How to apply
1. Read the guidelines carefully and establish which program, fellowship or scholarship is most suitable for you.
2. Check the closing date for your application(s). Note: For most programs there are several different closing dates. Please discuss your application for funding with the relevant program staff before applying.
3. Check to see if you are eligible and/or whether you need someone to auspice (lodge) your application.
4. Consult the relevant guidelines for special categories and particular requirements.
5. Determine which form is relevant to your application. Note: There are different types of Application Forms for the different funding types.
6. Obtain the relevant Application Form from Arts NSW from the Forms section of this website, or by calling (02) 9228 5533 or 1800 358 594 (NSW).
7. Complete the Application Form with all the required details, using the guidelines to help you.
8. First-time applicants are required to complete an electronic funds transfer (EFT) authorisation form and, only if registered for GST, two copies of a recipient-created tax invoice (RCTI) form. These forms can be downloaded from the Forms section of this website or by calling (02) 9228 5533 or 1800 358 594 (NSW).
9. If you have not previously applied to Arts NSW and you need guidance on completing the application, contact the relevant program staff at Arts NSW.
10. Unless otherwise indicated in the guidelines, forward the completed Application Form (and one copy of it), two copies of all written supporting material, single copies of other supporting material, the completed EFT authorisation form and, if applicable, two copies of the completed RCTI to:
Program Support
Arts NSW
PO Box A226
Sydney South NSW 1235
Note: Late applications, those lodged by fax or email or without the requested supporting material will not be accepted. Applications are to be postmarked no later than the closing date.
Multi-artform applications
Some projects/programs of activity involve more than one artform. If this is the case, you should discuss your application with the program staff who have responsibility for the artform representing the major component of the project.
How to complete the Application Form
Make sure you have the correct Application Form. All applicants must complete an Application Form. Note: There are different types of Application Forms and requirements for the different funding types.
Grant applicants must provide the following:
1. contact details
2. summary of all grants requested by the applicant
3. information about the applicant’s history and range of activities, including previous, current and proposed programs of activity and details of partnerships with State cultural institutions.
4. detailed information about the request, including a clear, realistic and detailed budget for the project using the format provided on the Application Form
5. information about the applicant’s financial position and how it is legally constituted, including a statement of income and expenditure and audited financial statements where required
6. support material in accordance with individual program requirements (see the relevant Application Form).
Note: Applicants should not submit originals as support material. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that any audio/visual support material is compatible with Arts NSW’s software programs. Two copies of written support material and one copy of any other support document or artwork must be supplied with the application. In general, any support material that is submitted with an application, including audio/visual material, becomes the property of Arts NSW.
Applications lodged without the required support material may not be considered for funding. Please refer to the checklist on the Application Form for required support material.
Acknowledgements of applications are usually emailed to the person nominated as the main contact on the Application Form.
Project funding
If applying for project funding, all applicants should also describe:
• the rationale for the project
• proposed activities
• dates and time frames, venues, and the calibre and suitability of artists or other personnel engaged
• audience development strategies
• the project’s accessibility to people from marginalised communities
• all sources and amounts of grants received (separately named in project budgets)
• the outcomes expected from the project
Applicants will generally be required to supply brief curricula vitae (CVs) of key personnel involved.
Applicants are advised to consult the relevant industrial award for prescribed pay scales and conditions to ensure that artists and arts workers employed as a result of a grant receive pay and conditions appropriate to their work and skills.
Statistical information
Arts NSW may request statistical information regarding the benefit area of an applicant’s proposed activity. This information is provided at the discretion of the applicant and enables Arts NSW to monitor the distribution of funds and the implementation of Government policy.
Fellowships, Scholarships and Awards
Each fellowship, scholarship and award has a different application form and different requirements for support material for more informaiton or by call 02 9228 5533 or 1800 358 594 (NSW).
How are applications assessed?
All grant applications are assessed on merit by the relevant Peer Group Committee. Fellowships, scholarships and awards, except where noted otherwise, are assessed by independent judging committees.
Quality and innovation
The Peer Group Committee will assess the quality of the project or program of activities in terms of artistic or cultural value, the calibre of artists/personnel, benefit to arts and cultural practitioners, and wider considerations such as audience development strategies and how the project/program fits with other programs or activities.
Management competence
The Peer Group Committee will look at the history and experience of an organisation and its staff to assess its capacity to manage a project/program of activities. The committee will not recommend funding for activities it considers beyond the applicant’s capability.
Financial responsibility
The Peer Group Committee will look at the financial position of the applicant organisation to assess its need for funding, its liabilities, and its ability to manage the amount requested. The degree of self-help and initiative shown by applicants will be taken into account, together with the extent of likely community support. For local or regional activities, the Peer Group Committee will look specifically for evidence of support from local government.
Access and equity
The Government is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in the arts, as in all other fields. The Peer Group Committee expects all applicants to ensure that their programs and activities give appropriate recognition to this principle.
The promotion of access and equity requires priority to be given to special areas of activity, including:
• regional New South Wales
• Western Sydney
• arts and disability
• Indigenous arts and cultural activities, and
• multicultural arts and cultural activities.
The Peer Group Committees will favour applications that show a high level of benefit to these areas. Relevant summaries of Arts NSW’s policies and guidelines relating to these areas are set out in the Guidelines.
Applicants are encouraged to read these summaries carefully and describe their activities with regard to them.
In particular, applications involving an Indigenous component should show evidence of support from Indigenous community members/organisations (see Arts NSW's Indigenous Arts Protocol).
The above assessment criteria and the program objectives informing decision-making are also expressed in specific criteria for each program. Applicants should read these carefully.
What are the requirements for payment?
GST
Applicants should not gross up their grant requests to cover GST. If you are registered for GST and have signed a recipient-created tax invoice (see below), Arts NSW will automatically gross up the amount requested to cover the GST obligation in the case of an application being successful. If you have not signed a recipient-created tax invoice (RCTI), you must issue Arts NSW with a tax invoice if your application is successful.
If you are registered for GST, your income and expenditure amounts in your budgets should be exclusive of GST. If you are not registered for GST, your expenditure amounts should include the GST to be paid.
Successful applicants without an Australian Business Number (ABN) can expect to have 48.5 per cent of their grant withheld by Arts NSW, and will need to demonstrate how their project would proceed at a reduced level of funding.
Recipient-created tax invoices
Applicants registered for GST are encouraged to enter into a recipient-created tax invoice agreement with Arts NSW to expedite payment of a successful application. If you are a first-time applicant, or have recently become registered for GST, please download a recipient-created tax invoice agreement form or contact Arts NSW for a form to be sent to you. Complete two copies of the form, and sign and return both to Arts NSW with your application.
Electronic funds transfer payments
To facilitate the payment of grants, Arts NSW, where possible, pays grant recipients through electronic funds transfer (EFT). If Arts NSW does not already have your current bank account details, please download an electronic funds transfer payment form or contact Arts NSW for a form to be sent to you. Complete one copy of the form, and sign and return it to Arts NSW with your application.
Please note: Electronic funds transfer payments information will be handled according to Arts NSW’s Privacy Policy. It will be seen by relevant Arts NSW staff and, if the application is successful, it will be forwarded to the Finance section of the NSW Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation, which processes grants payments for Arts NSW.
What conditions apply to recipients of funding?
The following General Conditions apply to all funding provided by Arts NSW. Some programs, scholarships or fellowships may have additional special conditions.
• Successful applicants for funding will be required to formally accept the funding by signing and returning their conditions form to Arts NSW. The form may include conditions not specified in these guidelines.
• Grants, fellowships and scholarships may be used only for the purposes approved by the Minister. In exceptional circumstances, applicants are required to apply in writing to Arts NSW for a variation of their grant conditions before proceeding.
• Projects or travel undertaken as a result of the awarding of a fellowship or scholarship should commence within 12 months of the receipt of notification of the award. In special circumstances the time may be negotiated between Arts NSW and the successful applicant.
• Applicants must agree to refund promptly to Arts NSW any portion of a grant unspent at the conclusion of the activity for which the funding was made, or at the date of winding up or dissolution of an organisation.
• Funds may be withdrawn if a successful applicant fails to comply with any of the conditions specified here or any special conditions imposed for a fellowship or scholarship.
• If a Peer Group Committee recommends to the Minister a grant substantially less than that requested by the applicant, it may require the applicant to submit a revised budget indicating how the proposed grant would be spent.
• Where a Peer Group Committee has recommended a grant towards all or part of the salary of a professional artist, arts worker or administrator, the organisation must consult with Arts NSW before an appointment is made or before any existing appointment is renewed, with a view to reaching agreement on:
- the selection procedures to be followed in filling the position, including the placing of advertisements, and
- the composition of the selection panel.
• In some circumstances Arts NSW requires as a condition of a grant that a nominee of Arts NSW or the Peer Group Committee be included in any interviewing or selection panel.
• All funding must be appropriately acknowledged in printed material and in any published work or promotional material associated with a fellowship or scholarship and, where appropriate, on website homepages. Acknowledgements should make reference to Arts NSW, in accordance with the Arts NSW branding and style guidelines available on our website. Funded organisations should provide a hotlink to Arts NSW’s website on their homepages.
• All grants must be appropriately acquitted in line with Arts NSW’s Acquital guidelines or by calling 02 9228 5533 or 1800 358 594 (NSW).
What is required on acquittal of grants?
At the end of the period for which a grant is made, the recipient is required to submit a report, using the How to Acquit Guide,outlining how the grant has been spent and giving an account of the artistic benefits or initiatives made possible by the grant. The due date for the acquittal is documented in the grant conditions. In addition, the recipient may be asked to provide statistical information about their organisation and its activities.
Fellowship or scholarship recipients are required to provide reports to the assessment committees on the progress of the project, usually at six-monthly intervals, as well as a final artistic and financial report.
Artistic report
The artistic report should give details of the activities funded by Arts NSW, with particular mention of the benefits resulting from the grant. The report should be signed by the chairperson or the chief executive.
Financial report
The financial report will be either the organisation’s latest annual accounts prepared in a standard format and duly audited and certified by a public accountant, or a statement of income and expenditure certified by the chairperson or the chief executive. The type of financial report required will depend on the organisation’s structure. In either case, the Arts NSW’s grant should be clearly identified as a separate item of income.