2025 application closing dates Organisations Copyright Agency Partnerships Fellowships Individuals Projects Supported
Reading Australia
About the Cultural Fund
The Cultural Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Copyright Agency.
Each year we commit 1.5% of revenue raised from the use of our members’ work to support significant projects to benefit Australian writers, visual artists, publishers, and creative organisations.
Our aim is to ensure Australian writers and visual artists are better supported and paid appropriately for their creative endeavours. We encourage all applicants to pay appropriate industry rates to writers and artists.
The Cultural Fund’s priorities are:
- Fellowships and grants to support the creation of new work by writers and artists
- Audience development grants for Australian organisations for projects to increase readership and audiences for new work, writing and visual arts
- Sector development grants for Australian organisations for leadership projects in the writing, publishing, and visual arts sectors
- Reading Australia encouraging the teaching of Australian literature in schools by creating and publishing freely-available resources for teachers, by teachers. There are now almost 300 resources to books by Australian writers mapped to the curriculum priorities for teachers to use in schools.
In addition, we offer a commission for a visual artist through the Copyright Agency Partnerships (CAP) initiative, in partnership with leading galleries in Australia, as well as partnering with five national writers’ festivals (capital city and one major regional writers’ festival who have been previously funded) through an invitation-only process to program Australian writers for specific panel sessions.
We encourage writers and visual artists to become members of the Copyright Agency. We regularly make payments to creators for the use of their work and there are many benefits from membership. Please find information on our website in our Payments for Writers page (here) or Payments to Visual Artists page (here). Alternatively, contact our Members Services division directly memberservices@copyright.com.au.
For specific grants information for organisations and individuals please refer to these links below:
Grants for Australian Organisations Grants for Individuals
Cultural Fund Grants and Fellowships: closing dates for 2025
Type | Opportunity | Closes | Notified |
Individuals | Create Grants | 1pm AEDT 3 March 2025 | Early June 2025 |
Organisations | Cultural Fund – Round One | 1pm AEST 14 April 2025 | Early July 2025 |
Fellowship | Reading Australia Fellowship | 1pm AEST 5 May 2025 | Early July 2025 |
Individual/Partnership | Copyright Agency Partnerships | tbc | tbc |
Fellowship | Copyright Agency Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers | 1pm AEST 23 June 2025 | End August 2025 |
Fellowship | Author Fellowship | 1pm AEST 18 August 2025 | End September 2025 |
Fellowship | Fellowship for Non-Fiction Writing | 1pm AEST 18 August 2025 | End September 2025 |
Individuals | Publishing Industry Career Development grants | tbc | tbc |
Organisations | Cultural Fund – Round Two | 1pm AEST 15 September 2025 | Early December 2025 |