Regional Arts Touring Round 1

Overview

This grant round is open to individual artists, arts and cultural workers, and organisations who are touring arts and cultural work across regional NSW.

Key Information

• Grant amount: Individuals and groups can apply for projects from $10,000 up to $75,000. Organisations can apply for projects from $20,000 up to $120,000
• Application opened: 13 April 2026
• Application closes: 25 May 2026, 2:00 pm

Program Overview

In response to Creative Communities, the NSW arts, culture and creative industries policy, the purpose of this funding is to strengthen communities though equitable access to vibrant arts and cultural experiences.

This funding could:

• foster access to innovative and diverse arts and cultural presentations
• enable the presentation of new work by underrepresented artists and groups
• enhance the visibility of new work by NSW artists and arts/cultural workers
• contribute to personal and community wellbeing and economic development
• build vitality of NSW organisations by developing new markets and audiences
• strengthen communities through equitable access to arts and cultural experiences.

This program is administered by Create NSW.

Eligibility

Who can apply

Individuals:

• Applicants must be 18 years or above
• Have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) or be administered at time of contracting (if successful)
• Currently living in NSW (minimum12 months)

Groups or other entities that do not have legal status:

• The lead applicant must be 18 years or above, have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) or be administered at time of contracting (if successful)
• Majority of members must currently be located in NSW (for the past 12 months)
• Unincorporated groups must have a written/ signed agreement between all members outlining roles and responsibilities, and their acceptance of the proposed project.

Organisations or entities that do have legal status, such as: companies, associations, partnerships, and other incorporated entities. Local Government Authorities must be a distinct business unit based in NSW

• The person submitting the application must have the authority to act on behalf of the organisation/entity

Note: Preference will be given to NSW-based organisations. It is highly recommended that non-NSW based organisations discuss their application with Create NSW before applying by contacting arts.funding@create.nsw.gov.au.

If successful, all applicants must provide details of an active ABN with a nominated bank account or provide details of a funds administrator.

• Individuals must have a sole trader ABN or private company ABN (only if the individual is the sole director) or a funds administrator and a nominated bank account.
• Groups who are unincorporated, ensembles, unincorporated associations, or other entities that do not have legal status, must be contracted by an individual or a funds administrator on behalf of the group.
• Organisations with legal status must have an ABN which matches their entity name and a nominated bank account.

Funding requests must:

• not be more than 90% of project costs
• be realistic and supported by the application and budget.

Types of projects funded under this grant

All applications must demonstrate that the proposal has a focus on arts and culture and directly benefits regional NSW artists, arts and cultural workers and/or regional NSW communities and audiences through arts led touring activities.

For funding towards a professional development opportunity, please see Professional Development – Next Steps.

For individuals looking for funding towards development or presentation of a new creative work, please see Creative Steps – New Work.

For First Nations individuals or organisations/groups with majority First Nations leadership looking for funding towards a creative project, please see – Creative Nations.

What costs you can apply for

Costs you need to cover to make sure your tour is a success:

• Renting or hiring of space for workshops, rehearsals, shows, exhibitions or presentations.
• Community engagement or audience development costs, including marketing and promotions costs.
• Costs to support First Nations Protocols and ICIP
• Costs to support accessibility
• Paying artist fees based on awards and appropriate industry rates. See Glossary for further information regarding industry standard rates.
  • Note: It is required that commercial events staged using, in whole or in part, public funding received from Create NSW, implement a $250 minimum fee for musicians.

Note: You can apply for unconfirmed activities, such as tours in development with unconfirmed venues.

Who can’t apply

Ineligible applicants:

• Have received funding before from Create NSW or Sound NSW for the same part of the project.
• Will start or finish the project before the funding period starts.
• Are a state or federal government department/agency, including state cultural institutions.
• Are schools and educational institutions (including preschools, primary and secondary schools).
• Key Festivals, State Significant Organisations & National Performing Arts Partnership Organisations.
• Want funding related to filmmaking, screen production, mainstream animation or film festivals (funding programs for these areas are managed by Screen NSW)
• Want funding related to contemporary music (please refer to the glossary for this definition). For more information on this, you should contact Sound NSW
• Are employed by Create NSW or were employed in the last 12 months.

What costs you can’t apply for

• Tours or activities that directly support the delivery or course requirements of an educational institution’s program or course
• Tours or activities that are led by people who aren’t professional artists, arts and cultural workers, or creatives
• Paying back money for items you’ve already bought
• Buying equipment that isn’t directly used in your project
• Capital works (infrastructure/building works)
• Fundraising and donations
• Awards, prizes, competitions, or prize money
• Paying back loans.

Example projects

Some examples of what may be funded under this grant are but not limited to:

• an artist/curator from Western Sydney touring an exhibition to multiple regional NSW galleries
• a small group of regional theatre-makers staging a play in two locations outside their hometown
• a performance poet partnering with regional libraries and bookshops to run poetry nights and workshops
• a Sydney-based dance company touring to three regional NSW destinations and delivering workshops with young people
• a regional NSW theatre organisation touring a performance to one Western Sydney and two regional NSW locations
• a regional gallery sending a group show to two other regional galleries and offering a talk by the curator in each location.

What co-contributions are required

Create NSW does not fund 100% of your tour. You must contribute at least 10% from other cash or in-kind support towards your tour. The definition of in-kind can be seen in the glossary.

Additional eligibility requirements

Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria. Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department’s discretion. This includes:

• The project must start after 1 September 2026 and be completed by 1 September 2028.
• Regional Arts Touring funding is for any activity directly related to a regional NSW tour. Note: Regional NSW is defined as all NSW local government areas outside of Greater Sydney. Please refer to the glossary for this definition. If you are NSW regionally based, you can also apply for funding towards a Sydney or Western Sydney component of your tour.
• A tour is defined as staging a production or exhibition in a location outside of the place where the activity originated and/or the applicant resides.

Applications to rounds

• You can only submit one application to this round.
• You cannot apply to this round if you were successful in the previous round of Regional Arts Touring.
• If you submit more than one application, you will be asked to choose one for assessment.