Merri-bek City Council
Closes 12 December
For producers and performers

Arts Merri-bek supports performers and producers in the creation of new or existing performance works by providing dedicated rehearsal and development space at the Coburg Courthouse located at 1A Main St, Coburg.

The Coburg Court House Residency program will support up to three residencies for a three-month period each. The program aims to support artists at different stages in their project’s lifecycle, whether it is a developing concept, an emerging draft, or an existing scripted work.

Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC)
Closes 16 December
For theatre designers

Future Creatives develops real pathways for early career designers from historically underrepresented cultural backgrounds, championing a multiplicity of perspectives within the Australian theatre industry.

Providing paid placements for assistant designers to work alongside senior theatre designers on a Melbourne Theatre Company production, the initiative provides an invaluable opportunity for participants to learn about the process of developing productions for large-scale companies, and will encourage urgent new voices to the stories we tell in the future.

Geelong Regional Library Corporation and Deakin University
Closes 20 January 2025, 5PM AEDT
For emerging and established writers in poetry.

The Geelong Regional Library Corporation (GRLC) and Deakin University (DU) are pleased to present 2024-25 Local Word Poetry Prize. This is the second time this prize has been offered.

The winner of the prize will receive; a Visa or Mastercard Gift Voucher to the value of $2000AUD, one-hour mentoring session with a DU writing practitioner, publication on GLRC’s website.

Commended writers will receive; a Visa or Mastercard Gift Voucher to the value of $250AUD and publication on GRLC’s website.

Chamber Made
Closes 24 January 2025, 11.59 pm AEDT

Chamber Made is now calling for applications for our 2025 Orange House by the Sea Artist Residency program for mid-career artists who are working at the intersections of performance, sound and music.

The residency is open to artists who identify as cis or trans women, trans men, non-binary or gender-non-conforming. We welcome applications from artists of all backgrounds, and encourage First Nations artists, artists from diverse backgrounds and artists with disabilities to apply.

Creative Ballarat
Closes 28 January 2025, 11.59PM AEDT
For live arts practitioners, contemporary performance artists who live, work or study in the City of Ballarat

Following the success of Punctum’s Ballarat 2024 Seedpod program, Punctum and the City of Ballarat are pleased announce the return of the Ballarat Seedpod residency in 2025. Proposals are invited from artists at all stages of their career working in any area of live arts or contemporary performance who live, work or study in the City of Ballarat.

Seedpod is a renowned residency program created and produced by award-winning, regionally based live arts company - Punctum. It is research led and artist centred. By ‘live arts’, Punctum means innovative or experimental performances or events that disrupt traditional ways of working together or propose new ways of interacting with audiences.

Creative Australia
Closes 4 February 3PM AEDT
For ballet dancers, architects, prose writers, singers or sculptors aged 17 - 35*

The Marten Bequest Scholarships offer talented young artists the chance to explore, study and develop their artistic gifts through travelling either interstate and/or overseas.

In 2025, the scholarships will provide financial support for the disciplines of architecture, ballet, prose, sculpture and singing.

Scholarships are each worth $50,000, payable in quarterly instalments over two years.

Creative Australia
Closes 4 February 3PM AEDT
For authors aged over 30

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.

Creative Australia
Closes 4 February 3PM AEDT
For authors aged under 30

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. Your short story or essay must have been published or accepted for publication within the 12 months prior to the Award closing date, with proof of publication supplied in your support material.

Self-published works will not be accepted.

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

Monash University Publishing
Closes 9 February 2025, 11.59 pm AEDT
For writers

Maggie Nelson opens her luminous work of prose-poetry Bluets with the following provocation: ‘Suppose I were to say I had fallen in love with a color’. Blue, for Nelson, is the colour that ravishes her senses, signifying the beginning of love and the end of life. Goethe writes: ‘We love to contemplate blue, not because it advances us, but because it draws us after it’.

Verge 2025 is looking for new writing that responds in some way to the colour blue.

Welcoming submissions from all writers in Australia. Seeking short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, experimental or hybrid works, and artworks. Artworks will be published in greyscale.

& Gallery Australia
Closes 31 January 2025
For painters, sculpture, photography, ceramics, drawing, multimedia and installation artists.

& Gallery Australia is excited to announce the launch of a prestigious new art prize, with the main award of $125,000, designed to significantly impact the artist's career.

Eligible artworks can have been created and exhibited within the last 5 years - no earlier than 28 June 2020

All scale of art work considered however no larger than 2.5 H x 2 W x 2 D mt. All artist are welcomed to apply, all artists represented by commercial galleries will have those galleries acknowledged.

Galah Press
Closes 10 February 2025
For regional-based contemporary photographers

The Galah Regional Photography Prize has been created to encourage excellence in contemporary photography from regional Australia. The intention of the Prize is to celebrate, support and advance the practice of regional photographers. The winner receives $25,000.

The prize is open to regional photographers making any type of still photography – fine art, photojournalism, portraiture, landscape, documentary, collage etc. 
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To be eligible, you must live in regional Australia., or “everything beyond the major capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.”

Museums Victoria
Opens 1 February 2025, closes 28 February 2025 5PM AEDT
For creatives and culture-makers

Museums will be seeking applications from ‘Culture Makers’ for the Culture Makers Season Four program. Members of an independent Creative Advisory Panel will select Culture Makers to deliver creative work across Melbourne Museum from May 2025 to June 2026. Collaborative ideas are encouraged. Creatives can also apply in pairs. 

Participants will gain insight and experience working in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) sector through collaboration with museum staff. Participants will be paid a fee and supported by Museums Victoria’s team of producers over this period, working closely with our in-house teams to refine and deliver the experience.

Gasworks Arts Park
Closes 2 March 2025
For visual artists, workshop facilitators

The Gasworks Arts Park 2025 Studio Residency program is a professional development opportunity to incubate new projects during a 3-month residency on site. These projects can be presented publicly at Gasworks Art Park in the future, but it is not a requirement of the residency.

The residency will enable the development of studio practice, collaboration and creative exchange, in addition to mentoring and career guidance from the Visual Arts Manager at Gasworks. The studio space on offer will accommodate an individual artist in a shared building with 3 other full time professional artists in separate studios.

City of Monash
Closes 9 May 2025
For incorporated community groups with not-for-profit status, auspiced by an eligible organisation or be an individual artist with an ABN

The General Quick Response Grant stream is designed to support local community groups and individual creative efforts to assist in strengthening community and building cohesion and whose project, program or issue may arise outside of the normal funding cycle of the Monash Community Grant Program.

Grants that address the following issues are encouraged; building community and cultural connections, loneliness, mental health, family violence, gender equality, health promotion (increasing healthy eating and physical activity, reducing alcohol consumption, gambling and smoking), community safety, early parenting, First Nations, LGTIQA+, initiatives promoting racial tolerance and inter-culturalism

VicHealth
CLOSES 30 NOVEMBER
For one-off events such as conferences, award nights and festivals.

VicHealth sponsorship funding is available for one-off events such as conferences, award nights and festivals. The application process is competitive and not all requests can be met.

Sponsorship funding is provided in exchange for a ‘sponsorship benefit’ for VicHealth - this might include naming rights or branding opportunities for your event.

Sponsorship applications are open all year, with applications assessed at the end of each month (except December - these applications are assessed at the end of January).

City of Melton
Ongoing

Community groups, clubs and organisations help make our city a vibrant, safe and thriving community where everyone belongs. It is with this recognition that Council offers a grant program that provides opportunities for not-for-profit community organisations to apply for funding for projects that benefit the Melton community. These groups seek financial support from Council to enable a better response to local needs.

Applicants must be not-for-profit community organisations located within the City of Melton

Unincorporated community organisations located within the City of Melton can apply through an auspice agreement with any Australian incorporated not-for-profit community organisation.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Ongoing

The Direct Aid Program (DAP) is a small grants program funded from Australia's aid budget. It has the flexibility to work with local communities in developing countries on projects that reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development consistent with Australia's national interest.

It sits alongside Australia's longer-term country and multilateral development strategies and with its wide geographical reach plays an important role in supporting local community efforts towards poverty reduction across the globe.

EastWeb
Open four times a year
For organisations and groups

We make grants of between $2000 and $5000 four times a year.

In 2024, we will be trialling some proactive granting, providing unrestricted organisational funding to organisations and groups that work in our focus areas. Advisory Board members will be recommending and reviewing organisations to support.

We’re especially keen to support organisations that are First Nations led, or refugee and asylum seeker led, and organisations that are youth-led

First Draft
Ongoing
For early career Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander curators

The First Peoples Curators Program supports early career Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander curators with new skills, professional presentation and development opportunities, and access to key industry networks.

Successful applicants receive: $1500 curator fee per exhibition; $600 artist fee per artist capped at $3000; access to travel fund up to $1000 if regional or interstate based; a fully subsidised six-week exhibition and more.

Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Ongoing

We engage with Australian producers and writers at the earliest stages of development, investing small amounts across a broad range of projects. Projects are assessed for quality and potential.

Development Funding 2024

The ACTF accepts development funding applications at any time via the ACTF Funding Portal. Turnaround time for assessment and decisions will vary depending on volume of applications received, and whether the ACTF requires further documentation or information from you once your application has been submitted.

Support Act
Ongoing
For those working in all genres of music

Crisis Relief Grants and support are available to musicians, managers, crew and music workers across all genres experiencing financial hardship as the result of illness, injury, mental health, older age or another current crisis that is impacting their ability to work in music.

Grants are assessed for a current issue impacting ability to work in music and, if approved, will be provided through direct payment of bills or other personal expenses related to the crisis, rather than cash grants. Evidence of a current crisis will be required.

Creative Australia
Ongoing

The Australian Cultural Fund (ACF) is a fundraising platform for Australian artists. Through the ACF, artists upload their project, start their fundraising campaign and invite art lovers and supporters to donate with 100% of donations going directly towards artists’ creative projects. Through the ACF you can offer tax deductibility to your donors. The ACF has helped raise millions of dollars for Australian artists, enabling a wide range of projects to come to life and offering support to Australia’s cultural sector.

Screen Australia
Ongoing
Filmmakers, screen producers.

International Pitching Events and Talent Labs provides support to producers selected for competitive overseas pitching events in order for them to secure finance, production and marketplace partners for Australian projects, or for key creatives invited to attend premium overseas talent labs to enable professional development and to build international industry networks. $5000 to $20,000 funding available.

City of Greater Dandenong
Individuals and Organisations

The Community Response Grants Program allows individuals and non-profit community organisations to apply for small responsive grants to help them to achieve their goals and ambitions.

Individuals can apply for up to $500, and non-profit community organisations can apply for up to $2000.

Creative Australia
Ongoing
Entrepreneurs

Ignite Small Business Start-Ups offers free, personalised support to help you start or expand a thriving small business, providing expert guidance, creative marketing strategies, assistance with business basics and legal compliance, access to skilled volunteers, and flexible meeting options. This grant is ongoing (no closing date).

The Awesome Foundation
Ongoing
Creators and projects

The Foundation distributes $1,000 grants, no strings attached, to projects and their creators. At each fully autonomous chapter, the money is pooled together from the coffers of ten or so self-organizing “micro-trustees”.

You can apply to any chapter although sometimes preference is for projects in the chapter's local area. This grant is ongoing (no closing date).

Regional Arts Victoria
Ongoing
Artists and arts workers, small projects

Quick Response Grants are intended to assist regional artists, arts organisations and communities to take up professional or skills development or small project opportunities.

This program is for projects that fall outside the scope of other funding opportunities. It is open to applications on an ongoing basis throughout the year. The grants will fund professional development opportunities for artists and arts workers or small project opportunities.

VicScreen
Ongoing
Screen practitioners, filmmakers and crew

VicScreen's Industry Development program supports organisations to deliver professional skills development activities in Victoria, to promote and support gender equality, diversity and inclusion.

Grants of up to $50,000 per applicant are open to support activities of the successful applicants. Organisations must have screen industry experience. Applications can be received at any time.

City of Whittlesea
Ongoing
For outcomes that benefit the Whittlesea community.

The City of Whittlsea are offering grants for individuals monthly up to $1000 for small grants, medium grants of up to $20,000 monthly and large grants quarterly of up to $40,000 for social enterprises, not-for-profit community groups, organisations and businesses to undertake activities that have a broad community benefit.

The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation
Ongoing
Visual Artists

A Canadian philanthropic grant that supports early career visual artists between the ages of 18 and 41 years, in representational styles of drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture, for a work, project or course of study.

All nationalities may apply. First grant amount is $17,000 (Canadian). This grant is ongoing throughout the year (no closing date).

City of Port Phillip
Until funds are exhausted
Live music support scheme

Through this initiative, council will pay a contribution towards artist fees to encourage local venues, promoters, and event managers to plan live music events and engage local performers.

All applicants must be applying for musicians to perform at venues and events based in the City of Port Phillip.

The Pollack-Krasner Foundation
Ongoing
Visual Artists

For painters, sculptors and artists who work on paper, including printmaker. Up to $30,000 to create new work, acquire supplies, rent studio space, prepare for exhibitions, attend a residency and offset living expenses.

Grants are intended for a one-year period of time. The size of the grant is determined by the individual circumstances of the artist. Professional exhibition history will be taken into consideration. Artists must be actively exhibiting their current work in professional artistic venues, such as gallery and museum spaces.

AFTRS
Ongoing
Film, Television and Radio School

To inspire creativity and innovation, The Australian Film, Television, Radio School want to work with students from diverse backgrounds.

To achieve this, they offer a range of scholarships that recognise excellence and assist with the costs associated with higher education.

A variety of financial support options, which you may be able to access include AFTRS Scholarships.