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If your application involves working with other First Nations artists, arts and culture workers, communities, or subject matter you must adhere to these Protocols, and provide evidence of this in your application and support material.  More information on the First Nations Protocols is available here.

The First Nations Industry Advisory Panel will identify as First Nations d/Deaf artists or arts workers, or as artists or arts workers with disability that may represent each state, territories and areas of artistic and cultural expression, including music, dance, visual arts, theatre, literature, experimental arts and community arts and cultural development.

The First Nations Industry Advisory Panel will review and score eligible applications and attend an Assessment Meeting to discuss the applications resulting in the recommendation of the top applications to be funded.

The First Nations Industry Advisory Panel will assess your application against the three assessment criteria, Project Quality, Project Impact and Project Viability.

Application responses

Your answers to the Project Quality and Project Impact questions can be submitted as:

• written responses
• videos responses
• audio responses.

Your answers to the questions do not need to respond to every bullet point mentioned below, please speak only to the bullet points that are relevant to your project.

If you would like to download a copy of the assessment criteria questions, please click this link.

Project Quality

This will include:

• clear project vision, process, and outcome
• experience and skills
• quality of past works
• evidence of working in both First Nations and disability spaces and/or communities
• project access design.

Project Impact

This will include:

• what significance the work will have within the relevant area/s of practice
• how the project will strengthen the skills of the artist and/or everyone involved
• what the benefits will be for career development and/or artistic and cultural practice
• how the project will benefit cultural expression (if applicable)
• what impact the project will have on both First Nations arts and disability sectors
• why this project is relevant now and for both First Nations and disability discourse.

Project Viability

This will include:

• realistic and achievable timeline
• realistic and achievable budget with a breakdown of:
  • project costs
  • access costs
  • other income such as in-kind support, (optional for individuals and groups)
• relevant letters of support and/or confirmation from both First Nations and disability artists and/or organisations:
  • Elders
  • mentors
  • community.
• Evidence that the Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts have been adhered to (if applicable).
• Organisations should demonstrate and evidence:
  • a comprehensive Disability Access Plan (DAP)
  • strong record of working within First Nations and disability spaces.

Support material may include:

• examples of your artistic and or cultural work
• examples of past and current work
• short bios of artist/s and creative team
• disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) for organisations.
• letters of support/confirmation may include:
  • creatives to confirm their support and/or collaboration in the project
  • partnerships to confirm their support and/or collaboration in the project
  • communities confirm their support and/or collaboration in the project
  • First Nations Elders to confirm their support and/or collaboration in the project
  • organisations to confirm their support and/or collaboration in the project.

There are four types of support material you may submit:

1. Artistic support material

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

• images of previous works
• scripts
• video
• audio.

Please Note: Where possible please ensure support material can be made accessible such as:

• closed captioning
• audio description
• image descriptions for visual material.

2. Biographies and CVs

You can include a brief bio and/or curriculum vitae (CV) of the:

• applicant (artist/group/organisation)
• key artists/creatives involved in your project
• personnel involved in your project
• other collaborators involved in your project.

Please note: 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 how the project or activity will benefit you, other artists or key creatives, personnel and other collaborators involved, participants, or the broader community.

If relevant to your activity, letters of support may also provide evidence of appropriate cultural protocols, and permissions or outline the support of key project partners. You can include up to five letters of support.

4. Letters of confirmation

If your application involves an invitation to a residency, to present your work or attend a conference, either nationally or internationally, you must evidence this by providing letters of confirmation.

Each letter must include confirmation of any invitations, partner fees, or contributions to the activity, whether cash or in-kind.

Please provide a single link to all letters or scan them into one PDF file and attach it to your application. You can include up to five letters of confirmation.

Ways of providing your 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 project activity. 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: 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).

Please note: 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 the Project Manager. Tammy Close on (02) 9215 9145 or tammy.close@creative.gov.au.

Download our FAQs for using the Application Management System in Word and PDF.

You can only make one application for each funding round. This means you can apply for other Creative Australia funding rounds at the same time if they are open.

You can check what other rounds are currently open via this link: Investment and development.

You will still have time to complete and submit your grant report before the closing date of the round. If you have an overdue grant report at the time of the pre-eligibility check, you will not be eligible to apply for any further grants at Creative Australia. 

We do not accept applications 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 application online, please contact the Project Manager, Tammy Close to discuss your project idea and receive support at (02) 9215 9145 or tammy.close@creative.gov.au.

If you are unsure if your project idea fits this funding round, please contact the Project Manager, Tammy Close to discuss your project idea and receive support at (02) 9215 9145 or tammy.close@creative.gov.au.

We define a ‘group’ as two or more individuals who do not form a legally constituted organisation.  This can include co-collaborators and collectives. 

An ‘organisation’ is a legally constituted organisation that is registered or created by law. For example, incorporated associations, companies limited by guarantee or government statutory authorities are all defined as organisations.

Organisations that are not legally constituted are not eligible to apply for funding in grant categories that are open to organisations only. Organisations may be required to provide a certificate of incorporation or evidence of their current legal status. Funding programs for organisations are not intended for sole traders or partnerships. 

Yes. Having your grant ‘auspiced’ or ‘administered’ means that you are nominating another person or entity to receive the grant funds on your behalf.  

You must decide when applying whether you want your grant to be administered. If your application is successful and you change your mind, we can only change these arrangements in exceptional circumstances. 

Whether or not your grant will be administered is not part of the First Nations Industry Advisors’ considerations. You do not need to provide a letter of confirmation from the entity that will administer your grant. 

While we can support screen-based art, we do not generally support activities associated with short and feature films, television, or documentaries. Please contact your state Screen organisation or Screen Australia, the Federal Government’s primary agency for the production of Australian screen activity.

Applications that focus solely on academic studies or are for activities that are part of assessable coursework are unlikely to be successful with our assessment panels. Assessment panels are also unlikely to support applications requesting the costs of academic fees or courses.

If you wish to apply for study costs, explain to the panel how your project extends, or supplements, the course’s standard curriculum requirements. Also, bear in mind that your project will be assessed on the artistic merit of the work.

If you are applying for an art project grant for funding to complete a training program, course, workshop, or diploma, explain how doing so will impact positively on your career or practice.

We do not amend, correct, update, or change any part of your application once it has been submitted. However, if you receive additional confirmations for activities or artists after the closing date you may alert us to these, and we may bring them to the attention of the First Nations Industry Advisors at the assessment meeting. These updates could include confirmation that a proposed activity will take place, a partnership that has been secured, or funding from another source that has been confirmed or received.

Please email the Project Manager, Tammy Close with your name, Application ID, and additional confirmation details at tammy.close@creative.gov.au.

No, you must submit your application on the closing date stated in the Guidelines, 1 April 2025 at 3:00pm AEDT.

Administrative and technical support is only available during office hours (Monday-Friday) 9am to 5 pm AEDT. Late applications will not be accepted. 

Please contact the Project Manager, Tammy Close before the closing date and time if you are having difficulty submitting your application at (02) 9215 9145 or tammy.close@creative.gov.au.

First Nations Arts and d/Deaf and Disability Project Fund can commence on or after 1 July 2025 and must be completed within 2 years from your proposed start date.  

Creative Australia does not fund activities retrospectively. You may work on your project before then but make it clear in your application that you are not seeking funding support for any stage of the project occurring before 1 July 2025. 

It is best to confirm creative artists or collaborations, partnerships, sources of cash or in-kind, or venue at the time that you apply.  

If there are too many unconfirmed elements of your proposal, the assessors may question its viability. 

The activities timeline and budget are an opportunity to show how well you’ve planned your project. Complete these as thoroughly as you can to show the assessors that your project is organised, well-planned, and viable.  

Break your budget down, so that assessors can evaluate how realistic your budgeting is. Present large budget items in multiple lines and talk about the description next to each dollar ($) amount item. 

Show each major project stage and milestone in your Project Timetable. This allows assessors to see how you plan to work and evaluate how achievable your objectives are. 

Any costs that can be directly related to the project you are proposing are eligible. They may include artist fees, venue hire, consultation fees, childcare costs, travel costs, and costs associated with providing access for people with disability can all be included if they are directly related to your project. 

Creative Australia expects to see artists paid for their work. There is no need to cut back on these expenses or forgo your own fees. We can’t tell you what rate of pay to use. You should consult the relevant representative association for guidance on this question. Whatever rate you use, be clear about how you have calculated your figures, and what rate of pay you are using, and refer to any standards or industry rates in your application. 

The online application has a Support Material section which allows you to provide us with a URL linking to your support material. Alternatively, you can directly upload files.  

You will receive an ‘Acknowledgement of submission’ email from us acknowledging our receipt of your online application. You should keep a copy of this email as proof of your submission.

There will be no further communication from us until a decision has been made on your application. We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application no later than 12 weeks after the published closing date for the grant round.

Yes, you can request that your application be withdrawn at any time up to the start of the assessment meeting. You will need to email us with your request, providing your six-digit application ID number. Please speak to the Project Manager, Tammy Close at (02) 9215 9145 or tammy.close@creative.gov.au.

All applications that are submitted to the First Nations Arts and Culture Strategic Funding will be assessed by a First Nations Panel.

The First Nations Industry Advisors are contacted to participate in the First Nations Panel for First Nations Arts and Culture Strategic Funding Arts. These First Nations Industry Advisors have experience and experience on specific art forms and provide a breadth of knowledge in those art form sectors. Some Industry Advisors can be the previous recipients of past funding rounds.

The First Nations Panel will assess your application on their Assessment Criteria of Project Quality, Project Impact, and Project Viability.

If you would like to express an interest (EOI) in becoming an Industry Advisor, please speak to Project Manager, Tammy Close at (02) 9215 9145 or tammy.close@creative.gov.au.

We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application no later than 12 weeks after the published closing date for the grant round.

You will receive your grant payment within two weeks of accepting your funding agreement.

Grants may be considered part of your income in a financial year and may be subject to tax. You must determine your taxation liabilities. We suggest you consult your financial adviser or contact the Australian Taxation Office.

Yes, if you have been notified that your application was unsuccessful, you can request feedback on your application. Please contact the Project Manager, Tammy Close at (02) 9215 9145 or tammy.close@creative.gov.au.