Show works in new ways
• Gain access to equipment to further their work

The intended outcomes of the Program are:

• Skill and experience development
• Expanded professional networks across NSW
• Increased industry recognition (e.g. media, trade shows, publications)

Image Credit: Citizen Wolf

This program is administered by Create NSW.

Eligibility

Who can apply

Be one of the following entity types:

• a company incorporated in Australia
• a partnership
• an individual.

If you are an individual, you must:

• be 18 years or older
• be an Australian Citizen or a permanent resident of Australia
• be currently living in NSW (minimum 12 months)
• studying or working in the fashion industry.

If you are applying as an organisation you must:

• be located in NSW.

Applicants will need:

• an active Australian Business Number (ABN)
• a bank account with the same name as your ABN.

Types of projects funded under this grant

For a grant activity to be eligible it must meet the following Funding Categories:

Professional Development

Industry specific:

• Short courses
• Competitions
• Networking events
• Travel and accommodation
• Art and trade fairs registration
• Lookbooks and portfolios
• Conferences.

Purchase of Equipment

Industry specific:

• Computer equipment and software
• Photographic equipment
• Clothing and textile manufacturing equipment and tools.

When the project can start and end

The project should be started by 1 March 2026 and the project must be completed by 31 December 2026.

What costs you can apply for

Funding may only be incurred on eligible or agreed activities.

To be eligible, costs must:

• be a direct cost related to the eligible grant activities
• be incurred within eligible grant activities
• reflect competitive market rates
• be a true and accurate reflection of costs required to deliver the activity.

Eligible costs include, but not be limited to:

• computer equipment and software
• photographic equipment
• travel and accommodation
• education
• event registration/fees
• Clothing and textile manufacturing equipment and tools
• Design contractor/suppliers
• Conferences.

If your application is successful, we may ask you to verify the project cost and request evidence of costs such as supplier contracts, quotes, invoices and receipts. We may request financial reports and credit checks from independent third-party service providers.

You must demonstrate value for money by ensuring project costs are reasonable and reflective of market rates. We may use industry cost benchmarks to assess whether costs are reasonable.

The Department will make the final decision on whether the claimed cost is eligible or reasonable and only pay the reasonable amount.

All eligible costs will be paid inclusive of GST.

Who can’t apply

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

• insolvent
• an unincorporated association
• a tertiary institution
• a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government agency or body excluding government corporate entities.

Additional eligibility requirements

The Program is a competitive, open grant process assessed using an application process.

The program is open from 8 December 2025 with monthly assessment meetings, until funds are exhausted. Applications submitted by 2pm on the last Friday of each month will be grouped together for assessment. Applicants will be notified of the decision within 3-4 weeks of this date.

The activity start date must be after 01/03/2026 and the project end date must be before 31/12/2026.

Applications will be assessed by representatives of Create NSW and a representative from the fashion sector.

Number of applications

Applicants are eligible for one grant through this program per financial year (based on closing date).

Pre-eligibility check

Your application will be checked for eligibility. If eligible, your application will proceed to the next stage.

If your application is deemed ineligible, you will be advised via email within 7 days of the from your submission and your application will not proceed to assessment.

Priority applicants

Priority will be given to applicants who are First Nations and from Western Sydney and Regional NSW.

The Department cannot consider your application if it does not satisfy all the eligibility criteria.

The Department cannot award a grant if you receive funding from another government source for the same purpose.