Announcement
The Australia Council for the Arts is pleased to announce the 2022 participants for the Elevate program. Click on the expandable headings below to learn more about the participants.
Carl Kija/Jaru is an author from Halls Creek in the heart of the Kimberley WA. He is passionate about Aboriginal rights, stories, bush life, sport, culture and language.
His debut book, Black Cockatoo, was published with Magabala Books in 2018 and was Honour Book CBCA Young Reader category as well as shortlisted in Readings Children’s Book of the Year, Queensland Literary Award, ABiA Small Publisher Children Book, Australian Speech Therapists Book Award. His second book Tracks of the Missing, was shortlisted for the Premiers Literary Award – Daisy Utemorrah Award 2019 and will be published with Magabala in 2022. Dirran (the Black Cockatoo sequel) won the 2021 Daisy Utemorrah Award and will be published in 2023. He also has Beautiful Night (Lothian/Hachette 2022), Loved You Then (Lothian/Hachette 2023), My Deadly Boots (Lothian/Hachette) coming out soon as well.
Celia Coulthard is a proud Adnyamathanha woman, an artist and producer at Adelaide Festival Centre. Celia is the creator and creative producer of OUR WORDS and OUR STORIES – events celebrating First Nations literary voices and the ancient art of storytelling. She is also an assistant producer of DreamBIG Children’s Festival and works across families and year-round programming at Adelaide Festival Centre. Celia’s personal artistic practise focuses on the creation and illustration of Adnyamathanha language resources to reinvigorate the language in her community.
Image: Portrait, Brooke Scobie. Credit: Travis De Vries.
Brooke Scobie is queer Goorie single mum, poet, writer, podcaster, and community worker. Her writing is a love letter to people who’ve been systematically excluded. She’s been published in Overland Journal, Running Dog, Red Room Poetry, SBS, Best of Australian Poetry 2021, and was awarded second place in the 2020 Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai Woman and award-winning writer, artist and consultant. An experienced speaker and facilitator advocating for the environment, gender and racial equality and LGBTIQA+ rights, Kirli was the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year (2020).
Kirli’s books The Incredible Freedom Machines (2018, Scholastic), Kindred (2019, Magabala) and Bindi (2020, Magabala) have been celebrated by the Prime Minister’s, QLD, WA, Adelaide, Victorian Premier’s Literary, ABIAs, Kate Challis RAKA, Speech Pathology, ABDA and CBCA awards. Her work is published in anthologies and public art.
Her 2022 forthcoming titles include visual poetry collection, Returning (Magabala) and picture book, Our Dreaming (Scholastic).
Kirli’s solo exhibition, Returning showed at SHAC Gallery in Nov-Dec 2021 and was supported by Australia Council for the Arts. Kirli’s art has been exhibited in Shoalhaven and Wollongong Galleries and commissioned for public art with Google, UOW, NSW Department of Education.
Kirli’s first Solo play, Going Home has been commissioned by Playwriting Australia and will take the stage in 2022. Kirli is a board member for Merrigong Theatre.
In 2022 you can find Kirli at Sydney Writers Festival, Brisbane Writers Festival, Blak & Bright, Littlescribe & Enough Said.
Lenora is a proud Torres Strait Islander woman (Erub and Mabuiag), born and living on Yidinji and Yirrganydji country in far north Queensland. She has been a constant writer for various training and community organisations. Her great love has been documenting her family’s history over many years, working with Elders to help bring their stories to life in DVD and television documentaries and working on her own fiction and non-fiction writing. She is an emerging novelist and was awarded the 2021 Boundless Indigenous Writers Mentorship for her draft manuscript about a fictional family of Torres Strait Islanders living on the mainland during the 1930s.
Lenora is an alumna of The Writers’ Studio and a member of Cairns Tropical Writers Inc, Qld Writers Centre, Writing NSW and First Nations Australia Writers Network.
Image: Melanie Saward. Credit: Paul Pugh.
Melanie Saward is a proud descendant of the Bigambul and Wakka Wakka peoples. She is a writer, editor, and university lecturer based in Tulmur (Ipswich). Her writing has been published in Flock, Overland, Kill Your Darlings, and New Australian Fiction 2019 and she is the managing editor of Djed Press. She is a 2021 Penguin Write-It Fellow, and she’s been shortlisted for the David Unaipon Award (2018, 2020), the Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship (2021, 2020), and the Harlequin First Nations Fellowship (2020).
About ELEVATE
ELEVATE is a $5,000 career development grant opportunity open to First Nations writers, editors, illustrators, and arts workers in the literature sector. ELEVATE is designed to support and develop career pathways which may include building capacity, networks, and audiences for their work. This opportunity is open to all career levels and genres of writers. Six grants will be awarded.
Award can be used for career development which may include:
- study/course expenses
- development of work
- masterclass/residencies
- conference or festival attendance
- travel and accommodation
- materials.
- Career development activity to be undertaken within 12 months
- Open to Australian First Nations’ artists living here or overseas
- Open to all levels of experience
- Disciplines include writers, editors and illustrators and arts workers in the Literature sector across all genres.
The Panel will assess the potential of the artist/artworker at the centre of the proposal.
They may consider:
- potential of the artist and/or artworker
- viability
- impact on Career.
Potential of the artist/arts worker
The Panel will assess the potential of the artist/artworker at the centre of the proposal.
They may consider:
- merit of proposal
- quality of work previously produced
- public or peer response to work previously produced
- demonstrated ability, skills and creative thinking.
Viability
The Panel will assess the viability of the proposal.
They may consider:
- skills and artistic ability of the people involved, and their relevance to the proposed activity
- effective use of resources, with realistic and achievable planning
- level of confirmation of proposed activities and partners
- adherence to relevant cultural protocols
- evidence of considered consultation and engagement with participants, audiences and communities.
Impact on career
The Panel will assess the impact that the proposed activity will have on your career.
They may consider:
- capacity to strengthen skills and abilities of artists/arts professionals
- potential to discover and develop new markets, or meet existing market demand
- relevance and timeliness of activity.
ESSENTIAL:
- CV
- budget.
OPTIONAL:
- letters of support
- brief biographical information on principal personnel (if applicable).
Additional information
Once you submit your application, we will send you an email acknowledging receipt of your application.
After you submit your application, we first check it meets the eligibility criteria for the grant or opportunity to which you are applying.
Applications to the Australia Council Grant Programs are assessed by arts practice peer panels against the published assessment criteria for the relevant grant program.
We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application no later than 12 weeks after the published closing date for the applicable grant round.
Once all applications have been assessed, you will be contacted about the outcome of your application. If you have been successful, you will also be sent a funding agreement. This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements. The following accordion items outline these stages in more detail.
If your application is successful, you will receive an email advising you a grant is offered. You must then agree to the conditions of your grant, which represents the Australia Council’s contract with you – this can be done online, by email or by letter. Payment of a grant will not be made until the grant conditions have been agreed and accepted by all the relevant parties.
You should not start a project that depends on a grant until all relevant parties have agreed and accepted the grant conditions and we have evidence of such acceptance on file.
Standard grant conditions require you to, among other things:
- seek prior approval for making a change to a funded project (for example, changes in the activity budget; changes to key creative personnel; or changes to start or end dates)
- respond to requests for information about the project or grant
- satisfactorily account for how the grant is spent (if you do not you will be required to return all monies for which you cannot satisfactorily account)
- comply with all applicable laws
- acknowledge the Australia Council’s support in all promotional material associated with the project; this includes use of the Australia Council’s logo and a standard text of acknowledgement.
- provide artistic and financial acquittal reports at the end of the project
- return any unspent grant funds at the completion of your project or on notice from us to return such unspent funds.
Grant agreements must be signed by a legal entity – either a legally constituted organisation or an individual. For unincorporated groups, see the section on administered grants
All individual or organisation grant applicants based in Australia must have an 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. Individuals based outside of Australia may not need an ABN to apply, depending on their circumstances (please check with your accountant or tax advisor).
The name of the applicant must match the name of the ABN and the name of the bank account into which we pay the funds. There are no exceptions to this rule. If applicants cannot provide an ABN and bank account that are in the same name as the applicant’s name, they will need to nominate an administrator for their grant.
Groups/ensembles/collectives, unincorporated associations/ unincorporated entities and other bodies with no legal status do not need an administrator if they have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) and bank account in their name. If they are unable to provide an active ABN and bank account that matches the name of the applicant, they must nominate an administrator. The name of the administrator must match the name of the ABN and bank account into which funds are paid if the application is successful.
If we approve your application you will need accept the conditions of the grant in a funding agreement.
After you accept your funding agreement online, we will automatically generate a payment for the grant on your behalf. You do not need to send us an invoice.
We will pay grant funds directly into your nominated bank account within two weeks after acceptance of the funding agreement. Grant payments cannot be postponed.
If you do not wish to have the grant funds paid directly into your bank account you can choose to have your grant administered by another individual or legally constituted organisation (Doesn’t apply to Arts Projects – Organisations).
When you apply, you will be asked to provide an active Australian Business Number or ‘ABN’. The ABN that you provide must correspond to the name of the applicant (or the administering body, if one has been nominated). When you accept your funding agreement, you will be asked to enter the details of the bank account you wish the grant to be paid into. The name associated with that bank account must correspond to the name in which the ABN has been registered.
Grant reports are required on completion of your project. Acquitting a grant means accurately reporting on the funded activities and the expenditure of Australia Council funding.
Please read your funding agreement to check details of the grant acquittal material you should provide.
The grant acquittal report is where you tell us:
- how you spent your grant
- what the artistic outcomes of your funded activity were.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report at the times and in the manner detailed in your funding agreement, the Australia Council will not make any further payments that may be due to you, and you will not be eligible to apply for further grants.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report, the Australia Council may ask you to pay back all or part of the funding provided to you.
Grant reports are used by the Australia Council to fulfil obligations of accountability to the Australian Government. They are also essential to the development work of the Australia Council. The reports help us evaluate the achievements of funded activities, monitor the effectiveness of grant categories and ensure our policy development is consistent with the experience of artists in the field.
Reporting for Multi-year Funded Organisations
Organisations in receipt of multi-year funding are required to submit financial, statistical, and artistic reporting on an annual basis.
All reporting is submitted online via the Australia Council’s arts organisations reporting system.
If you are not sure what reporting you need to submit as part of your annual reporting, or what information to provide, please get in touch with your Australia Council contact.
All recipients must acknowledge that the Australia Council provided funding for their activities. When you acquit your grant, we will ask you how you acknowledged the Australia Council.
For printed or online material use our logo and this phrase:
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body OR The (company name) is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Logos for download and guidelines for the use of our logos.
Where projects do not have a public outcome, or do not produce any printed or online material, you will need to think about how best to acknowledge the Australia Council funding.
About the residency
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Art form: First Nations Arts, Community Arts and Cultural Development, Dance, Emerging and Experimental Arts, Literature, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts
Grant amount: $10,000
Website: HIAP
Founded in 1998, HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme is the largest international residency centre in the Nordic and Baltic region. Every year up to 40 artists and arts professionals residing in Finland and abroad are offered a working period at HIAP. The residency durations range from one month (curatorial residencies) to three months (international residencies), and up to 11 months (local residencies). The program offers time and space for open-ended research and experimentation, without the requirement to produce finalised work. The HIAP residency venues are located on Suomenlinna island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located a 15-minute ferry ride away from the centre of Helsinki, and in the Cable Factory cultural complex in Helsinki.
The HIAP residency program focuses on visual arts, however, it is open to artists and curators from various disciplines. Collaborating with local and international partner organisations, residencies extend to such creative fields as dance, theatre, literature, and music. The activities are organised predominantly through thematic residency programs that highlight a geographical area or concentrate on a specific contemporary topic or an aspect of artistic practice.
The HIAP residency program offers time and support for developing new work in dialogue with the local art scene. The goal is to offer space for experimental, cross-disciplinary art practices and to actively contribute to topical debates within and around the context of art.
The HIAP team and supporting curators help the residents with their research as well as practical everyday matters. Residents have access to services such as weekly residency community meetings, access to facilities and equipment, meetings with a supporting curator and the option to take part in the HIAP Open Studios event. This normally takes place towards the end of each residency season and is an opportunity to present work-in-progress to arts professionals and the general public.
Resources to help strengthen your application and maximise your residency experience can be found here.
Information pack: Download PDF.
Meet this year’s participants
Sarah Rodigari
Sarah Rodigari
Sarah Rodigari is a Sydney-based artist whose practice addresses the social and political potential of art. Sarah’s work is site responsive, employing durational live action, improvisation, and dialogical methodologies to produce text-based performance, installations and video. Rodigari has worked with and within various contexts and institutions. These include the National: New Australia Art, Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney), the 20th Biennale of Sydney, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne International Arts Festival, ACCA, The Poetry Project (NYC) and SOMA (Mexico City). Rodigari holds a PhD in Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong and is a member of the collective Field Theory.
Image credit: Jacquie Manning
Make or Break
Make or Break
Make or Break devise and experiment with process-based projects that are co-authored with communities they are invited into. These have included creating experimental economies and temporary currencies; caring for civic spaces and the ‘nonhuman’; celebrating the labour of strangers; prototyping for future worlds; writing speculative fiction and facilitating conversations as collective research. Make or Break is Rebecca Gallo and Connie Anthes, who work and live on the stolen lands of the Gadigal and Bidjigal in Sydney, Australia. They acknowledge First Nations sovereignty and their continuing care for Country, Sky, and Water. www.makeorbreakart.com
Image credit: Dean Tirkot
Helen Svoboda
Helen Svoboda
Helen Svoboda is a double bassist, vocalist, and composer. Her work explores the melodic potential of the contemporary double bass, intricately weaving extended techniques and overtones amidst abstract song writing and nature-themed compositions.
Helen lived and studied in the Netherlands/Germany from 2018-20. She has performed with artists and organisations including Cory Smythe, Sebastian Gramss, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the Australian Art Orchestra. She was awarded the 2020 Freedman Jazz Fellowship, was the recipient of the 2020/21 Australian Art Orchestra Pathfinders Music Leadership Program and is currently studying a PhD in composition under the tutelage of Cat Hope at Monash University.
In line with her active performance career, Helen has released albums across her own original projects, including ‘Vegetable Bass’ (2020) and ‘Since Subito’ (Meatshell, 2021). As a composer her commissions include works for solo guitar and viola, alongside a collection of her own scores which are published online in the Contrabass Conversations Online Music Library.
Image credit: Celeste de Clario
- Only individuals or groups of two may apply to this category.
- You must be a practicing artist or arts worker and an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident.
Who can’t apply
You can’t apply if:
- You received a grant, or administered a grant, from the Australia Council in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
- You owe money to the Australia Council
- We will not accept applications from legally constituted organisations.
Australia Council staff will consider applications according to the assessment criteria and will seek recommendations by industry advisors as needed. Successful applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by late September 2022.
Applicants must address the following assessment criteria:
- Artistic merit
- suitability of your practice to the residency program and its artistic environment/offer
- quality of work previously produced, and public and peer response to your work
- Viability
- suitability of your proposal to the residency program
- the skills and artistic ability of your collaborators and their relevance to the proposed activity
- realistic and achievable planning, resource use and evaluation.
- Impact on career
- how the proposed activity strengthens your artistic practice
- the relevance and timeliness of the proposed activity
- how the proposed activity strengthens your capacity as an arts professional, particularly in relation to international development and collaboration.
You should submit support material with your application. Assessors may review this support material to help them gain a better sense of your project.
What you should provide
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 Ellen Dwyer, International Market Adviser, Europe on +61 02 9215 9051 or e.dwyer@australiacouncil.gov.au.
There are three types of support material you may submit:
1. Artistic support material
This should include relevant, recent examples of your artistic or cultural work.
Types of support material we accept
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 proposal. 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 (for example, excerpts of literary writing).
Please note: Our assessors will not access any URLs that require them to log in or sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to Spotify or other applications that require users to log in or pay for access.
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).
2. Biographies and CVs
You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) for key artists, personnel or other collaborators involved in your project.
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 arts professionals, participants, or the broader community. It can also detail the support or involvement of key project partners, or evidence of consultation.
If relevant to your activity, letters of support must provide evidence of appropriate permissions and support from First Nations organisations, communities, and Elders. Please refer to the First Nations Protocols for more information.
You can include up to five letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.
The selected residents stay in a HIAP Suomenlinna atelier apartment. The residency spaces are in the Palmstierna studio complex, a renovated two-storey red-brick barrack from the 18th century, currently housing nine residential units (five atelier apartments and four regular apartments) and one workspace for artists.
The HIAP Suomenlinna atelier apartments are approx. 80 sqm each, furnished, and divided into a working space downstairs and a separate living space with bathroom and fully equipped kitchenette upstairs. The atelier apartments feature two single beds and a sofa-bed and can accommodate up to three persons. Bedding, linen, and towels are provided. The atelier apartments have a wireless internet connection. You can see some of the residency spaces here.
It is possible to access the ground floor of the HIAP atelier apartments, office, Gallery Augusta & Project Space by wheelchair, but HIAP recommend wheelchair users be accompanied by a person assisting because the entrance doors are not step-free. The living area of the two-story atelier apartments is accessible only via staircase (approx. 19 steps), and not accessible by wheelchair. The toilets are not spacious enough to meet accessibility standards. Despite this, HIAP are happy to help you plan your residency. Please contact HIAP to discuss your access needs and receive additional information. You can also find further details on accessibility in the information pack.
Family members and guests are welcome in all HIAP’s locations. The atelier apartment can accommodate a family of two adults with up to two small children. Please note that pets are not allowed in the rooms.
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, 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.
2021-2022
- Francoise Lane is a Torres Strait Islander woman whose maternal family are from Kerriri and descendant of the Meriam and Kaurareg people of the Torres Strait Islands. She is a qualified interior designer with a Bachelor of Built Environment (Interior Design) from the Queensland University of Technology. Together with her husband Andrew Lane they are Indij Architecture and Design; a 100% Indigenous owned award winning architectural and design practice based in Cairns and operating since 2011. As an interior designer, textile designer and artist she describes her work as straddling the intersection between design and art including exhibition curation and leading creative art projects.
- Sumugan Sivanesan is an anti-disciplinary artist and researcher, whose interests span migrant histories, minority politics, activist media, artist infrastructures and more-than-human rights. He was a Kone Foundation fellow over 2020–21, initiating an artistic research project, ‘fugitive radio’, as a platform for migrant, queer and anticolonial issues and music in Helsinki (and beyond), in collaboration with Pixelache Helsinki. At HIAP, Sumugan will develop installation and live art formats for fugitive radio, and further collaborations with representatives from diverse communities and organisations in Finland.
2020-2021
- Rebekah (Bek) Berger
- Joshua Pether
2019-2020
- Rhiannon Newton
- Judith Hamann
- Sarah Aiken
- Courtney Coombs
2018-2019
- Loren Kronemyer
- Lisa Hilli
- Tamara Searle
- Caitlin Yardley
2017-2018
- Laith McGregor
- Tessa Rapaport
- Natalie Abbott
- Matt Shilcock
Frequently Asked Questions
Unless stated otherwise in the program description, all residencies are offered for fixed dates and periods of time.
Yes, but this will be at your own cost and the Australia Council will not be able to provide additional funds towards the extension.
No. You are not required to provide a budget with your application.
There is no requirement for you to provide a timetable of your activities, unless stated otherwise in the individual residency program guidelines.
Yes. If successful, you are required to take out travel insurance for the duration of your residency. It is recommended you pay for this from your grant.
The capacity to accommodate children and partners varies for different residencies. Please check the program descriptions for specific requirements. Please note that the programs are limited to the participating artist only and have various limitations e.g. communal living and/or working space or modest living quarters.
Yes, the grant to an individual that accompanies a residency is considered income and taxable. Please visit the Australian Taxation Office website for more information.
The International Residencies Program is dynamic and responsive and the programs on offer may vary from year to year.
Yes. If you are looking for some tips on organising your residency or programs in the region you’re interested in, check out the resources on our International Residencies Program web page.
There is no limit to the number of applications you can submit to the International Residencies Program. However, you will need to consider how the assessors will perceive your commitment to a particular residency program and/or market if you have applied for multiple residencies. Each residency requires you to submit a separate application form. Please note, applications to International Development funding opportunities do not count as an application to the Australia Council Grants Program.
Yes, as long as you have satisfactorily acquitted the previous residency grant.
The grant is not intended to cover lost income or rent at home and applicants will need to consider their capacity to undertake the residency prior to applying.
The Australia Council partners with established and reputable residency providers and each program is unique. Successful applicants will be provided with detailed information about each residency and introductions to the residency providers who will assist artists with making local connections. Australia Council staff are able to provide further advice and contacts, as requested. Australia Council’s International Development Consultants, across Asia, Europe, and North America, are also available as an additional resource. Artists are also expected to have their own resources, contacts and project plans for the residency.
The grant is a contribution from the Australia Council toward your travel (including airfares and travel insurance) and living costs during the residency period. Applicants are expected to research the cost of living in the residency location they are travelling to. You may need to supplement the grant with your own funds depending on your projected costs for the residency period.
No. The Australia Council cannot provide any advice on visa or immigration matters. You must contact the relevant country’s visa service to get current information. We suggest you allow plenty of time to apply for all international visas.
Accessibility varies for different residencies. Please check the program descriptions for specific requirements. Please contact the relevant adviser listed in the guidelines to discuss your access needs for these and other programs available through the International Residencies Program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unless stated otherwise in the program description, all residencies are offered for fixed dates and periods of time.
Yes, but this will be at your own cost and the Australia Council will not be able to provide additional funds towards the extension.
No. You are not required to provide a budget with your application.
There is no requirement for you to provide a timetable of your activities, unless stated otherwise in the individual residency program guidelines.
Yes. If successful, you are required to take out travel insurance for the duration of your residency. It is recommended you pay for this from your grant.
The capacity to accommodate children and partners varies for different residencies. Please check the program descriptions for specific requirements. Please note that the programs are limited to the participating artist only and have various limitations e.g. communal living and/or working space or modest living quarters.
Yes, the grant to an individual that accompanies a residency is considered income and taxable. Please visit the Australian Taxation Office website for more information.
The International Residencies Program is dynamic and responsive and the programs on offer may vary from year to year.
Yes. If you are looking for some tips on organising your residency or programs in the region you’re interested in, check out the resources on our International Residencies Program web page.
There is no limit to the number of applications you can submit to the International Residencies Program. However, you will need to consider how the assessors will perceive your commitment to a particular residency program and/or market if you have applied for multiple residencies. Each residency requires you to submit a separate application form. Please note, applications to International Development funding opportunities do not count as an application to the Australia Council Grants Program.
Yes, as long as you have satisfactorily acquitted the previous residency grant.
The grant is not intended to cover lost income or rent at home and applicants will need to consider their capacity to undertake the residency prior to applying.
The Australia Council partners with established and reputable residency providers and each program is unique. Successful applicants will be provided with detailed information about each residency and introductions to the residency providers who will assist artists with making local connections. Australia Council staff are able to provide further advice and contacts, as requested. Australia Council’s International Development Consultants, across Asia, Europe, and North America, are also available as an additional resource. Artists are also expected to have their own resources, contacts and project plans for the residency.
The grant is a contribution from the Australia Council toward your travel (including airfares and travel insurance) and living costs during the residency period. Applicants are expected to research the cost of living in the residency location they are travelling to. You may need to supplement the grant with your own funds depending on your projected costs for the residency period.
No. The Australia Council cannot provide any advice on visa or immigration matters. You must contact the relevant country’s visa service to get current information. We suggest you allow plenty of time to apply for all international visas.
Accessibility varies for different residencies. Please check the program descriptions for specific requirements. Please contact the relevant adviser listed in the guidelines to discuss your access needs for these and other programs available through the International Residencies Program.
This event took place online on Tuesday 8 June 2021.
In partnership with Macquarie University and the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, with support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.
Join Australian and international industry experts to discuss the future of rights selling.
Hear findings from Macquarie University’s research project Success Story: International Rights Sales and Exports of Australian Books 2008-2018. Attend panel discussions with rights representatives from two of the biggest markets, the US and China. Find out what we’ve learnt from the past decade of rights selling, and share tips and tricks to best position Australian books for international success in a time of border restrictions and midnight Zoom meetings.
Hosted by Wenona Byrne, Head of Literature, Australia Council for the Arts.
Sessions will include live captions.
Please note any access requirements upon registration at least 48 hours before the event, or contact us directly to discuss your needs: international@australiacouncil.gov.au
Have a question for the panellists? Submit your questions in advance via the same address.
Related news: the 2020-21 Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) Program has been cancelled due to ongoing travel restrictions.
Reaching Out: Australian Books in International Markets
Schedule
Welcome & Acknowledgement of Country
Australian Rights: A Success Story
Dr Paul Crosby and Dr Jan Zwar, Department of Economics, Macquarie University.
Moderated by Wenona Byrne, Head of Literature, Australia Council for the Arts.
With participant Q&A
Australian rights generate over $10M every year for Australian authors and publishers. Which markets have been the strongest over the past ten years, and which markets best serve specific genres? How have models of rights sales changed over time? What is the impact of literary awards on rights sales? Join us as we investigate how to use this information to tailor your rights selling strategies for the future.
Market Intel: US
Susan Van Metre, Executive Editorial Director, Walker Books, Peter Borland, Vice President, Editor in Chief, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster and Jon Baker, President, Baker Literary Scouting.
Moderated by Clare Forster, Curtis Brown Australia.
What are the current trends, challenges and opportunities for Australian books in the world’s largest publishing market? How can you best pitch your books through virtual channels; and to production companies for film, TV, audio, and streaming services? Meet three of America’s top publishing professionals who’ll share their tips and tricks.
Market Intel: China
Tao Wu (Nick), Editorial Director, GUOMAI Culture & Media Co Ltd (Shanghai) and Gray Tan, Founder & President, The Grayhawk Agency (Taipei).
Moderated by Nerrilee Weir, Senior Rights Manager at Penguin Random House Australia.
China is the largest foreign language market for Australian rights, with more than three quarters of sales made in the last ten years being for picture books and middle-grade titles. How can Australian agents and publishers best present their books to the Chinese market in the current moment? Meet children’s and adult publishing specialists from Taiwan and mainland China and hear from one of Australia’s most experienced rights sellers.
International Rights Fund for Literature FAQs
No, you can apply for support to represent backlist titles if they are appropriate for the market.
Yes, but it is important that you provide some information about the individuals who are likely to be involved and their experience selling rights. Include information for more than one employee if necessary.
No, however you will need to provide the titles you hope to represent, or titles you have represented in the past which indicate the quality and range of the works. Applications to support travel to sell rights in only one or two titles will be unlikely to be competitive.
No, however you will need to provide an indicative meeting schedule based on your research or previous rights trips.
Additional information
Once you submit your application, we will send you an email acknowledging receipt of your application.
After you submit your application, we first check it meets the eligibility criteria for the grant or opportunity to which you are applying.
Applications to the Australia Council Grant Programs are assessed by arts practice peer panels against the published assessment criteria for the relevant grant program.
We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application no later than 12 weeks after the published closing date for the applicable grant round.
Once all applications have been assessed, you will be contacted about the outcome of your application. If you have been successful, you will also be sent a funding agreement. This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements. The following accordion items outline these stages in more detail.
If your application is successful, you will receive an email advising you a grant is offered. You must then agree to the conditions of your grant, which represents the Australia Council’s contract with you – this can be done online, by email or by letter. Payment of a grant will not be made until the grant conditions have been agreed and accepted by all the relevant parties.
You should not start a project that depends on a grant until all relevant parties have agreed and accepted the grant conditions and we have evidence of such acceptance on file.
Standard grant conditions require you to, among other things:
- seek prior approval for making a change to a funded project (for example, changes in the activity budget; changes to key creative personnel; or changes to start or end dates)
- respond to requests for information about the project or grant
- satisfactorily account for how the grant is spent (if you do not you will be required to return all monies for which you cannot satisfactorily account)
- comply with all applicable laws
- acknowledge the Australia Council’s support in all promotional material associated with the project; this includes use of the Australia Council’s logo and a standard text of acknowledgement.
- provide artistic and financial acquittal reports at the end of the project
- return any unspent grant funds at the completion of your project or on notice from us to return such unspent funds.
Grant agreements must be signed by a legal entity – either a legally constituted organisation or an individual. For unincorporated groups, see the section on administered grants
All individual or organisation grant applicants based in Australia must have an 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. Individuals based outside of Australia may not need an ABN to apply, depending on their circumstances (please check with your accountant or tax advisor).
The name of the applicant must match the name of the ABN and the name of the bank account into which we pay the funds. There are no exceptions to this rule. If applicants cannot provide an ABN and bank account that are in the same name as the applicant’s name, they will need to nominate an administrator for their grant.
Groups/ensembles/collectives, unincorporated associations/ unincorporated entities and other bodies with no legal status do not need an administrator if they have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) and bank account in their name. If they are unable to provide an active ABN and bank account that matches the name of the applicant, they must nominate an administrator. The name of the administrator must match the name of the ABN and bank account into which funds are paid if the application is successful.
If we approve your application you will need accept the conditions of the grant in a funding agreement.
After you accept your funding agreement online, we will automatically generate a payment for the grant on your behalf. You do not need to send us an invoice.
We will pay grant funds directly into your nominated bank account within two weeks after acceptance of the funding agreement. Grant payments cannot be postponed.
If you do not wish to have the grant funds paid directly into your bank account you can choose to have your grant administered by another individual or legally constituted organisation (Doesn’t apply to Arts Projects – Organisations).
When you apply, you will be asked to provide an active Australian Business Number or ‘ABN’. The ABN that you provide must correspond to the name of the applicant (or the administering body, if one has been nominated). When you accept your funding agreement, you will be asked to enter the details of the bank account you wish the grant to be paid into. The name associated with that bank account must correspond to the name in which the ABN has been registered.
Grant reports are required on completion of your project. Acquitting a grant means accurately reporting on the funded activities and the expenditure of Australia Council funding.
Please read your funding agreement to check details of the grant acquittal material you should provide.
The grant acquittal report is where you tell us:
- how you spent your grant
- what the artistic outcomes of your funded activity were.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report at the times and in the manner detailed in your funding agreement, the Australia Council will not make any further payments that may be due to you, and you will not be eligible to apply for further grants.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report, the Australia Council may ask you to pay back all or part of the funding provided to you.
Grant reports are used by the Australia Council to fulfil obligations of accountability to the Australian Government. They are also essential to the development work of the Australia Council. The reports help us evaluate the achievements of funded activities, monitor the effectiveness of grant categories and ensure our policy development is consistent with the experience of artists in the field.
Reporting for Multi-year Funded Organisations
Organisations in receipt of multi-year funding are required to submit financial, statistical, and artistic reporting on an annual basis.
All reporting is submitted online via the Australia Council’s arts organisations reporting system.
If you are not sure what reporting you need to submit as part of your annual reporting, or what information to provide, please get in touch with your Australia Council contact.
All recipients must acknowledge that the Australia Council provided funding for their activities. When you acquit your grant, we will ask you how you acknowledged the Australia Council.
For printed or online material use our logo and this phrase:
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body OR The (company name) is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Logos for download and guidelines for the use of our logos.
Where projects do not have a public outcome, or do not produce any printed or online material, you will need to think about how best to acknowledge the Australia Council funding.
Translation Fund for Literature FAQs
Yes, provided you provide copies of rights agreements for all titles in the series. Support for more than one title may be included in the same application, or may be submitted as separate applications. A maximum of two applications per publisher / applicant is allowed.
No. We need evidence that you hold the rights to the work in the application.
Yes, however you will need to provide a copy of the rights agreement and details of how the work will be published and distributed if there is no publisher in place. Applications from translators who don’t have a publisher in place can be submitted to Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups.
Yes, however the majority of the funds should go towards the costs of translation.
Yes, however you will need to explain how the funds will be allocated. These should exclude printing and editorial costs.
No, we can only pay grants in Australian dollars. Please make sure your bank can transact in Australian dollars or has an established relationship with an intermediary bank that can.
If you need help with your application, contact Artists Services.
Additional information
Once you submit your application, we will send you an email acknowledging receipt of your application.
After you submit your application, we first check it meets the eligibility criteria for the grant or opportunity to which you are applying.
Applications to the Australia Council Grant Programs are assessed by arts practice peer panels against the published assessment criteria for the relevant grant program.
We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application no later than 12 weeks after the published closing date for the applicable grant round.
Once all applications have been assessed, you will be contacted about the outcome of your application. If you have been successful, you will also be sent a funding agreement. This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements. The following accordion items outline these stages in more detail.
If your application is successful, you will receive an email advising you a grant is offered. You must then agree to the conditions of your grant, which represents the Australia Council’s contract with you – this can be done online, by email or by letter. Payment of a grant will not be made until the grant conditions have been agreed and accepted by all the relevant parties.
You should not start a project that depends on a grant until all relevant parties have agreed and accepted the grant conditions and we have evidence of such acceptance on file.
Standard grant conditions require you to, among other things:
- seek prior approval for making a change to a funded project (for example, changes in the activity budget; changes to key creative personnel; or changes to start or end dates)
- respond to requests for information about the project or grant
- satisfactorily account for how the grant is spent (if you do not you will be required to return all monies for which you cannot satisfactorily account)
- comply with all applicable laws
- acknowledge the Australia Council’s support in all promotional material associated with the project; this includes use of the Australia Council’s logo and a standard text of acknowledgement.
- provide artistic and financial acquittal reports at the end of the project
- return any unspent grant funds at the completion of your project or on notice from us to return such unspent funds.
Grant agreements must be signed by a legal entity – either a legally constituted organisation or an individual. For unincorporated groups, see the section on administered grants
All individual or organisation grant applicants based in Australia must have an 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. Individuals based outside of Australia may not need an ABN to apply, depending on their circumstances (please check with your accountant or tax advisor).
The name of the applicant must match the name of the ABN and the name of the bank account into which we pay the funds. There are no exceptions to this rule. If applicants cannot provide an ABN and bank account that are in the same name as the applicant’s name, they will need to nominate an administrator for their grant.
Groups/ensembles/collectives, unincorporated associations/ unincorporated entities and other bodies with no legal status do not need an administrator if they have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) and bank account in their name. If they are unable to provide an active ABN and bank account that matches the name of the applicant, they must nominate an administrator. The name of the administrator must match the name of the ABN and bank account into which funds are paid if the application is successful.
If we approve your application you will need accept the conditions of the grant in a funding agreement.
After you accept your funding agreement online, we will automatically generate a payment for the grant on your behalf. You do not need to send us an invoice.
We will pay grant funds directly into your nominated bank account within two weeks after acceptance of the funding agreement. Grant payments cannot be postponed.
If you do not wish to have the grant funds paid directly into your bank account you can choose to have your grant administered by another individual or legally constituted organisation (Doesn’t apply to Arts Projects – Organisations).
When you apply, you will be asked to provide an active Australian Business Number or ‘ABN’. The ABN that you provide must correspond to the name of the applicant (or the administering body, if one has been nominated). When you accept your funding agreement, you will be asked to enter the details of the bank account you wish the grant to be paid into. The name associated with that bank account must correspond to the name in which the ABN has been registered.
Grant reports are required on completion of your project. Acquitting a grant means accurately reporting on the funded activities and the expenditure of Australia Council funding.
Please read your funding agreement to check details of the grant acquittal material you should provide.
The grant acquittal report is where you tell us:
- how you spent your grant
- what the artistic outcomes of your funded activity were.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report at the times and in the manner detailed in your funding agreement, the Australia Council will not make any further payments that may be due to you, and you will not be eligible to apply for further grants.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report, the Australia Council may ask you to pay back all or part of the funding provided to you.
Grant reports are used by the Australia Council to fulfil obligations of accountability to the Australian Government. They are also essential to the development work of the Australia Council. The reports help us evaluate the achievements of funded activities, monitor the effectiveness of grant categories and ensure our policy development is consistent with the experience of artists in the field.
Reporting for Multi-year Funded Organisations
Organisations in receipt of multi-year funding are required to submit financial, statistical, and artistic reporting on an annual basis.
All reporting is submitted online via the Australia Council’s arts organisations reporting system.
If you are not sure what reporting you need to submit as part of your annual reporting, or what information to provide, please get in touch with your Australia Council contact.
All recipients must acknowledge that the Australia Council provided funding for their activities. When you acquit your grant, we will ask you how you acknowledged the Australia Council.
For printed or online material use our logo and this phrase:
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body OR The (company name) is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Logos for download and guidelines for the use of our logos.
Where projects do not have a public outcome, or do not produce any printed or online material, you will need to think about how best to acknowledge the Australia Council funding.
Announcement
The Australia Council for the Arts is pleased to announce the 2022 participants for the Elevate program. Click on the expandable headings below to learn more about the participants.
Carl Kija/Jaru is an author from Halls Creek in the heart of the Kimberley WA. He is passionate about Aboriginal rights, stories, bush life, sport, culture and language.
His debut book, Black Cockatoo, was published with Magabala Books in 2018 and was Honour Book CBCA Young Reader category as well as shortlisted in Readings Children’s Book of the Year, Queensland Literary Award, ABiA Small Publisher Children Book, Australian Speech Therapists Book Award. His second book Tracks of the Missing, was shortlisted for the Premiers Literary Award – Daisy Utemorrah Award 2019 and will be published with Magabala in 2022. Dirran (the Black Cockatoo sequel) won the 2021 Daisy Utemorrah Award and will be published in 2023. He also has Beautiful Night (Lothian/Hachette 2022), Loved You Then (Lothian/Hachette 2023), My Deadly Boots (Lothian/Hachette) coming out soon as well.
Celia Coulthard is a proud Adnyamathanha woman, an artist and producer at Adelaide Festival Centre. Celia is the creator and creative producer of OUR WORDS and OUR STORIES – events celebrating First Nations literary voices and the ancient art of storytelling. She is also an assistant producer of DreamBIG Children’s Festival and works across families and year-round programming at Adelaide Festival Centre. Celia’s personal artistic practise focuses on the creation and illustration of Adnyamathanha language resources to reinvigorate the language in her community.
Image: Portrait, Brooke Scobie. Credit: Travis De Vries.
Brooke Scobie is queer Goorie single mum, poet, writer, podcaster, and community worker. Her writing is a love letter to people who’ve been systematically excluded. She’s been published in Overland Journal, Running Dog, Red Room Poetry, SBS, Best of Australian Poetry 2021, and was awarded second place in the 2020 Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai Woman and award-winning writer, artist and consultant. An experienced speaker and facilitator advocating for the environment, gender and racial equality and LGBTIQA+ rights, Kirli was the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year (2020).
Kirli’s books The Incredible Freedom Machines (2018, Scholastic), Kindred (2019, Magabala) and Bindi (2020, Magabala) have been celebrated by the Prime Minister’s, QLD, WA, Adelaide, Victorian Premier’s Literary, ABIAs, Kate Challis RAKA, Speech Pathology, ABDA and CBCA awards. Her work is published in anthologies and public art.
Her 2022 forthcoming titles include visual poetry collection, Returning (Magabala) and picture book, Our Dreaming (Scholastic).
Kirli’s solo exhibition, Returning showed at SHAC Gallery in Nov-Dec 2021 and was supported by Australia Council for the Arts. Kirli’s art has been exhibited in Shoalhaven and Wollongong Galleries and commissioned for public art with Google, UOW, NSW Department of Education.
Kirli’s first Solo play, Going Home has been commissioned by Playwriting Australia and will take the stage in 2022. Kirli is a board member for Merrigong Theatre.
In 2022 you can find Kirli at Sydney Writers Festival, Brisbane Writers Festival, Blak & Bright, Littlescribe & Enough Said.
Lenora is a proud Torres Strait Islander woman (Erub and Mabuiag), born and living on Yidinji and Yirrganydji country in far north Queensland. She has been a constant writer for various training and community organisations. Her great love has been documenting her family’s history over many years, working with Elders to help bring their stories to life in DVD and television documentaries and working on her own fiction and non-fiction writing. She is an emerging novelist and was awarded the 2021 Boundless Indigenous Writers Mentorship for her draft manuscript about a fictional family of Torres Strait Islanders living on the mainland during the 1930s.
Lenora is an alumna of The Writers’ Studio and a member of Cairns Tropical Writers Inc, Qld Writers Centre, Writing NSW and First Nations Australia Writers Network.
Image: Melanie Saward. Credit: Paul Pugh.
Melanie Saward is a proud descendant of the Bigambul and Wakka Wakka peoples. She is a writer, editor, and university lecturer based in Tulmur (Ipswich). Her writing has been published in Flock, Overland, Kill Your Darlings, and New Australian Fiction 2019 and she is the managing editor of Djed Press. She is a 2021 Penguin Write-It Fellow, and she’s been shortlisted for the David Unaipon Award (2018, 2020), the Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship (2021, 2020), and the Harlequin First Nations Fellowship (2020).
About ELEVATE
ELEVATE is a $5,000 career development grant opportunity open to First Nations writers, editors, illustrators, and arts workers in the literature sector. ELEVATE is designed to support and develop career pathways which may include building capacity, networks, and audiences for their work. This opportunity is open to all career levels and genres of writers. Six grants will be awarded.
Award can be used for career development which may include:
- study/course expenses
- development of work
- masterclass/residencies
- conference or festival attendance
- travel and accommodation
- materials.
- Career development activity to be undertaken within 12 months
- Open to Australian First Nations’ artists living here or overseas
- Open to all levels of experience
- Disciplines include writers, editors and illustrators and arts workers in the Literature sector across all genres.
The Panel will assess the potential of the artist/artworker at the centre of the proposal.
They may consider:
- potential of the artist and/or artworker
- viability
- impact on Career.
Potential of the artist/arts worker
The Panel will assess the potential of the artist/artworker at the centre of the proposal.
They may consider:
- merit of proposal
- quality of work previously produced
- public or peer response to work previously produced
- demonstrated ability, skills and creative thinking.
Viability
The Panel will assess the viability of the proposal.
They may consider:
- skills and artistic ability of the people involved, and their relevance to the proposed activity
- effective use of resources, with realistic and achievable planning
- level of confirmation of proposed activities and partners
- adherence to relevant cultural protocols
- evidence of considered consultation and engagement with participants, audiences and communities.
Impact on career
The Panel will assess the impact that the proposed activity will have on your career.
They may consider:
- capacity to strengthen skills and abilities of artists/arts professionals
- potential to discover and develop new markets, or meet existing market demand
- relevance and timeliness of activity.
ESSENTIAL:
- CV
- budget.
OPTIONAL:
- letters of support
- brief biographical information on principal personnel (if applicable).
Additional information
Once you submit your application, we will send you an email acknowledging receipt of your application.
After you submit your application, we first check it meets the eligibility criteria for the grant or opportunity to which you are applying.
Applications to the Australia Council Grant Programs are assessed by arts practice peer panels against the published assessment criteria for the relevant grant program.
We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application no later than 12 weeks after the published closing date for the applicable grant round.
Once all applications have been assessed, you will be contacted about the outcome of your application. If you have been successful, you will also be sent a funding agreement. This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements. The following accordion items outline these stages in more detail.
If your application is successful, you will receive an email advising you a grant is offered. You must then agree to the conditions of your grant, which represents the Australia Council’s contract with you – this can be done online, by email or by letter. Payment of a grant will not be made until the grant conditions have been agreed and accepted by all the relevant parties.
You should not start a project that depends on a grant until all relevant parties have agreed and accepted the grant conditions and we have evidence of such acceptance on file.
Standard grant conditions require you to, among other things:
- seek prior approval for making a change to a funded project (for example, changes in the activity budget; changes to key creative personnel; or changes to start or end dates)
- respond to requests for information about the project or grant
- satisfactorily account for how the grant is spent (if you do not you will be required to return all monies for which you cannot satisfactorily account)
- comply with all applicable laws
- acknowledge the Australia Council’s support in all promotional material associated with the project; this includes use of the Australia Council’s logo and a standard text of acknowledgement.
- provide artistic and financial acquittal reports at the end of the project
- return any unspent grant funds at the completion of your project or on notice from us to return such unspent funds.
Grant agreements must be signed by a legal entity – either a legally constituted organisation or an individual. For unincorporated groups, see the section on administered grants
All individual or organisation grant applicants based in Australia must have an 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. Individuals based outside of Australia may not need an ABN to apply, depending on their circumstances (please check with your accountant or tax advisor).
The name of the applicant must match the name of the ABN and the name of the bank account into which we pay the funds. There are no exceptions to this rule. If applicants cannot provide an ABN and bank account that are in the same name as the applicant’s name, they will need to nominate an administrator for their grant.
Groups/ensembles/collectives, unincorporated associations/ unincorporated entities and other bodies with no legal status do not need an administrator if they have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) and bank account in their name. If they are unable to provide an active ABN and bank account that matches the name of the applicant, they must nominate an administrator. The name of the administrator must match the name of the ABN and bank account into which funds are paid if the application is successful.
If we approve your application you will need accept the conditions of the grant in a funding agreement.
After you accept your funding agreement online, we will automatically generate a payment for the grant on your behalf. You do not need to send us an invoice.
We will pay grant funds directly into your nominated bank account within two weeks after acceptance of the funding agreement. Grant payments cannot be postponed.
If you do not wish to have the grant funds paid directly into your bank account you can choose to have your grant administered by another individual or legally constituted organisation (Doesn’t apply to Arts Projects – Organisations).
When you apply, you will be asked to provide an active Australian Business Number or ‘ABN’. The ABN that you provide must correspond to the name of the applicant (or the administering body, if one has been nominated). When you accept your funding agreement, you will be asked to enter the details of the bank account you wish the grant to be paid into. The name associated with that bank account must correspond to the name in which the ABN has been registered.
Grant reports are required on completion of your project. Acquitting a grant means accurately reporting on the funded activities and the expenditure of Australia Council funding.
Please read your funding agreement to check details of the grant acquittal material you should provide.
The grant acquittal report is where you tell us:
- how you spent your grant
- what the artistic outcomes of your funded activity were.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report at the times and in the manner detailed in your funding agreement, the Australia Council will not make any further payments that may be due to you, and you will not be eligible to apply for further grants.
If you do not provide a satisfactory grant report, the Australia Council may ask you to pay back all or part of the funding provided to you.
Grant reports are used by the Australia Council to fulfil obligations of accountability to the Australian Government. They are also essential to the development work of the Australia Council. The reports help us evaluate the achievements of funded activities, monitor the effectiveness of grant categories and ensure our policy development is consistent with the experience of artists in the field.
Reporting for Multi-year Funded Organisations
Organisations in receipt of multi-year funding are required to submit financial, statistical, and artistic reporting on an annual basis.
All reporting is submitted online via the Australia Council’s arts organisations reporting system.
If you are not sure what reporting you need to submit as part of your annual reporting, or what information to provide, please get in touch with your Australia Council contact.
All recipients must acknowledge that the Australia Council provided funding for their activities. When you acquit your grant, we will ask you how you acknowledged the Australia Council.
For printed or online material use our logo and this phrase:
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body OR The (company name) is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Logos for download and guidelines for the use of our logos.
Where projects do not have a public outcome, or do not produce any printed or online material, you will need to think about how best to acknowledge the Australia Council funding.
