Please note: to apply you must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date
Company Director Capability Fund for Individuals
Key dates
Applications close:
Tuesday 3 March 2026, 3pm AEDT.
Notification date: within 12 weeks of the closing date.
Supported activity: from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
Amount
Applicants can apply for a flat rate of $3,000.
Contact
To contact the Capability Development team, please email or book a time to chat.
General enquiries
If you need help with the Application Management System or have general enquires, please call or email us.
Please note: Are you registering to use our Application Management System for the first time? Make sure you register well before the closing date. It can take up to two business days to process your registration.
About the program
Looking for a way to contribute your unique skills, knowledge and experiences to creating a diverse, flourishing arts and cultural sector? Curious about how boards and board members can support changemaking in arts and culture?
The Company Director Capability Fund for Individuals supports diverse artists and arts workers to prepare for a board role by developing foundational knowledge and skills in governance. This opportunity specifically supports artists and arts workers who are under-represented in board roles (see eligibility requirements). You can apply for a flat rate of $3,000 to support your participation in training offered by the following providers:
- Australian Institute of Company Directors
- Institute of Community Directors Australia
- Governance Institute of Australia
- Small Giants Academy
- Centre for Social Impact
You can choose from a range of courses offered by the listed providers to meet your own specific professional development needs and learning preferences. Courses with the above providers cover a range of topics including the roles and duties of company directors, strategic planning, financial management and fundraising, effective communication and conflict resolution.
You must explain in your application which training courses you are applying for and why. We recommend that you identify your governance capability needs and articulate this clearly in your application. We encourage you to consult our Governance Hub for useful guides and templates that can support you to understand what your governance capability needs are.
The aim of this Fund is to support greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in arts and cultural governance. The Fund supports individuals who are not currently on a board of directors to develop the skills, knowledge and mindsets that position them to take up a role on the board of an Australian arts and cultural organisation.
Application process
Eligibility
Who can apply
This opportunity is only open to people who identify as or are:
- Australian First Nations
- d/Deaf and/or Disabled
- culturally and linguistically diverse
- 25 years old or under
- living in regional/remote Australia.
You must be:
- an individual who is not currently a board member of an organisation
- a practising artist or arts worker
- an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident.
You can only submit one application to this round.
Who can’t apply
You cannot apply if:
- you are a current board member of an organisation
- you participated in training through previous rounds of the Company Director Capability Fund for Individuals or Organisations.
- you are an organisation
- you have an overdue grant report to Creative Australia
- you owe money to Creative Australia
- you have already applied to this closing date under this grant category.
This opportunity is designed to benefit individuals who want to develop their governance capabilities. It is not designed to support staff members of organisations to develop capability to work with their own boards. Please refer to the Company Director Capability Fund for Organisations.
What you can apply for
A flat rate of $3,000 for costs associated with training to develop your capability in arts governance with these providers:
- Australian Institute of Company Directors
- Institute of Community Directors Australia
- Governance Institute of Australia
- Small Giants Academy
- Centre for Social Impact
We recommend you review the available courses listed on each provider’s website and contact the provider for further information about which training will be best for you.
Eligible costs are:
- a contribution towards your time to attend the course/s
- fees for one or more courses with the listed providers that are relevant to the governance of arts organisations This means you can use your funding to support your participation in more than one course, and in courses from more than one of the listed providers
- online and/or in-person training with the listed providers
- reasonable ground transport expenses to attend your course in person where relevant. This fund does not cover flights or accommodation
- access, carer and childcare costs associated with attending your nominated course/s.
If you are awarded funding, once you have completed your activities you will need to submit a grant report and explain how you spent your funding. You should keep records of what you spend your funding on so you can complete this report.
What you can’t apply for
- training that is not offered by one of the listed providers
- fees for courses that are not relevant to governance of arts organisations
- fees for courses commencing before 30 June 2026
- fees for courses finishing after 30 June 2027
- fees for courses that have already commenced
- fees for courses that have already been completed
- costs for flights or accommodation.
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, and 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.
Diversity
Creative Australia is committed to increasing the diversity of leadership in our sector.
There are lots of different ways of talking about identity, and many different words that people use to describe their identity. If you would like to discuss whether you are eligible for this Fund, please contact us.
We also acknowledge that identity is intersectional and encourage people at intersections of the eligible groups to apply.
Assessment
Applications will be assessed by industry advisers with diverse and relevant experience against the assessment criteria below. An internal moderation process will then be conducted by Creative Australia staff to ensure diversity and alignment to the aims of the program.
Assessment criteria
Your application will be assessed based on how well it addresses the assessment criteria below. In the application form we ask you some questions to help you respond to these criteria. You should also make sure what you write in your application responds to these criteria.
Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what industry advisers may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.
Quality
Industry advisers will assess the quality of your professional development activities proposed in your application.
They may consider:
- the evidence you provide to demonstrate your artistic practice and/or experience in the Australian arts and cultural sector
- your explanation of your planned activities, including dates, course details and costs
- your explanation of what you are aiming to achieve by undertaking this professional development
- how the proposed activity is relevant to your identified professional development needs.
Impact
Industry advisers will assess the expected impact/s of the proposed activities on your ongoing professional development and active engagement in an accessible, inclusive and equitable arts and culture sector.
They may consider:
- the capacity of the proposed activities to strengthen your governance skills and abilities
- the impact of the proposed activities on your professional development and ability to pursue a board role
- your motivation to be on a board and what you aim to contribute to the arts and cultural sector
- the extent to which the proposed activities will enable you to contribute to and enhance an arts and cultural sector that is accessible, inclusive and equitable.
Applications
Click on the ‘Apply Now’ button at the top of this page to go to Fluxx, our system for managing applications.
You will need an account to use Fluxx. It can take up to 2 business days for a new account to be approved. If you have an account already you can log in.
Select ‘Apply for a Grant’ from the left panel menu. From the list of opportunities select ‘Company Director Capability Fund for Individuals’.
The application form will require you to fill in some of your details, select from some options, respond to questions and submit support material.
You will need to respond to the following questions:
- Tell us about you, your practice and your experience as an artist or creative worker in the Australian arts and culture sector.
- What training do you want to do to develop your governance capability and how will your proposed activities help you to do that?
- Explain how you hope to contribute as a company director of an arts organisation in the future.
- Tell us how you will spend the money you have requested from Creative Australia. Please list any additional income from other sources you have.
Please contact the Capability Development team via leadershipprogram@creative.gov.au if you need support to submit an application in another format – for example, video or audio format.
Support material
You must submit a CV with your application. The industry advisers will review your CV to understand your artistic practice and/or experience in the arts and culture sector and impact of the funding on your capability development.
We strongly recommend you make the information in your CV relevant and targeted to this opportunity.
Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks) that link to your CV.
Creative Australia will not view any URLs that require log in or to sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to applications or documents that require users to log in or pay for access.
If you are linking to sites or files that are private or password protected, please provide the password in the password field on the application form.
You can provide 1 URLs or file upload.
You can include a maximum of:
- 2 pages of written material
If you provide material that exceeds these limits it may not be reviewed as a part of the assessment process.
If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your application in the following formats:
- written material (Word, PDF).
We do not accept support material submitted via post. Support 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 the Capability Development team via leadershipprogram@creative.gov.au.
Learn more about support material via the Creative Australia website.
Alternative formats and languages
Please contact the Capability Development team via leadershipprogram@creative.gov.au if:
- you would like these guidelines in another format.
- you want to submit your application in a different format including video, audio, Auslan or other form. You can read more about accessible application formats on our Accessibility page.
- you want to submit your application in a language other than English. You can read more on our website: Languages Other Than English.
We will not assess the quality of your chosen format, just what you tell us.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to submit a budget?
In your application, you will need to answer a written question to explain how you plan to spend the grant money.
If you are awarded funding, once you have completed your activities you will need to submit a grant report with a short budget to explain how you spent your funding. You should keep records of your expenses so that you can complete the budget accurately.
Do you accept applications in languages other than English?
Yes, we do. More information is available on our website, Languages other than English.
How can I get assistance with my application?
Staff from the Capability Development team can assist over email at:
leadershipprogram@creative.gov.au or you can find a time to chat via our Governance Training Fund Enquiries portal.
If you need help to speak or listen, please use the National Relay Service.
Our staff are available to assist you in understanding the purpose of the grant, application requirements and submitting your application. We cannot review application drafts.
Additional support can be discussed where needed. Where the additional support is beyond the scope of what staff can provide, we may recommend speaking to an appropriate organisation for further assistance.
Do I need an ABN to apply for a grant?
All individual or organisation grant applications based in Australia must have an active Australian Business Number (ABN). Individual applicants without an ABN may have their grant administered by an individual or organisation with an ABN. Organisations operating outside of Australia do not need an ABN to apply, depending on their circumstances, (please check with your accountant or tax adviser).
The name of the applicant must match the name of the ABN and the name of the bank account we pay the grant into. If you cannot provide an ABN and bank account that are in the same name as the applicant, you will need to nominate an administrator for your grant.
For more information about this, please contact leadershipprogram@creative.gov.au.
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.
If I receive a grant, will my tax be affected?
Grants may be considered part of your income in a financial year and may be subject to tax. You must determine your own taxation liabilities. We suggest you consult your financial adviser or contact the Australian Taxation Office.
I work in screen; can I apply to this fund?
While we can support artists and arts workers involved in making screen-based art, we do not support artists and arts workers whose primary and main practice is associated with short film, feature film, television or documentary or electronic games.
Successful applicants
Once all applications have been assessed, you will be contacted about the outcome of your application. If you have been successful, a funding agreement will be attached to the Contracts section of your online account. This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements. More details on managing successful applications can be found here.
