FAQs – Grants for Individuals

What grants are available to individual WRITERS AND VISUAL ARTISTS?

Individuals may apply for the following grants and fellowships, summarised below, however, please refer to the specific details for each grant/fellowship on our website:

  • Create Grants are for the creation and development of new work for Australian writers and visual artists
  • Author Fellowship is for the development and creation of new work for established authors
  • Fellowship for Non-Fiction Writing will support an author to create a new work of creative non-fiction writing which will engage with key issues and topics for a broad readership
  • Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers will support a writer aged 18-35 years to write a new work of fiction
  • Reading Australia Fellowship is for teachers of English and Literacy and teacher librarians who have a minimum of five years’ teaching experience
  • Copyright Agency Partnerships is an annual series to support major commissions for mid-career and established visual artists in partnership with leading cultural organisations around Australia

You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to be eligible.

If you live outside Australia you can still apply, provided you are an Australian citizen or have permanent residency status. For more specific eligibility requirements, please refer to the terms and conditions on each of the grant webpages.

Do I need to be a member of Copyright Agency to apply for a grant or fellowship through the Cultural Fund?

No, however we encourage writers and visual artists to become members of the Copyright Agency. Click these links for more information on how to join and the benefits of membership.

Do you support mentorships for authors and visual artists?

  • No, the Cultural Fund has updated its priorities for 2024/25 and we no longer support organisations to run professional development programs, mentorships and masterclasses for writers and visual artists.
  • You can refer to our Projects Supported – Individuals page to see what programs have previously received our support although our focus has changed over the last few years.

Do I need an ABN to apply for a Cultural Fund grant?

  • You don’t need an ABN to apply, however, if you are successful, the grant will be considered as part of your earned income for the year and is taxable. Therefore, if you don’t have an ABN, we will deduct withholding tax from your grant.

I have started work on my project. Can I still apply for funding?

Yes, but please bear in mind that if you are applying for support for a specific component of your project, this cannot be completed before you find out whether your application has been successful.

 

What do I need to know when applying for a grant or fellowship?

The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund provides a variety of funding opportunities for organisations and individuals. When applying for support, it is useful to consider the following:

How many applications can I submit to each round?
You can submit one application to each funding round, provided you meet the grant’s eligibility criteria.

For what kind of activity can I seek funding?

You can apply for a range of activities. Please refer to the Projects Supported page although our priorities have changed for 2024/25.

Some examples of the activities we fund are:

  • The creation and development of new work
  • Copyright Agency Partnerships visual artist commission
  • Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers

Please refer to the specific eligibility requirements for each grant for further details of the supported activities.

What questions do I need to answer in the application?

  • You can preview the questions and see more information regarding the details required when you click the ‘apply now’ button, before commencing your application.
  • You must answer all questions in the application form.

When does the project have to start by?

  • The project must begin within the financial year that the grant is given.
  • If you are applying for support for a specific component of your project which is already underway, please note that this cannot be completed before you find out whether your application has been successful.

Who assesses the applications?

  • The Copyright Agency Cultural Fund grants and fellowships are assessed by our Board and committee members and peers from the writing, publishing and visual arts sectors.
  • Together they provide varying perspectives and understandings of the sector in order to assess projects for their literary and artistic merit.

What time is the application due?

  • The closing dates of each grant or fellowship round will be advertised on the respective pages on our website.
  • You must submit your completed application by 1pm (AEDT/AEST) on the advertised closing date.
  • Late applications will not be accepted or considered, and applications may not be updated after submission. This includes late submissions of supporting material.

Can I send in my support material separately or ask my referee to send it in on my behalf?

  • No, all support material must be collated and submitted with your application by the advertised closing date.

Is there a limit to how much money I can apply for?

  • There are different amounts available for each grant and fellowship.
  • When applying for one of our grant rounds, the amount you apply for is up to you and depends on the work involved and time required.
  • You can look through our past Projects Supported – Individuals page to guide you or contact the Cultural Fund to discuss your proposal.

When will I be notified of the outcome of my application?

  • We will notify you within three months of the closing date for applications.

Do you provide feedback on applications?

  • Given the high volume of applications received by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, we cannot provide individual feedback.
  • However, if your application is unsuccessful in one round, we invite you to contact us prior to submitting a new application for further advice.

I can’t log in to the grants portal, what should I do?

  • Please check that you are logging in to SmartyGrants applicant login and not to the Copyright Agency’s online account for members.
  • If you have not registered with SmartyGrants then you will not be able to log in.
  • If you have registered, and are still experiencing problems, please contact SmartyGrants:
  • Phone: +61 3 9320 6888 (Australia or international customers) or +64 4889 3068 (New Zealand)
  • Email: service@smartygrants.com.au Website: www.smartygrants.com.au

 

 

AUTHOR FELLOWSHIP

I’m a published poet/children’s writer, am I eligible to apply for an Author Fellowship?

  • Yes. We have made a small change to our eligibility requirements to allow a letter of interest (which supports the author’s intended work and is not necessarily a guaranteed offer to publish from an Australian publisher). The publisher may have published the author’s work in the past and are interested in seeing what they have to offer. Often writers will submit a letter of support from an editor, however, in this instance we are looking for a commitment of sorts.
  • Letters of support can also be submitted.

 

 

What do I need to know when applying for a Create Grant?

  • Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents
  • Self-published works do not count towards eligibility
  • Applicants may submit one application per round to the Cultural Fund provided they have already acquitted any outstanding Cultural Fund grants
  • Creative writers can apply to write their second book in the following literary genres: fiction, poetry, children’s literature, young adult literature, picture book illustration, graphic novels, playwriting, literary non-fiction and writing for performance (plays only).
    • Authors must have professionally published/performed only ONE full-length work of their own creative writing (including professionally presented plays) by an Australian-based publisher/theatre company
  • Visual artists with no more than three solo exhibitions can apply to create a new work for exhibition.
    • Visual artists must have no more than THREE solo exhibitions in public or commercial galleries (this should not include group shows)

Amount of grant: $20,000

  • Up to four grants will be awarded in 2024

For deadlines and eligibility guidelines, please click here.

I have published work in literary journals and magazines – am I eligible for a Create Grant?

  • Not unless you have published one  full-length work of your own writing. Work published in anthologies does not count towards your eligibility for the Create Grant.

Can I apply for a Create Grant to write for an academic journal?

  • No. Create Grants support the creation of creative work and are not intended to support academics with scholarly or academic works that are for an academic audience.

Does writing a film script fall within the eligible category of creative writing?

  • No. Create Grants support creative writing and writing for performance (plays). The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund does not support film writing.

If two people are working on a collaboration, can we apply for one grant together?

  • Yes, two people can apply
  • However, it is preferable for you to nominate just one eligible person on the application form. Both applicants must fulfil the eligibility requirements.

What is a full-length work?

  • A full-length work can be a work of fiction or literary non-fiction, a children’s or young adult book, a book of poetry, a play etc all written by the one author

What isn’t a full-length work?

  • A full-length work is NOT one story in an anthology; a story in a literary journal; one story in a published book of short stories

What’s involved in the peer assessment process?

  • Applications are assessed by a panel of independent peers from the writing, publishing, and visual arts sectors with broad experience
  • Peers will assess all applications for their literary or artistic merit

 

Am I eligible to apply for a Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy?

To be eligible to apply for a Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy, you must:

  • currently be employed as a teacher of English and Literacy, including teacher librarians;
  • have a minimum of five years’ teaching experience in Australian schools;
  • be employed in a primary or secondary school at the time of application; and
  • be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

University academics and lecturers are not eligible to apply.

The Fellowship is not intended to support projects involving the teaching of English as a second language or for academic purposes.

Applicants may submit one application per funding round provided they have already acquitted any overdue Cultural Fund grants.

One Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy of $15,000 is offered per year.

For deadlines, terms and conditions, or to apply please click here to be directed to the Reading Australia Fellowship webpage.

What supporting material do I need to provide?

  • CV (one-page)
  • Letter of support from your employer (one-page)
  • Proposed itinerary (up to five pages)

These should be submitted as PDF files, with a 5MB limit per file.

I have been teaching English at a Primary level for over ten years, but have recently started teaching at a university. Am I still eligible to apply for the Fellowship?

  • Only teachers currently employed as Primary and Secondary English and Literacy teachers and teacher librarians are eligible to apply for the Fellowship.
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