Currently 8 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Australia, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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ANAT's flagship Synapse program embeds an Australian artist in an Australian research organisation for 16 weeks of self-guided creative research with no required outcome; one residency is on offer in 2027. The artist identifies their own host and submits a joint application led by the artist, so hosts can span any science or technology field, from medical research institutes and digital health labs to engineering and environmental science; Synapse has a long history of art-science pairings across disciplines. WHAT YOU GET: a total artist fee of AUD 19,250 ex GST plus 12% superannuation, and up to AUD 3,500 toward other project expenses. ELIGIBILITY: Australian citizens or permanent residents based in Australia; tertiary students including PhD candidates are ineligible, as are past Synapse recipients within 10 years; the fee covers one artist, artist groups are ineligible. ASSESSMENT: by an independent art-science panel, with notification in late November 2026. DEADLINE: 14 October 2026 at 3 pm ACDT. Residency takes place between February and October 2027.
Screen Australia's First Nations Department funds the development of feature film screenplays by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers: a first or subsequent draft feature screenplay, including, where appropriate, fees for writer, producer, director and story consultant. SUPPORT: up to AUD 30,000, or up to AUD 45,000 with a producer attached. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be a producer, writer or writer/director who is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian with at least three eligible drama credits in their role. In co-writing teams mixing First Nations and non-Indigenous writers, the original concept must originate from the First Nations writer. Writers and writer-directors are limited to two development tranches as solo applicants without a producer; attached producers must be experienced, have two or more eligible drama credits, or be emerging producers partnered with an experienced producer. Screen Australia may require a story consultant attachment. HOW TO APPLY: via the SmartyGrants application portal; decisions take about six weeks from the deadline. DEADLINE: 22 October 2026 at 5pm AEST, with subsequent rounds closing 14 January, 11 March and 6 May 2027.
Screen Australia's First Nations Department funds the development of TV drama projects by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners: written and visual materials including treatments, scripts, series bibles, research and production financing strategies for telemovies or TV drama series. SUPPORT: up to AUD 30,000 for one-offs (AUD 45,000 with a producer attached) and up to AUD 65,000 for series, other than in exceptional circumstances; funding is provided as a grant. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be a producer, writer or writer/director who is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander practitioner with at least two eligible drama credits in their role. In co-writing teams mixing First Nations and non-Indigenous writers, the original concept must originate from the First Nations writer. Writers and writer-directors may receive at most two funding tranches as solo applicants without a producer; producers must be experienced, have two eligible drama credits, or be emerging producers working with an experienced producer. Assessment weighs concept strength, storytelling quality, development strategy, team experience and project viability. NOTE: if the project is later produced without Screen Australia production funding, development money may need to be repaid to acquire copyright interests. HOW TO APPLY: via the SmartyGrants application portal; decisions take about six weeks. DEADLINE: 22 October 2026 at 5pm AEST, with subsequent rounds in January, March and May 2027.
Screen Australia's First Nations Department funds documentary development by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander key creatives: written and visual materials, treatments, draft scripts, series bibles, research, and fees for writers, producers, directors and story consultants. SUPPORT: up to AUD 30,000 for feature and series documentaries intended for commissioning platforms, and up to AUD 20,000 for one-hour television documentaries and online series. ELIGIBILITY: sole applicants must be Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander key creatives (writer, producer or director); writers/directors need at least one eligible documentary credit; producers must be experienced, have two eligible documentary credits, or be emerging producers applying with an experienced mentor. In teams, directors and co-directors must be First Nations Australian, and in mixed co-writing teams the original concept must originate from the First Nations writer. Projects must be documentaries under ACMA standards (no reality TV, entertainment, current affairs or educational-focused productions). NOTE: projects receiving over AUD 50,000 in combined development funds require a solicitor's opinion letter on chain of title. HOW TO APPLY: via the SmartyGrants application portal; decisions take about six weeks. DEADLINE: 22 October 2026 at 5pm AEST, with subsequent rounds in January, March and May 2027.
Screen Australia's Future Leaders Delegation sends up to eight early-to-mid career Australian gamemakers to BitSummit 2027 in Kyoto, Japan (21-23 May 2027), one of Asia's leading independent games festivals. SUPPORT: AUD 6,000 per delegate towards flights, accommodation, event tickets, ground transportation and meals; travel costs for a mandatory pre-departure workshop in Melbourne (mid-April 2027) are covered separately; delegates can exhibit their game as part of an Australia stand. ELIGIBILITY: Australian citizens or permanent residents (individuals) or incorporated Australian companies with an active ABN and GST registration; must have released and/or published at least one game on a public platform; must be actively developing a game ready for public presentation by May 2027; must be available for both the workshop and event dates; must not have previously participated in a Screen Australia Future Leaders Delegation. Assessment weighs project quality, career relevance, anticipated impact, and commitment to diversity and inclusion. HOW TO APPLY: via Screen Australia's funding portal. Decisions announced by 11 December 2026. DEADLINE: 5 November 2026 at 5pm AEST.
Screen Australia's Global Fellowships support Australian screen practitioners (producers, directors, writers and development executives) pursuing international professional development and career acceleration through placements with leading global screen organizations. SUPPORT: up to 10 fellows annually, each receiving a non-recoupable grant of AUD 80,000 for a single continuous placement of up to 6 months, or AUD 100,000 for multiple placements over up to 12 months, plus up to AUD 5,000 for carers' and/or accessibility costs. ELIGIBILITY: Australian citizens or permanent residents (sole traders) or incorporated Australian companies with an ABN; applicants must secure their own fellowship opportunity with host organizations and mentors (Screen Australia does not broker placements) and be eligible for required visas. ASSESSMENT: track record and professional achievement, quality of the fellowship opportunity, career impact, and anticipated benefit to Australia's screen sector, weighted equally. HOW TO APPLY: one application per deadline via Screen Australia's funding portal. Notification 2 April 2027. DEADLINE: 11 February 2027 at 5pm AEST.
Believers funds the people, projects and programs creating the conditions for young people's creativity to flourish at scale. Creativity is meant in the broadest sense: artists are creative, but so are scientists, debaters, community builders and dancers, and a project can be anything from a summer camp to a robotics competition to a co-working holiday house for artists. Blackbird looks for inventive, dynamic experiments that encourage young people to be curious, to explore, to be lifelong learners, and to build community and become high-agency people, backing projects that are 0-1 (just starting) or 1-10 (scaling or iterating) rather than established groups. Examples: a neighbourhood community science lab, a hacker house, a hardware garage makerspace, a travelling STEM roadshow, or an after-school arts or coding club. ELIGIBILITY (no flexibility): individuals, groups or organisations established in Australia and/or New Zealand; projects taking place in AU/NZ; projects completed within 12 months; projects whose core focus is primarily creative outcomes; and organisations with less than AUD 1.5M in revenue. WHEN TO APPLY: Believers is open year-round, with EOIs and applications reviewed and progressed on a rolling basis; the program closes when all funds are disbursed or at the end of the FY27 period (30 June 2027), whichever comes first. Expressions of interest for Believers Fund III open on 30 June 2026.
Screen Australia supports Australian producers attending competitive overseas pitching forums to secure financing and partnerships, and above-the-line creatives invited to premium international talent labs for professional development and networking. SUPPORT: up to AUD 6,000 (or AUD 12,000 for teams) for events of up to 14 days; up to AUD 10,000 for talent labs or fellowships over 14 days and under 12 months; up to AUD 20,000 for programs over 12 months; one grant per 12-month period except in exceptional cases. ELIGIBILITY: individuals must be Australian citizens or permanent residents with an ABN; companies must be incorporated and conducting business in Australia with central management and control there, hold an ABN, and be GST-registered if required; applicants need an invitation to a qualifying event (the guidelines list eligible opportunities). HOW TO APPLY: rolling, via the SmartyGrants application portal, at least three weeks before the event start date (six weeks recommended); applications cannot be retroactive. Decisions take approximately three weeks.