Assessment committees
Peer Group Committees make recommendations on the allocation of cultural grants for the approval of the Minister for the Arts. Generally, the members of the committees are appointed by the Minister for the Arts and are known for their expertise in at least one artform. Click here for a list of the current committee members.
Fellowships, scholarships and awards, except where noted otherwise, are assessed by independent judging committees appointed by the Minister for the Arts. These committees make recommendations to the Minister for the Arts.
At the discretion of the judging committee, applicants may be asked to attend an interview about a project or proposal. A judging committee may recommend that a fellowship, scholarship or award not be awarded if, in its opinion, applicants do not reach a satisfactory standard.
Except where indicated, all applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application when the decision is announced by the Minister.
The Minister’s decisions will be final and no discussion or correspondence will be entered into concerning those decisions.
Funding limitations
The level of assistance available from Arts NSW is limited by Government budget decisions and priorities, which may change from year to year.
No applicant can be guaranteed funding nor can any applicant be guaranteed funding to the full amount requested. A successful application does not commit Arts NSW to any future funding.
Rejection of an application does not necessarily mean that the project or activity is not worthy of support. Worthwhile applications may be rejected because of budgetary restrictions and the need to balance the financial support offered by Arts NSW across a wide range of programs.
While applicants are encouraged to discuss their applications with the relevant Arts NSW staff prior to their submission, the decision of the Minister is final.
Applications by people with a disability
In accordance with its Disability Action Plan, Arts NSW is committed to addressing any difficulties people with a disability may have in accessing Arts NSW and the services it provides.
If you have a disability and you are unable to make an application in the usual way, or you need other assistance because of that disability, please contact Arts NSW on 02 9228 5533. Callers who are deaf, or have a hearing impairment or a speech/communication impairment, may call through the NRS using modem or textphone (TTY) by dialling 1800 555 677 and then asking for 1800 358 594.
Personal information and privacy
Arts NSW is required to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. Arts NSW collects the minimum personal information to enable it to contact an organisation and to assess the merits of an application. An application may be hindered if you do not supply the information requested.
Applications with associated personal details are accessible by Arts NSW staff, members of the Peer Group Committees, staff of the Minister for the Arts and the Minister. Bank account details relating to electronic funds transfer payments are accessible by relevant Arts NSW staff and to staff of the Finance section of the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation. All staff are bound by privacy laws.
Personal information obtained from applications or otherwise provided to Arts NSW may be retained on Arts NSW’s database and used to advise applicants of arts-industry related information in the future. Please notify Arts NSW if you do not wish to be on this mailing list.
Applicants must ensure that people whose personal details are supplied with their applications (including artists whose CVs are supplied) are aware that Arts NSW is being supplied with this information and of how this information will be used by Arts NSW.
In accordance with privacy legislation, in cases where Arts NSW has been requested to provide information about arts organisations to a third party, Arts NSW will provide only general contact details. It will disclose the names of individuals associated with the organisation only if these are publicly available.
For inquiries about personal information, please contact Arts NSW. See the inside front cover of this booklet for contact details.
Freedom of information
The provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1989 apply to documents in the possession of Arts NSW. Under some circumstances, a copy of the Application Form and other material supplied by the applicant may be released, subject to the deletion of exempt material, in response to a request made in accordance with the Act.