Who can apply

You can only submit one application to each closing date for Major Commissioning Projects.

You must be an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident, and a practicing artist.

Only individuals and groups that have a confirmed invitation to present a new commission at an institution before 31 December 2024 may apply. The institution can be Australian or international. Institutions are defined as a galleries or organisations with a publicly accessible space for the presentation of visual arts and crafts.

You must reside in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria or Western Australia (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory will be eligible in 2024, alongside New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.)

Please note: If you wish to apply to this program and have already received Australia Council funding for part of the proposed activity, your funding request must not support activity which has already taken place, or received prior investment.

Who can’t apply

You can’t apply for this grant if:

• you have already applied to this closing date of Major Commissioning Projects
• you have received a Major Commissioning Projects grant in the last four funding rounds
• you have already applied to Australia Council for the proposed project
• you have already received funding from the Australia Council for the proposed project
• you have an overdue grant report
• you owe money to the Australia Council
• you are an organisation
• you are an individual or a group from the Australia Capital Territory or Northern Territory.

What can be applied for

Investment to support the creation of new work or a new body of works.

Access costs are legitimate expenses and may be included in your application. We encourage applicants to ensure that their work is accessible to everyone. Budgets may include costs associated with making activities accessible to a wide range of people (e.g., performances using Auslan, translation to other languages, captioning, audio description, temporary building adjustments, and materials in other formats).

If you are a d/Deaf applicant, an applicant with disability, or are working with d/Deaf artists or artists with disability, you may apply for access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, translation services, specific technical equipment, carer, or support worker assistance.

Please contact Artists Services to discuss your specific needs.
 

What can’t be applied for 

You can’t apply for: 

• projects or activities that do not involve or benefit Australian practicing artists 
• projects or activities that do not have a clearly defined arts component 
• projects or activities that have already taken place 
• activities that engage with First Nations content, artists and communities that do not adhere to the Australia Council’s First Nations Cultural & Intellectual Property Protocols. 
• funding to cover the artist fee or production fee that the institution pays the artist/s as part of their invitation to commission a new work or body of work for exhibition.  

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.

You must address three assessment criteria in this category.

Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what peers may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.

First criterion

Quality

Peers will assess the quality of the artistic and cultural activities at the centre of your proposal. They may consider:

• vision, ideas, and artistic rationale
• benefit and impact on career, artistic and cultural practice
• level of innovation, ambition, experimentation or risk-taking
• rigour and clear articulation of creative, engagement or development processes
• significance of the work within the relevant area of practice and/or community
• contribution to diverse cultural expression
• timeliness and relevance of work
• quality of previous work
• responses to previous work from artistic or cultural peers, or the public.

Second criterion

Viability

Peers will assess the viability of your proposal. They may consider:

• capacity to deliver the proposed activities or services
• relevance and timeliness of the proposed activity
• skills and ability of artists, arts professionals, collaborators, or partners involved, and their relevance to the activity
• realistic and achievable planning and resource use, including contingency and COVID-safe plans for activities involving public presentations, national or international travel
• appropriate payments to participating artists, arts professionals, collaborators, participants, or cultural consultants
• the safety and wellbeing of people involved in the project
• the role of partners or collaborators, including confirmation of involvement
• the diversity and scale of income and co-funding, including earned income, grants, sponsorship, and in-kind contributions
• where relevant to the project, evidence that the Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts has been adhered to
• evidence of appropriate consultation with participants, audiences, or communities
• where relevant, evidence that you have considered and addressed any access issues associated with your project
• where relevant, evidence that you have addressed the environmental impact of your project.

Third criterion

Creation of new work

Peers will assess the contribution to the creation of new work. They may consider how the proposed activity will:

• enable Australian artists to create new works
• enable risk taking, experimentation and freedom of expression in the creation and realisation of new works
• develop or extend the applicant’s creative practice
• support a safe environment and wellbeing for people working in the arts
• enable national or international opportunities for Australian artists and arts professionals
• engage international audiences and communities with Australian work
• develop strong partnerships and collaborations.

The types of questions we ask in the application form include:

• a title for your project
• a summary of your project
• a brief bio of the artist or group applying
• an outline of your project and what you want to do
• a timetable or itinerary for your activities
• a description of the outcome your project delivers
• a projected budget which details the expenses, income, and in-kind support for the project
• supporting material as relevant to your project, including examples of your work, bios of additional artists, and letters of support or permission from participants, communities, First Nations Elders or organisations.

Required support material:

1. Presenting partner confirmation

Your application must include a letter of support from your presenting partner, evidencing their invitation to create a new work for presentation and their financial commitments to the project. Including, but not limited to, the artist fee and production fee they are providing.

Additional support material:

You are encouraged to submit additional support material with your application as outlined below.  Peer assessors may review this support material to help them gain a better sense of your project.

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 Artists Services.

There are four types of additional support material you may submit:

1. Artistic support material

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

Types of 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 peer 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

Please note: As mentioned above, your application must include a letter of support from your presenting partner, evidencing their invitation to create a new work for presentation and their financial commitments to the project.

In addition to the letter of support from your presenting partner, you can include up to four letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.

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 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.

4. Travel risk management

Your project must consider the latest government advice regarding COVID-19.

If your application is successful, you will be responsible for your own COVID-19 safety planning and risk management.

If your project involves international travel, you must consider the costs and impact of quarantine and/or any additional travel and accommodation costs for all project participants. For the Australian Government’s latest travel advice, go to Smartraveller.

You are strongly encouraged to submit a one-page risk management and/or COVID-safe plan (in any format) with your application if it involves travel. If you require a template, you can download one here.

The application process for Four Year Investment for Organisations involves two stages.

Stage 1: Expression of interest (EOI)

• EOIs open for submission in September 2022
• EOIs close 3pm AEDT on Tuesday, 14 February 2023
• applicants notified in June 2023.

Stage 2: Full application for organisations invited after EOI process

• applications open from June 2023
• applications close August 2023
• applicants notified by December 2023.

Who can submit an EOI

We accept EOIs from organisations that develop, create and/or present artistic programs.

Organisations that deliver services as part of an artistic program may apply for Four Year Investment and will be assessed on the quality of their artistic program.

The Australia Council will also support services to the arts sector through a new stream of investment called Delivery Partners. Further information on this investment stream will be made available on our website in November.

The Australia Council requires that organisations be registered under Australian law (for example, incorporated association or company limited by guarantee) or created by law (for example, a government statutory authority).

• Organisations that are not legally constituted are not eligible to apply.
• Organisations that are registered as Trusts are not eligible to apply.

Organisations may be required to provide a certificate of incorporation or evidence of their current legal status.

It is the intention of this category to invest in organisations that are part of the small to medium arts and cultural sector. Large, well-resourced organisations or institutions seeking investment in multi-year arts programs may not be considered a priority for investment in this category.

Who can’t submit an EOI

You can’t submit an EOI if:

• you have an overdue grant report
• you have overdue Multi-Year Investment reporting
• you owe money to the Australia Council
• your organisation is not registered in Australia
• you are an individual or group
• your organisation is registered as a Trust.

What you can’t submit an EOI for

You can’t submit an EOI for the following activities:

• activities that do not involve or benefit Australian practicing artists, arts professionals, audiences or communities
• activities that do not have a clearly defined arts or cultural component
• activities that have already taken place
• activities engaging with First Nations content, artists and communities that do not adhere to the Australia Council First Nations Cultural & Intellectual Property Protocols.

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.

You will need to select under which arts practice area you wish to have your EOI reviewed:

• Community Arts and Cultural Development
• Dance
• Emerging and Experimental Arts
• First Nations arts and culture *
• Literature
• Multi-art form
• Music
• Theatre
• Visual Arts.

If you are unsure which arts practice area to choose, contact an Artists Services Officer.

*Only First Nations organisations with 51% or more First Nations representation in governance and key creatives at the time of submission, can choose to have their EOI reviewed under the First Nations arts practice area. However, First Nations organisations may alternatively choose to have their EOI reviewed under a different arts practice area.

Heads of Practice:

• Community Arts and Cultural Development & Emerging and Experimental Arts – Zohar Spatz
• Dance and Multi-art form – Sarah Greentree
• First Nations arts & culture – Patricia Adjei
• Literature – Wenona Byrne
• Music – Kirsty Rivers
• Theatre – Annette Madden
• Visual Arts – Mikala Tai

EOIs are reviewed by expert industry representatives called Industry Advisors.

Industry Advisors are experts in their field with relevant experience and knowledge of an arts practice or sector. Industry Advisors will make recommendations for the Australia Council to consider when making the final decisions on which organisations to invite to make full applications and invest in for 2025-2028.

EOIs for Four Year Investment can be submitted through our application management system from September 2022.

Please note: any organisation seeking Four Year Investment must submit an EOI.

You will be asked to provide the following information:

• the arts practice area under which you wish your EOI to be reviewed
• a brief summary of your organisation, including an outline of your core activity and the role you play in the arts sector (approx. 750 words)
• your organisation’s four year vision for the period 2025-2028 (approx. 500 words)
• a brief summary of your organisation’s key activities over the last five years (approx. 500 words)
• a description of how your organisation is addressing the different operating environment likely to be experienced in 2025-2028 after the disruption of the last 2 years (approx. 500 words)
• a list of key staff in your organisation, with information on their roles
• the members of your Board or governing committee (to whom the head of your organisation reports), with information on their length of service and the structure and composition of the Board
• whether you report your financial information on a calendar or financial year basis
• a summary of your audited financial information for each of the previous three years, including assets, liabilities, total income and total expenditure
• investment you have received from sources other than the Australia Council in the past three years
• projected high level income and expenditure for the next three years*

• • income should include government income (recurrent, project, other), contributed income (philanthropy, sponsorship), earned income (program, non-program related)
  • expenditure should include program costs (direct and non-direct), capital expenditure and salaries
  • the annual amount of investment you request from the Australia Council Four Year Investment program from 2025-2028.

*Organisations who report on a calendar year basis: 2023-2025. Organisations who report on a financial year basis: 2022/23-2024/25.

We will review your EOI against three assessment criteria listed below.

Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what may be considered when assessing your EOI. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.

1. Quality of artistic or cultural vision and achievements

We will review your organisation’s artistic achievements and artistic vision as described in your EOI. We may consider how your organisation’s track record and vision support:

• the development of great art, artists and arts workers
• engaging arts experiences
• expanding access to arts experiences
• activity that connects communities
• creative work that reflects contemporary Australia
• a dynamic sector that is diverse and inclusive
• the progression of your artistic ambition over the four year cycle
• enabling risk taking and experimentation in the realisation of works
• a vibrant society and culture.

2. Organisational capacity

We will review your organisation’s track record of delivery, and capacity to deliver its vision. We may consider:

• the experience of the people leading and governing your organisation
• the financial health of your organisation, including the effective use of resources
• the diversity and scale of income and co-funding you generate and receive
• whether your work is supported by meaningful evaluation
• how you demonstrate cultural competencies and adherence to relevant cultural protocols, particularly if your organisation works with diverse artists, audiences or communities. Where relevant, evidence that the Protocols for First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts have been adhered to
• factors that have impacted your organisation’s financial health, planning and priorities.

You may wish to refer to our guide on Essential Governance Practices.

3. Alignment with the Strategic Objectives of the Australia Council

We will review how your organisation’s vision aligns with one or more of the strategic objectives in the current Australia Council Corporate Plan 2022-2026. The objectives are:

• Australians are transformed by arts and creativity – We will enable more opportunities for Australians to be captivated by, and inspired through, experiencing arts and culture.
• Our arts reflect us – We will support equity of opportunity and access in our creative expression, workforce, leaders and audiences.
• First Nations arts and culture are cherished – We will build on our long term commitment to First Nations arts and culture, recognising the importance of First Nations peoples’ self-determination, cultural authority and leadership to our collective prosperity.
• Arts and creativity are thriving – We will support the best circumstances for a thriving arts sector.
• Arts and creativity are valued – We will increase awareness of the value of public investment in arts and creativity.

Stage 1 EOI

Based on the recommendations of Industry Advisors who will review EOIs in panels for each arts practice area, we will rank the EOIs from highest to lowest, based on how well each EOI meets the assessment criteria.

We will consider the arts practice context and analysis of the organisational and financial data provided in each EOI. Please note: if we have provided investment to your organisation previously, our review will also consider how well you have delivered the activity supported.

We may also consider the spread of organisations across arts practice genres, geography, and communities in prioritising how we rank organisations.

We will only invite organisations to make a full application where Industry Advisors have recommended that an EOI submitted meets the assessment criteria to a high degree.

A recommendation of the mix of organisations to be invited to submit full applications in Stage 2 will be presented to the Board of the Australia Council.

You will be notified of the outcome of your EOI in June 2023.

We expect a high volume of EOIs. Only a limited number of organisations will be invited to apply in Stage 2. Given this volume, we can only provide general feedback on EOIs rather than for each EOI submitted.

Stage 2 applications

If your EOI is approved, you will be invited to submit a full application for Four Year Investment. This includes:

• projected financial information for the next three years (including the first year of Four Year Investment in 2025)
• a Strategic Plan that covers 2025-2028 or a significant portion of that period
• a detailed program of activities for the current or next year
• a draft program of activities for the first year of Four Year Investment in 2025.

You may receive guidance from us on the level of investment you can request for your full application. This may vary from your request in the EOI.

You will be asked to provide the following support material:

• up to three URLs (weblinks) that best demonstrate your organisation’s artistic output. These URLs may include video, audio, images or written material.
  Do not provide URLs that require the user to log in or sign up to a platform. 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.
• the latest three years of your audited financial accounts or equivalent. Organisations who report on a calendar year basis: 2019, 2020 and 2021. Organisations who report on a financial year basis:  2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Reporting requirements for successful organisations

Organisations applying for Four Year Investment should be aware of the reporting requirements should an application be approved. These are not negotiable and be part of the conditions of the funding agreement, so be sure to include the resources required to do so in your future budget projections.

Organisations receiving Four Year Investment must provide the Australia Council with financial reporting three times a year, as well as annual reports on KPIs and statistical data to receive payments.

You must provide your organisation’s annual financial statements audited in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards by an Approved Auditor, and discloses separately the Four Year Investment funding as both income or unexpended grants. An Approved Auditor means a person who is: (a) registered as a company auditor under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), or a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, or of CPA Australia or the National Institute of Accountants; and (b) not a principal, member, shareholder, officer or employee of the Organisation or of a related body corporate as defined in Section 50 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

The data and outcomes reporting provides Council with valuable information to monitor the performance and activity of each organisation and ensures accountability for the investment of public funds. It also informs research and communication by Council, allowing us to demonstrate the impact of our funded organisations.

Remember: if you or someone you care about is in crisis or at immediate risk, dial 000.

You can also find support at a number of free helplines:

• Support Act (dedicated Sexual Health & Safety Helpline for artists, crew and music workers) 1800 959 500
• Support Act First Nations Support 1800 959 500
• 1800RESPECT 1800 727 732
• Lifeline 13 11 14
• SANE 1800 187 263
• Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue (dedicated First Nations support available) 1300 224 636
• Q Life (LGBTIQ+ support) 1800 184 527