Arts and Disability Initiative
Key Dates
Applications closed
Amount
Grants of $30,000 are available.
You can also apply for up to $3,000 to support your access costs.
Please note: We only accept applications through our online Application Management System. If you are using the system for the first time, you need to make an account (register) at least two days before the closing date.
Easy English - Arts and Disability Initiative - Updated June 2025
PDF · 2.22 MBAbout this initiative
This initiative is for d/Deaf and disabled artists and workers. You can apply for funding to develop a new work, or to build your practice, skills and networks.
The amount you can apply for is fixed at $30,000. We will not fund applications requesting a different amount.
You can also apply for up to $3,000 additional funding to support your access costs.
The Arts and Disability Initiative has been reviewed and enhanced in response to the Arts and Disability Associated Plan 2024-2028.
Eligibility
Who can apply
- Only individuals may apply to this initiative. If you are part of an unincorporated group, an individual can apply on behalf of the group.
- You must identify as a d/Deaf or disabled artist or arts worker.
- You must be an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident.
- You may only apply once to this initiative at the 8 July 2025 closing date.
Who can't apply
You can’t apply for a grant if:
- you are applying as an organisation
- you received a grant from Creative Australia in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
- you owe money to Creative Australia.
What you can apply for
You can apply for:
- creative development
- experimentation
- creation of new work
- presentation and promotion
- skills development
- practice-based research
- mentoring
- residencies
- collaboration
- access costs.
Access costs are legitimate expenses that you can include in the main part of your budget. These can support the access costs for you and other people involved in your project. They can support the inclusion of arts workers and participants in your project. They can also support audience access to your project or activities.
You need to itemise which access costs you want to use, for a realistic cost, in your budget.
You can also request up to $3,000 in addition to the main grant to support your access costs.
Please contact Artists Services to discuss your needs.
What you can't apply for
You can’t apply for projects or activities that:
- do not involve or benefit practicing artists or arts workers
- do not have a clearly defined arts component
- have already taken place.
Assessment
Applications to this initiative will be assessed by peers from the arts sector. Most of the assessors will identify as d/Deaf or disabled.
For more information see: How we assess applications.
Assessment criteria
You must address three assessment criteria in this initiative.
Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what the peer assessors may consider when reviewing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point.
Quality
Peers will assess the quality of your proposal. They may consider:
- the quality of the proposed activity
- the quality of your previous work
- public or peer responses to your work
- the quality of your collaborators or partners
- how your proposed activity is ambitious, bold, innovative and career-enhancing.
Viability
Peers will assess the viability of your proposal. They may consider:
- if you have a clear plan that is realistic and achievable - your plan needs to use resources well and have clear steps to reach your goal.
- evidence of structure and support in place for your project
- the relevance and timeliness of the proposed activity
- the skills and roles of partners or collaborators, including confirmation of involvement
- evidence that the Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts will be followed if you are working with First Nations content, participants, or communities appropriate payments to participating artists, arts workers, collaborators, participants, or cultural consultants
- evidence of appropriate consultation with participants, audiences, or communities
- the safety and wellbeing of people involved in the project, and public safety in relation to presentations or travel
- how you have addressed access in the proposed activity
- where relevant, evidence that you have addressed the environmental impact of your project.
Impact
Peers will assess the impact that your proposal will have on your practice and career. They may consider:
- how your activity will extend your arts practice, networks and skills
- how your activity will extend the arts practice, networks, and skills of other artists and arts workers involved.
Application form
Log into our Application Management System to access the online application form.
The application form will ask you to provide:
- a title for your activity
- a summary of your activity
- a brief bio of the artist or arts worker applying
- a detailed description of your project
- a timetable or itinerary for your activity
- an explanation of how your project will impact you and other people involved
- details of the expenses, income and in-kind support for your activity, including any access and support costs
- supporting material relevant to your activity. This may include examples of your previous work, bios of additional people involved, and letters of support from participants or communities.
All Creative Australia grants information including guidelines and application forms can be made available in accessible formats upon request. We can provide accessible versions of our guidelines and application forms on request. Formats include Word documents, Easy English, Auslan video, audio CD or braille. Please note that requests for translated materials may take several weeks.
We accept applications for all our programs in accessible formats. Formats include Auslan, audio, video, printed, dictated, electronic and handwritten formats. Contact Artists Services to discuss your requirements.
Support material
You should submit support material with your application. The peer assessors may review this support material to help them understand your project.
You need to submit support material online with your application. Please do not post or email support materials unless you have discussed your access needs with us.
We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post unless you have contacted us in advance to discuss your access needs. Please contact Artists Services if you have any questions about how to provide support material.
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.
2. 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.
3. Letters of support
Individuals, groups, or organisations can write letters in support of your project. A support letter should explain the benefits of your project to you, to other people involved in your project, or the broader community. It can also detail the support or involvement of key project partners or provide evidence of consultation.
If you are working with First Nations people or content you must provide evidence to show you will follow First Nations Protocols. This may include letters of support and permission from First Nations organisations, communities, artists or Elders.
You can include up to five letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.
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 (for example, excerpts of literary writing).
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, Windows Media)
- audio (MP3 and Windows Media)
- images (JPEG and PowerPoint)
- written material (Word and PDF).
If you are successful
Details of the grant recipients will be published on the Creative Australia website. These details will include the name of each recipient, their resident state or territory, the amount awarded, the panel which assessed the application (Arts & Disability panel) and the name of the round (the Arts and Disability Initiative).
Please contact Artists Services if you do not wish to have your name published.
Frequently asked questions
What types of activities can I apply for?
The initiative is designed to support a wide variety of arts project or career development activities. This includes the creation of new work, career development, mentoring, residencies, research and development, presentation, and promotion.
Supported activities must last no longer than two years from the proposed start date.
Should d/Deaf or disabled artists be paid?
Creative Australia expects that all artists and arts workers employed or engaged on Creative Australia-funded activities will be remunerated for their work. Peers assessing applications for the Arts and Disability Initiative will consider remuneration when they look at the viability of your activity. You should make provision in your budget for appropriate payment of artists and arts workers. For more information, refer to our policy on the payment of artists.
What structure and support should I put in place to support my development?
Artists and arts workers with disability face barriers in formal arts education and training. They have very diverse professional and career development pathways which need to be tailored to individual requirements and circumstances.
Show how your project will enhance your practice, career, networks, skills and ambitions, and how it will do the same for your collaborators. You can consider mentoring as an option (see below), or any of the following activities:
- formal or informal training
- feedback, critical reflection or peer review from your collaborators
- work placements, internships or learning and development activities with an industry or organisational partner
- structured learning and development activities with your collaborators, including peer-to-peer learning
- workshops or time spent with Elders, senior artists or community leaders
- documentation of your learning and development.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is any supportive relationship that encourages the sharing of knowledge, skills and experience. Mentoring can be structured or informal and can include peer-to-peer mentoring. Peer-to-peer mentoring assumes equality and exchange of knowledge in the relationship, where everyone involved contributes and learns from different perspectives and experience. For the purposes of this initiative, mentoring is interpreted very broadly and is informed by the needs and priorities of the applicant.
Will receiving a grant affect my Centrelink payment?
Grants can be considered income by Centrelink. The amount is generally assessed as a lump sum and could affect your Centrelink payment for the financial year. Artists who are running a business (even on a small scale) may have their grant treated differently. It is possible to have your grant paid to an administering body if you wish.
Applicants should contact Centrelink on 13 28 50 for advice. Additionally, Centrelink’s Financial Information Service (FIS) is an education and information service available to everyone in the community and may be of benefit to applicants who also receive assistance through the social security system. To contact FIS phone 13 23 00.
How can I get assistance with my application?
Contact the Artists Services team:.
- with any questions about this initiative
- if you need help to register or log into the Application Management System
- to submit an application in a different format, or in a language other than English
- to arrange a conference call using an Auslan interpreter service if you have any other access or support needs.
Our staff can assist over email, phone, Teams, Zoom, and, where possible, in person
Do you review draft applications?
We do not review draft applications. However, we can discuss any specific questions or issues you have about your application.
If you need help writing your application, we encourage you to contact one of the arts and disability peak bodies. A list of those peak bodies, along with further accessibility resources, is here.
Can I submit my application in an accessible format?
Yes. We encourage you to submit your application using our online system. You can submit your application in any way that is accessible to you. Other formats include Auslan, audio, video, printed, dictated, electronic and handwritten format.
Contact the Artists Services team to discuss your needs well in advance of the closing date.
Who will assess my application?
Applications to the Arts and Disability Initiative will be assessed by artists and arts worker across art forms and across states and territories. Most of the assessors will identify as d/Deaf or disabled.
Will I need to specify what my disability is in the application form?
No. You will only be asked whether you identify as d/Deaf or disabled person.
Should I disclose information about my disability or lived experience?
The information you choose to share about yourself in your application is up to you. When outlining your project and your professional development activity, you may choose to share information about your lived experience and how this informs your practice, access requirements, or needs and plans for professional development. There is no obligation to disclose anything other than information you feel comfortable sharing to enable the panel to assess your application.
What if I am a d/Deaf or disabled artist or arts worker, but don’t want to publicly identify as such?
If you are successful in receiving this funding, you will have the option of not publishing your name as a recipient of the Arts and Disability Initiative. Please advise Artists Services if you do not want to be publicly identified.
I am in a group, which is run through an organisation. Can we apply as a group on behalf of the organisation?
The initiative is not designed to provide indirect funding to organisations. Applications are only open to individuals and unincorporated groups. Contact Artists Services if you are unsure.
Can I apply to work with an organisation as part of my proposal?
Yes, but note that the initiative is not designed to provide indirect funding to organisations. Your proposal must demonstrate that the artist or arts worker with disability will have creative control of the project. Contact Artists Services to discuss your application if you are unsure.
Someone is helping me write my application, and I am unable to physically sign or submit myself. How do I complete the application form?
If you are unable to complete the application form, a support worker or other person helping you with the application can log into our Application Management System on your behalf.
