Arts Projects for Organisations

Overview

This program funds a range of activities that deliver benefits to the arts sector and wider public, including national and international audiences and communities. Organisations that undertake arts programs, projects, or that provide services to artists, are welcome to apply.

Organisations can propose a single project, a suite of projects or an annual program of activity.

Grants are available from $20,000 to $100,000. Supported activities must last no longer than two years from the proposed start date.

Please read the following grant guidelines and refer to the peer feedback from the previous round.

If you need advice about applying, contact an Artists Services Officer.

Eligibility

Who can apply

You can only submit one application from your organisation’s account to each closing date for Arts Projects for Organisations.

Only organisations may apply to this category.

Organisations that provide a service to the arts may apply.

International organisations can apply for projects that benefit practicing Australian artists, their work or Australian audiences.

Applications for funding to the First Nations panel must come from First Nations led organisations, with more than half (51%) or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait membership of its governance board.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for a grant if:

• you have already applied to this closing date for Arts Projects for Organisations
• you have an overdue grant report
• you owe money to Creative Australia
• you are an individual or group
• you receive multi-year investment through the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework
• you are applying to our International Engagement Fund or International Travel Fund for the same activities
• your organisation receives an amount of over $160,000 per year through any Creative Australia multi-year investment program in the years 2025 to 2028 – if you are unsure please contact your Multi Year Investment Manager or Artists Services.

What can be applied for

We fund a range of activities, for example:

• professional skills development, including mentoring and residencies
• the creation of new work
• practice based research
• creative development
• experimentation
• collaborations and exchanges
• touring
• festivals
• productions
• exhibitions
• performances
• publishing
• recording
• activities to develop the arts sector
• promotion and marketing
• market development activity
• activities that creatively engage communities.

Activities can take place nationally, internationally, online, or a combination of in-person and online (hybrid activities).

If your project involves a partnership or collaboration with organisations in the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework you must discuss your application with us before applying.

Access costs are legitimate expenses and may be included in your application. We encourage applicants to ensure that their work is accessible to everyone. Budgets may include costs associated with making activities accessible to a wide range of people (e.g. performances using Auslan, translation to other languages, captioning, audio description, temporary building adjustments, and materials in other formats).

If you are a d/Deaf applicant, an applicant with disability, or are working with d/Deaf artists or artists with disability, you may apply for access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, translation services, specific technical equipment, carer or support worker assistance. Please contact Artists Services to discuss your specific needs.

What can’t be applied for

You can’t apply for:

• projects or activities that do not involve or benefit Australian practicing artists or arts professionals
• projects or activities that do not have a clearly defined arts component
• projects that have already taken place
• the same projects or activities you are applying for via our International Engagement Fund or International Travel Fund
• activities engaging with First Nations content, artists and communities that do not adhere to Creative Australia First Nations Cultural & Intellectual Property Protocols.

Protocols

Your application must comply with the following Protocols. We may contact you to request further information during the assessment process, or if successful, as a condition of your funding.

Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts

All applications involving First Nations artists, communities or subject matter must adhere to these Protocols, provide evidence of this in their application and support material. More information on the First Nations Protocols is available here.

Commonwealth Child Safe Framework

All successful applicants are required to comply with all Australian law relating to employing or engaging people who work or volunteer with children, including working with children checks and mandatory reporting. Successful organisations who provide services directly to children, or whose funded activities involve contact with children, will additionally be required to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Art forms and assessment panels

You must choose which peer assessment panel you wish to apply to.  The panels are:

• First Nations
• Community Arts and Cultural Development
• Dance
• Emerging and Experimental Arts
• Literature
• Multi-art form
• Theatre
• Visual Arts
• Music – please note:  contemporary music application may be assessed by a separate contemporary music panel of peers. You will be asked whether your practice and project  meets the following definition:

“Australian contemporary music is any genre or subgenre of music currently composed, written, produced by Australians and licensed, recorded, presented, and distributed through commercial and non-commercial activity. This includes music that is new, original and relevant to contemporary Australia.”

Learn more about assessment panels, or see the FAQs on this page. If you are unsure which peer assessment panel to choose, contact Artists Services.

Learn more about how we assess your application.

Assessment criteria

You must address three assessment criteria in this category. For some criteria, you will be asked to choose between two or more options.

Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what peers may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.

First criterion

You must choose one of the following two options:

Quality of artistic or cultural activities

Peers will assess the quality of the artistic and cultural activities at the centre of your proposal. They may consider:

• vision, ideas and artistic rational
• benefit and impact on careers, artistic or cultural practice
• level of innovation, ambition, experimentation or risk-taking
• rigour and clear articulation of creative, engagement or development processes
• significance of the work within area of practice and communities
• contribution to diverse cultural expression
• timeliness and relevance of work
• quality of previous work
• responses to previous work from artistic or cultural peers, or the public.

or

Quality of services for the arts

Peers will assess the quality of the services for the arts at the centre of your proposal.

They may consider:

• quality of the services provided
• impact of services for artists, arts professionals, participants, or audiences
• diversity and breadth of those benefitting from the services
• capacity-building potential, including a contribution to sustainable arts practice
• skills and professional development opportunities for artists and arts professionals
• breadth and quality of community engagement, partnerships, and collaborations
• responsiveness to identified need or demand
• innovation and improvement of operating models and frameworks.

Second criterion

Viability

Peers will assess the viability of your proposal.

They may consider:

• capacity to deliver the proposed activities or services
• relevance and timeliness of proposed activity-
• skills and ability of artists, arts professionals, collaborators, or participants involved, and relevance to activity
• realistic and achievable planning and resource use, including, where relevant, contingency and safety plans for activities involving public presentation, national or international travel
• meaningful evaluation
• appropriate payments to participating artists, arts professionals, collaborators, participants, or cultural consultants
• the safety and wellbeing of people involved in the project
• governance arrangements
• role of partners or collaborators, including confirmation of involvement
• diversity and scale of income and co-funding, including earned income, grants, sponsorship and in-kind contributions
• evidence of appropriate consultation and engagement with participants, audiences or communities
• where relevant to the project, evidence that the Protocols for First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts have been adhered to
• where relevant, evidence that you have considered and addressed any access issues associated with your project
• where relevant, evidence of an environmental impact plan which may include cost-benefits.

Third criterion

Impact

Peers will assess the potential impact of funding on your creative activity and how likely you are to achieve this. The impacts may relate to you and your creative practice, other people such as your collaborators or partners, your participants or audiences, your communities, or your sector. The impacts they may consider include:

• supporting First Nations self-determination and cultural practice
• development of new skills and capacity
• opportunities for career development
• researching and testing new ideas, processes and practices
• opportunities for more people to experience and engage with arts and culture in different ways
• opportunities that increase inclusion, equity, access or wellbeing
• developing and sustaining new and existing markets for your work
• development of more sustainable practice and operations
• development of the arts practice or sector in which you work.

Application form

The types of questions we ask in the application form include:

• a title for your project
• a summary of your project
• a brief description of the organisation applying
• an outline of your project and what you want to do
• a timetable or itinerary for your project
• a description of the outcome your project delivers
• a projected budget which details the expenses, income, and in-kind support of the project
• supporting material as relevant to your project, including examples of your work, bios of additional artists, and letters of support or permission from participants, communities, First Nations organisation, and Elders.

Support material

You should submit support material with your application. The peer assessors may review this support material to help them gain a better sense of your project.

Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks).

Please note: Our peer assessors will not access any URLs that require them to log in or sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to Spotify or other applications that require users to log in or pay for access.

If you are linking to media files that are private or password protected like Vimeo, please provide the password in the password field on the application form.

Other accepted file formats

If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your application in the following formats:

• video (MP4, QuickTime, and Windows Media)
• audio (MP3 and Windows Media)
• images (JPEG and PowerPoint)
• written material (Word and PDF).

It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure that support material formats, (weblinks and files) are accessible and working in their submission. Creative Australia will not contact applicants if peer assessors are unable to access support material.

We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post. Application-related material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender. If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online or need advice on what type of material to submit, please contact Artists Services.

There are limits to the amount of support material you can submit as a part of your application. Peers Assessors will not view or read support material that exceeds these limits.

1. Artistic Support Material 

This should include relevant, recent examples of your artistic or cultural work.

You can provide up to three (3) weblinks that link to content that is relevant to your proposal.

These URLs can include a total of:

• 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording or
• 10 images or
• 10 pages of written material (for example, excerpts of literary writing).
  For some applicants, materials such as interviews, articles or additional budget information may be appropriate to submit in your application. These are not mandatory items, but if included must comply within the ten (10) page limit.

These limits only apply to the artistic support material described above.

1. Biographies and CVs  

You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) for key artists, personnel or other collaborators involved in your project.

Brief bios or CV information should be presented as a single document no longer than two (2) A4 pages in total.

1. Letters of support  

Individuals, groups, or organisations can write letters in support of your project. A support letter should explain how the project or activity will benefit you, other artists or arts professionals, participants, or the broader community. It can also detail the support or involvement of key project partners, or evidence of consultation.

If relevant to your activity, letters of support must provide evidence of appropriate permissions and support from First Nations organisations, communities, and Elders. Please refer to the First Nations Protocols for more information.

You can include up to five (5) letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.

1. Letters of confirmation   

If your application involves an international presentation, you must provide letters of confirmation from your presenting partners, such as festivals and venues. Each letter must include confirmation of any invitations, partners fees or contributions to the activity, whether cash or in-kind.

Please provide a single link to all confirmation letters or scan the letters into one PDF file and attach to your application. This must not exceed four A4 pages (4).

Please note that confirmation emails including headers fields are acceptable if collated in a document not exceeding four A4 pages (4).