Please note: Some of the content on this page was published prior to the launch of Creative Australia and references the Australia Council. Read more.

Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship

Travelling scholarship to support the professional development of a man or male under 30 with outstanding ability and promise in opera.

About the Scholarship

The Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship was established by a Deed of Lady Mollie Askin to further culture and advance education in Australia by providing a travelling scholarship for Australian citizens with outstanding ability and promise in opera.

The scholarship is awarded biennially to a young man or male candidate who has outstanding ability and promise in opera. The scholarship is worth $30,000, payable in two instalments of $15,000 over two years.

A list of previous recipients is available here.

Who can apply

Applications for the Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship are open to individual artists who identify as a man or male and are Australian citizens aged 18 – 29 at the closing date.

These are terms established by the Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship Trust. There are no exceptions to these requirements.

If you are an Australian citizen but will have difficulty providing a copy of a birth certificate, passport or citizenship certificate, please contact Artists Services.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for a scholarship if:

  • you have an overdue grant report
  • you owe money to Creative Australia
  • you were previously awarded a Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship.

Scholarship funds can be used to assist with study programs, professional training courses and mentor programs that would not otherwise be obtainable due to lack of financial resources.

Scholarship proposals will be reviewed by Creative Australia staff. We may seek industry advice on your scholarship before making our recommendations to Perpetual, who will make the final decision.

The decision of Perpetual is final, and no feedback will be provided  on your application or the decision.

Your application will be assessed against two criteria:

  • the potential of the applicant
  • the viability of the proposal.

Scholarship applications are submitted through Creative Australia’s Application Management System (AMS).

Once logged into the AMS, click on ‘Apply for a Grant’ from the left panel menu. Scroll down the list of opportunities. Under ‘Co-Investment Opportunities’ select ‘The Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship’.

The type of questions we ask you in the application form include:

  • your name and contact details
  • your gender
  • confirmation that you are an Australian citizen
  • confirmation of your age
  • information about your practice, your professional experience and your career goals
  • the proposed aims and activities of your scholarship (names of teachers/institutions, travel plans, dates, etc.), and how your planned activities will assist your career
  • supporting material relevant to your proposal.

Additional material can be submitted to support your application. We will review support material to understand your artistic practice and viability of your proposal.

We do not accept support materials 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, please contact Artists Services.

You can submit the following support material with your application:

    1. Artistic support material

You may submit up to two URLs (web links). These URLs should be direct links to material that can include video, audio, images, and writing.

Please provide:

      • a direct link/URL to a video or audio recording of a performance.

 

  1. Letters of support

You may include up to three letters of support or written references for you and your scholarship, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page. The letters should explain how the proposed scholarship will benefit you.

Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks). However, if you cannot supply artistic support material via URL, we will accept artistic support material in the following formats:

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

Please note: Our 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.

To find out more about support material, including advice on how to get examples of your work online, please contact Artists Services.

Key dates

Applications close: Tuesday 6 February 2024, 3pm AEDT (or earlier if application limit is met).

Amount: $30,000

Notification: Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of April 2024.

Apply now

Please note: Perpetual will only accept a limited number of applications annually. Once this limit is met, no further applications can be submitted.

 

Related Links

APRA AMCOS Digital Futures Initiative

Support to increase audiences, develop knowledge about distribution platforms, and encourage creators of new technologies to use Australian music.

Photo: Yana Amur.

About the opportunity

The APRA AMCOS Digital Futures Initiative is a partnership between APRA AMCOS and the Australia Council.

The funding will support Australian individuals, groups and organisations to increase audiences, establish a critical base of knowledge and develop new ideas within distribution platforms. It aims to encourage creators of new technology to use Australian music.

Not-for-profit entities are a priority for funding.

One grant of $20,000 is available. Applicants can apply  to deliver a project in one of two areas:

  1. A professional development project that increases the capacity and knowledge of new platforms and channels which will be shared with the sector, or
  2. An artistic project that demonstrates a way that Australian musicians, composers and industry can engage with new technology or platforms.

If you are an applicant with disability, or are working with artists with disability, you may include access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, translation services, specific technical equipment, career, or support worker assistance.

If you need advice about applying, or have specific access requirements, contact Artists Services.

About APRA AMCOS

APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) is a music rights management organisation that pays royalties to music creators when their music is played or copied, both locally and overseas.

Over 108,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers appoint APRA AMCOS to look after certain rights on their behalf. This means organisations don’t have to contact individual music creators to legally use their music. Learn more about how music copyright works.

2022 recipients

Congratulations to the inaugural recipients, musician Sally Coleman and RMIT’s Ian Rogers.

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.

Who can apply

  • This opportunity is available for individuals, groups and organisations.
  • Individuals must be Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for this opportunity if:

  • you have an overdue grant report
  • you owe money to the Australia Council.

What can be applied for

You can apply for any costs relevant to the delivery of your project, including, but not limited to:

  • commissions and fees
  • research
  • presentation
  • design
  • software
  • workshop and seminar delivery
  • projects that focus on music in gaming  and Virtual Reality (VR)
  • projects that support the Australian industry to better integrate music into new platforms
  • not-for-profit entities
  • access.

Access costs are legitimate expenses and may be included in your application budget. We encourage applicants to ensure that their work is accessible to everyone. Therefore, budgets may also 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).

Your proposal will be reviewed by Industry Advisors against the assessment criteria.

In your application, you must address the assessment criteria listed below. Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what the advisors may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point.

Applications should be aligned with the Australia Council’s commitment to inclusion, empowerment, access and equity as outlined in the Cultural Engagement Framework.

  1. Quality

Industry Advisors will assess the quality of your proposal.

They may consider:

  • significance and quality of the project
  • the quality of your previous work
  • responses to previous work.
  1. Impact

Industry Advisors will assess the impact of your project on the use of original Australian music in the digital or online environment.

They may consider:

  • alignment of your project with the priority areas as listed above
    • professional development that increases capacity in and knowledge of new platforms and channels
    • artistic projects that demonstrate new ways to engage with new technology or platforms
    • Council’s Cultural Engagement Framework
  • demonstrated evidence of need for this project and of the outcomes.
  1. Viability

Industry Advisors will assess the viability of your proposal.

They may consider:

  • skills and ability of artists, industry professionals, collaborators or partners involved, and their relevance to the proposed activity
  • demonstration of realistic and achievable planning
  • demonstration of proposed marketing and audience engagement strategies
  • the role of any confirmed or unconfirmed partners.

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

What you should provide

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 three types of support material you may submit:

  1. Artistic support material

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

Types of support material we accept

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

You can provide up to three URLs (weblinks) that link to content that is relevant to your proposal. This may include video, audio, images, or written material.

These URLs can include a total of:

  • 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording
  • 10 images
  • 10 pages of written material.

Please note: Our Industry Advisors 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.

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

  • video (MP4 and Windows Media)
  • audio (MP3 and Windows Media)
  • images (JPEG and PowerPoint)
  • written material (Word and PDF).
  1. Biographies, CVs and business plans

You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) for key artists, personnel or other collaborators involved in your project. If relevant, you may also provide a business plan of no more than four A4 pagesBios and CVs should be presented as a single document no longer than two 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 will support the aims of the Digital Futures Initiative. 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 letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.

Key dates

Applications close: Tuesday 4 April 2023 at 3pm AEST, for projects beginning after 1 July 2023.

Please note: To apply you must be registered in our Application Management System a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application approximately 8 weeks after the closing date.

Contact Us

Contact an Artists Services Officer if you need help with your application.

 

Related Links

The Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship

Travelling scholarship to support the professional development of a young person under 30 with outstanding ability and promise in ballet.

About the Scholarship

The Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship was established by a Deed of Lady Mollie Askin to further culture and advance education in Australia by providing a travelling scholarship for Australian citizens with outstanding ability and promise in ballet.

The scholarship is awarded biennially to a candidate who has outstanding ability and promise in ballet. The scholarship is worth $30,000, payable in two instalments of $15,000 over two years.

A list of previous recipients is available here.

Who can apply

Applications for the Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship are open to individual artists who are Australian citizens aged 17 – 29 at the closing date.

These are terms established by the Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship Trust. There are no exceptions to these requirements.

If you are an Australian citizen but will have difficulty providing a copy of a birth certificate, passport or citizenship certificate, please contact Artists Services.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for a scholarship if:

  • you have an overdue grant report
  • you owe money to Creative Australia
  • you were previously awarded a Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship.

Scholarship funds can be used to assist with study programs, professional training courses and mentor programs that would not otherwise be obtainable due to lack of financial resources.

Scholarship proposals will be reviewed by Creative Australia staff. We may seek industry advice on your scholarship before making our recommendations to Perpetual, who will make the final decision.

The decision of Perpetual is final, and no feedback will be provided  on your application or the decision.

Your application will be assessed against two criteria:

  • the potential of the applicant
  • the viability of the proposal.

Scholarship applications are submitted through Creative Australia’s Application Management System (AMS).

Once logged into the AMS, click on ‘Apply for a Grant’ from the left panel menu. Scroll down the list of opportunities. Under ‘Co-Investment Opportunities’ select ‘The Lady Mollie Askin Ballet Scholarship’.

The type of questions we ask you in the application form include:

  • your name and contact details
  • confirmation that you are an Australian citizen
  • confirmation of your age
  • information about your practice, your professional experience and your career goals
  • the proposed aims and activities of your scholarship (names of teachers/institutions, travel plans, dates, etc.), and how your planned activities will assist your career
  • supporting material relevant to your proposal.

Additional material can be submitted to support your application. We will review support material to understand your artistic practice and viability of your proposal.

We do not accept support materials 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, please contact Artists Services.

You can submit the following support material with your application:

 

    1. Artistic support material

      2.  

      You may submit up to two URLs (web links). Please provide:

      • a direct link/URL to a 5 min (maximum) video recording of class/studio work (must include adagio, turning and allegro examples)
      • a direct link/URL to a 10 min (maximum) video recording of performance material (must include examples from the classical ballet repertoire and a contemporary ballet example).

       

    2. Letters of support

     

    You can include up to three letters of support or written references for you and your scholarship, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page. The letters should explain how the proposed scholarship will benefit you.

    Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks). However, if you cannot supply artistic support material via URL, we will accept artistic support material in the following formats:

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

     
    Please note: Our 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.

    To find out more about support material, including advice on how to get examples of your work online, please contact Artists Services.

Key dates

Applications close: Tuesday 6 February 2024, 3pm AEDT (or earlier if application limit is met).

Amount: $30,000

Notification: Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of April 2024.

Apply now

Please note: Perpetual will only accept a limited number of applications annually. Once this limit is met, no further applications can be submitted.

 

Related Links

PPCA Sound Recording Partnership

Five grants of $15,000 each to support Australian artists or groups to create new sound recordings.

Image: Volta Hymn. Credit: Jackie Dixon.

About the opportunity

The Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) and the Australia Council for the Arts will deliver a grant partnership, the PPCA Sound Recording Partnership.

This partnership will support five Australian artists or groups to create new sound recordings.

There are five grants of $15,000 each available.

The Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) represents thousands of Australian recording artists when their music is used in public. In 2021 PPCA distributed almost $36.5 million to its registered artists and record labels. It is free for Australian artists to register with PPCA.

PPCA will also support the grant scheme by providing the recipients with guidance and assistance on registering with PPCA, in order to maximise their opportunities to access public performance and broadcast income from the recordings created.

If you are an applicant with a disability, or are working with 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.

If you need advice about applying, or have specific access requirements, contact Artists Services.

Who can apply

  • This opportunity is available for individuals working solo or as part of group. If you are part of a group, you must nominate a member to apply.
  • The applicant must be an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident and a practicing artist or industry professional.
  • We encourage applicants to also register with the PPCA.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for this opportunity if:

  • you received a grant, or administered a grant, from the Australia Council in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
  • you owe money to the Australia Council.

What can be applied for?

The applicant can apply for any costs associated with the creation of a sound recording, including marketing and promotion costs.

Your proposal will be considered by the Australia Council in consultation with Industry Advisors and a PPCA representative.

In your application, you must address the three assessment criteria listed below. Under each criterion there are bullet points indicating what the advisors may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point.

  1. Quality

The advisors will consider the artist quality of your proposal.

They may consider:

  • the significance and quality of the work
  • the potential sector impact and timeliness of the project
  • the quality of previous work
  • the potential impact and timeliness of the project on the artist(s) career
  • responses to previous work from artistic or cultural peers, or the public.
  1. Diversity

The advisors will consider the potential of the recording within the diversity of music creation in Australia.

They may consider:

  • the diversity and quality of the people and partners involved
  • the potential of the proposed activity to engage diverse audiences.
  1. Viability

The advisors will consider the viability of your proposal.

They may consider:

  • skills and ability of artists, industry professionals, collaborators or partners involved, and their relevance to the proposed activity
  • demonstration of realistic and achievable planning
  • demonstration of proposed marketing and audience engagement strategies
  • the role of any partners, including confirmation of involvement.

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

What you should provide

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 three types of support material you may submit:

  1. Artistic support material

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

Types of support material we accept

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

You can provide up to three URLs (weblinks) that link to content that is relevant to your proposal. This may include video, audio, images, or written material.

These URLs can include a total of:

  • 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording
  • 10 images
  • 10 pages of written material.

Please note: Our Industry Advisors 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.

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

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

You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) for key artists, personnel or other collaborators involved in your project. Bios and CVs should be presented as a single document no longer than two 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 will support the aims of this Initiative. 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 letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page

Key dates

Applications closed

Earliest start date: 1 July 2023

Please note: To apply you must be registered in our Application Management System a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application approximately 8 weeks after the closing date.

Related Links

Kathleen Mitchell Literary Award

The Kathleen Micthell Award is presented biennially to the author, aged 30 or under, of an outstanding novel or novella to encourage advancement in their literary career.

About this Award

The Kathleen Mitchell Award is presented biennially to the author, aged 30 or under, of an outstanding novel or novella to encourage advancement in their literary career. The novel or novella must have been published or accepted for publication within the 2 years prior to the Award closing date. This can be demonstrated by the providing an ISBN or letter of confirmation from the publisher as part of your entry.

The recipient will receive $15,000.

For the Kathleen Mitchell Award you may submit one entry only.

Established in 1996 by the will of the late Kathleen Adele Mitchell, the Award aims to encourage the advancement, improvement and betterment of Australian literature, and to provide emerging writers with funding to further their practice.

The Award is administered by the Australia Council on behalf of Perpetual as trustee.

A list of previous recipients is available here.

Who can apply

To apply for this Award you must:

  • be aged 30 years or under at the 7 February 2023 closing date
  • have been born in Australia or the United Kingdom, or are currently an Australian citizen
  • have been living in Australia for the 12 months preceding the 7 February 2023 closing date.

These are the terms established by deed of the Kathleen Mitchell Award and there are no exceptions to these requirements. To be eligible for this Award you must provide proof of your Australian citizenship or of your place of birth (eg birth certificate, passport). If you will have difficulty providing this, please contact Artists Services to discuss your situation.

Please note you must self-nominate for this Award, and only one entry per applicant will be accepted.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for the Award if:

  • you do not hold copyright for the work you wish to submit for consideration
  • your novel or novella has not been published or accepted for publication within the 2 years prior to the 7 February 2023 closing date
  • you received a grant, or administered a grant, from the Australia Council in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
  • you owe money to the Australia Council.

Your entry will be reviewed by industry advisors. The recommended recipient will be forwarded to Perpetual, who will make the final decision.

The decision of Perpetual is final and no feedback on entries or further correspondence on decisions will be provided.

Your submission must include your novel or novella in its entirety.

In your support material you should also include the ISBN for your novel or novella, OR a letter from the publisher confirming publication. This should demonstrate your novel or novella was published or accepted for publishing within the 2 years prior to the Award closing date.

To be eligible for the Kathleen Mitchell Award, you must provide proof of Australian citizenship, or that you were born in Australia or the United Kingdom. This may include a copy of your passport, birth certificate or citizenship certificate. Copies of these documents should be provided with your application support material.

Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks). URLs should be direct links to your novel or novella.

If you cannot supply support material via a URL, we will accept written artistic support material uploaded as a PDF with your application.

To find out more about support material please contact Artists Services.

Key dates

Applications closed

Amount:
$15,000

Notification:
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of April 2023.

Related Links

Dal Stivens Literary Award

The Dal Stivens Award is presented biennially to an author, aged 30 or under, for a short story or essay of the highest literary merit.

About this Award

The Dal Stivens Award is presented biennially to an author, aged 30 or under, for a short story or essay of the highest literary merit. The story or essay must be:

  • between 3,000 and 10,000 words (including footnotes or other material)
  • published or accepted for publication within the 12 months prior to the Award closing date.

Self-published works will be accepted for this Award, but must be edited to a professional standard.

The recipient will receive $15,000. You may submit up to two entries.

The Dal Stivens Award was established in the will of Juanita Cragen in 2007. Dal Stivens (1911-1997) was an Australian writer and founding President of the Australian Society of Authors in 1963. His written works include eight collections of short stories, from The Tramp and Other Stories (1936) to The Unicorn and Other Tales (1976).

Dal Stiven’s contribution to Australian literature was huge. He published his first novel, Jimmy Brockett, in 1948. As a freelance writer, his short stories were regularly published in Lilliput, The Times Literary Supplement, The Observer and John O’London’s Weekly. In 1969, Stivens was described in The Australian Book Review as “in the front ranks of Australia’s short story writers”. He won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 1970 for best Australian novel with A Horse of Air and in 1981 he won the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian Literature. He was honoured with a Special Achievement Award in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards in 1994. Dal also wrote under the pseudonyms Jack Tarrant, John Sidney, Sam Johnson and L’Arva Street. Stivens was the Foundation President of the Australian Society of Authors and was instrumental in establishing the rights of Australian authors within the commercial sphere.

The Award is administered by the Australia Council on behalf of Perpetual as trustee.

A list of previous recipients is available here.

Who can apply

To apply for this Award you must be:

  • aged 30 years or under at the 7 February 2023 closing date
  • either Australian citizens, or have been permanent residents in the two years preceding the 7 February 2023 closing date.

These are the terms established by deed of the Dal Stivens Award and there are no exceptions to these requirements. To be eligible for this Award you must provide proof of your Australian citizenship or permanent residency (e.g. passport, permanent residency visa). If you will have difficulty providing this, please contact Artists Services to discuss your situation.

Please note you must self-nominate for this Award. A maximum of two entries per applicant will be accepted.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for the Award if:

  • you do not hold copyright for the work you wish to submit for consideration
  • your story or essay has not been accepted for publication within the 12 months prior to the 7 February 2023 closing date
  • your short story or essay is less than 3,000 words in length, or greater than 10,000 words in length, including footnotes or other material
  • you received a grant, or administered a grant, from the Australia Council in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
  • you owe money to the Australia Council.

Your proposal will be assessed by Australia Council staff. We may seek industry advice on your proposal before making our recommendation to Perpetual, who will make the final decision.

The decision of Perpetual is final and no feedback on entries or further correspondence on decisions will be provided.

Applications for this Award are submitted through our online system. If you are using the system for the first time you will need to register your details to access the application form.

We do not accept entries submitted via post. Any material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender. If you think you will have difficulty submitting your entry online, please contact Artists Services.

Your support material must include your short story or essay in its entirety.

Your support material should also provide evidence that your short story or essay has been published, or has been accepted for publication, within the 12 months prior to the Award closing date. This could include a letter from the publisher.

To be eligible for the Dal Stivens Award, you must provide proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residency. To do this please include proof in your support material; this may include a copy of your passport or permanent residency visa.

Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks). URLs should be direct links to the material you wish to present.

However, if you cannot supply support material via a URL, we will accept written artistic support material uploaded as a PDF with your application.

To find out more about support material please contact Artists Services.

Key dates

Applications closed

Amount:
$15,000

Notification:
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of April 2023.

Related Links

First Nations Writers’ Residency

The Australia Council for the Arts in partnership with Magabala Books are calling on applications for the First Nations Writers’ Residency to be held in Broome between 4 -13 May 2020.

About the program

The Australia Council for the Arts in partnership with Magabala Books are calling on applications for the First Nations Writers’ Residency to be held in Broome between 4 -13 May 2020.

The residency will enable 6 participants to be immersed in their craft of writing and have the space to reflect and reconnect to their practice in collaboration with likeminded creatives.  It is also an opportunity to engage with Magabala Books, a leading Indigenous publishing house.

The residency is designed to provide First Nations Writers with the opportunity to gain insight into the roles of editors, agents, sales representatives and marketing your work within a global context.  It will enable further discussion around First Nations Literature and its place within the Australian contemporary society, along with generating ideas to further develop your practice.

This residency is open to mid-career to established First Nations Writers who have published a minimum of one book and have an ISBN and barcode.

All travel expenses, accommodation and meals are included. Successful applicants will also receive a fee of $1,000.

 

About Magabala Books

Magabala Books is Australia’s leading Indigenous publishing house. Aboriginal owned and led, Magabala Books celebrate and nurture the talent and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices.

Based in Broome Western Australia, Magabala publish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, artists and illustrators from all over Australia. An independent, not-for-profit Indigenous corporation, Magabala is governed by a dedicated board of Kimberley Aboriginal cultural leaders, educators, business professionals and creative practitioners.

Magabala publishes up to 15 new titles annually across a range of genres: children’s picture books, memoir, fiction (junior, young adult and adult), non-fiction, graphic novels, social history and poetry. Magabala Books keep a substantial backlist in print and their earliest titles stand strong alongside new releases in the trade and are of significant cultural importance.

Magabala’s commitment to developing new and emerging Indigenous writers, illustrators and one-time storytellers, sets them apart from other publishers. Their program of professional development is unparalleled in the industry.

Magabala’s award-winning titles are recognised for their literary merit, cultural significance and contribution to the canon of Australian literature.

Magabala Books is an advocate and guardian, protecting the cultural and intellectual property rights of all their creators. They play a significant advisory role within the publishing industry, modelling best practice for the publishing of Indigenous stories. Magabala also delivers a range of innovative social and cultural initiatives.

Every Magabala Book purchased is an investment in Indigenous creative, cultural and economic futures.

Applications are now closed.

Applications close: Thursday 12 March 2020 (11.59pm AEDT)

Residential dates: Monday 4 – Sunday 13 May 2020

Notification date: Thursday 9 April 2020

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First Nations Emerging Career Development Award

$10,000 supporting two First Nations artists or arts workers between 18-30 to pursue their professional development.

About the First Nations Emerging Career Development Award

This award was established in 2019 through the generous contributions of Creative Australia’s Workplace Giving scheme.

Two awards of $10,000 are given to First Nations artists or arts workers between 18 and 30 years old to fund their professional development. This multi-artform opportunity is available to artists practicing in community arts and cultural development, dance, experimental arts, literature, multi-arts, music, theatre and/or visual arts.

The successful applicants will be announced at the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards on Monday May 27, 2024.

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

About the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards

The First Nations Arts and Culture Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding work and achievements of First Nations artists and arts workers. On the evening of Monday 27 May 2024, the following awards will be presented:

Who can apply

  • Only First Nations artists or arts workers may apply
  • You must be between the ages of 18 and 30 years.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for this grant if:

  • you received a grant from Creative Australia in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
  • you owe money to Creative Australia
  • you are an organisation.

What you can apply for

You can apply for:

  • study/course expenses
  • masterclass/workshops
  • travel and accommodation
  • materials
  • living expenses
  • conference attendance.

Supported activities must last no longer than one year from your proposed start date.

Applications will be assessed by Creative Australia’s First Nations Arts and Culture Strategy Panel against the assessment criteria below.

Assessment criteria

Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what the First Nations Arts and Culture Strategy Panel members may consider when assessing your application.  You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.

  1. Potential of the artist or arts worker

The panel may consider:

  • the quality of your previous work
  • public or peer responses to your work
  • demonstrated ability, skills and creative thinking.
  1. Viability

The panel may consider:

  • evidence that the Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts have been adhered to, including consultation and engagement with First Nations elders, collaborators and communities
  • the skills and roles of partners or collaborators, including confirmation of involvement
  • realistic and achievable planning and resource use
  • relevance and timeliness of the proposed activity.
  1. Impact on career

The panel may consider:

  • how your activity will extend your arts practice, skills, abilities and networks
  • how your activity will help you to discover and develop new markets, or meet existing market demand
  • whether you have demonstrated that there is a clear need for this activity.

The application form will ask you to provide:

  • a title for your activity
  • a summary of your activity
  • an explanation of how the activity will benefit your career
  • a detailed description of your activity
  • a timetable of activities
  • a budget containing details of the expenses, income and in-kind support for your activity, including any access and support costs
  • support material relevant to your activity. This may include examples of your previous work, bios of additional people involved, and letters of support from collaborators or communities.

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

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 three types of support material you may submit:

  1. Artistic support material

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

  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 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.  If relevant to your activity, letters of support may also provide evidence of appropriate cultural protocols, permissions or outline the support of key project partners. You can include up to five letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.

What is the best way to provide support material?

Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks). You can provide up to three URLs (weblinks) that link to content that is relevant to your proposal. This may include video, audio, images, or written material. These URLs can include a total of:

  • 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording
  • 10 images
  • 10 pages of written material (for example, excerpts of literary writing).

Please note: Our panel 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 below.

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).

Key dates

Amount: 2 awards of $10,000 each

Applications closed

Notifications: December 2023

Please note: To apply you must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date. 

Contact

To discuss your application, please contact:

Robbie Miller
Project Manager
First Nations Arts and Culture
Phone: +61 2 9215 9157
Email: robbie.miller@creative.gov.au

If you need help with your application, please call or email us.

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