Creative Australia Grants 2026: Open Rounds and Data

Before you read: Grantsights builds grant search tools for United States funders only, so there isn't a Grantsights product for Australian artists. This guide uses Creative Australia's own guidelines and grant records and links to its official pages. If an Australian version would help you, let us know you're in Australia.

Creative Australia Grants by the Numbers (2025-26)

Creative Australia decided 1,641 grants worth $75.3 million in 2025-26, according to Grantsights analysis of its awarded grants list, with a median grant of $25,320. Arts Projects was the biggest single line: 488 grants worth $24.2 million across the September 2025 and March 2026 rounds.

Grantsights analysis of 9,617 grants in Creative Australia's Awarded grants list, downloaded October 29, 2026. The 2019-20 total includes $122.7 million of Four Year Funding for 96 organisations, and 2023-24 includes multi-year investment for organisations (for example, $19.4 million across 16 theatre organisations). The list doesn't separate multi-year payments by year.

Most grants are small. In 2025-26, 359 grants (22%) were under $10,000 and 504 (31%) were between $20,000 and $49,999, while 96 grants of more than $100,000 accounted for $26.3 million, or 35% of the money.

Grantsights analysis of 1,641 grants decided July 2025 to June 2026.

The largest 2025-26 grants came through directed programs rather than open rounds. Theatre Royal Hobart, CircuitWest Inc (Perth) and Central Coast Arts Limited each received $900,000 in November 2025 through Playing Australia multi-year audience development investment, a program with a closed August 2025 round.

What's Open Now and What's Next

The International Travel Fund and the Translation Fund for Literature both close on 10 November 2026, the earliest deadlines on Creative Australia's open listings as of October 29, 2026. Here's what you can still apply for, from the program pages:

A few details matter. The Music Australia fund needs evidence of matched funding at least equal to your request, and the activity must start between 1 April and 30 June 2027, with notification in early March 2027. The International Travel Fund doesn't cover touring, exhibition or presentation costs; it's for attending market development platforms and key gatherings overseas, with activity between 25 January and 31 December 2027. The Marten Bequest, run with Perpetual Wealth as trustee, covers architecture, ballet, prose, sculpture and singing in 2027, and acting, instrumental music, painting and poetry in 2028.

The Impact Investment Readiness Program, delivered by Sefa, is an expression of interest that closes on 30 October 2026, with full applications by invitation only. It's capacity building for organisations, not a project grant.

Register early. Every program uses Creative Australia's Application Management System, and new registrations take up to two business days. For the September 2026 round, anyone who hadn't registered by 10am on the Monday before closing couldn't apply.

Arts Projects: How the Main Grants Work

Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups pays $10,000 to $50,000, and Arts Projects for Organisations pays $20,000 to $100,000, for activities lasting no more than two years. Both run twice a year, in March and September. You can submit one application per closing date in each category.

They fund a wide range of activity: creating new work, creative development, experimentation, practice-based research, professional development including mentoring and residencies, touring, festivals, productions, exhibitions, publishing, recording, promotion and marketing, and community engagement. Activities can happen in Australia, overseas or online. Access costs, such as Auslan interpreting or captioning, are eligible budget items.

Who's out. For the individuals category, you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and a practising artist or arts professional; organisations can't apply in this category, and groups can't apply in the organisations category. For the organisations category, you're ineligible if you receive multi-year investment through the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework, or more than $160,000 a year from any Creative Australia multi-year program in 2025 to 2028. In both categories, you can't apply with an overdue grant report, money owed to Creative Australia, or the same activity already submitted to the International Engagement Fund or International Travel Fund.

Panels and criteria. You choose one of 9 peer panels: First Nations, Community Arts and Cultural Development, Dance, Emerging and Experimental Arts, Literature, Multi-art form, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts. Only First Nations individuals and groups, or organisations with at least 51% First Nations governance, can apply to the First Nations panel. Peers score three criteria: quality, viability and impact. Viability covers your budget, artist fees, partners, consultation and safety plans.

Grantsights analysis of the awarded list counts 1,354 Arts Projects grants worth $66.0 million across the five rounds from March 2024 to March 2026:

Grantsights analysis of 1,354 Arts Projects grants in Creative Australia's Awarded grants list. The March 2026 round's 278 grants match the 12% success rate Creative Australia reported on 2,307 eligible applications.

A case in point from the March 2026 round: the Wheeler Centre: Books Writing and Ideas in Melbourne received the full $100,000 on the Literature panel, Outback Theatre For Young People Inc (electorate of Farrer, NSW) received $62,725 on the Community Arts and Cultural Development panel, Backstage Music Inc in Sydney received $85,588, and Binung Boorigan Pty Ltd in Ballarat received $96,137 on the First Nations panel.

What Creative Australia's Guidelines Don't Tell You

The guidelines give amounts and criteria. The feedback page and the grant records show what actually happens, and four findings should shape your application.

1. The main rounds fund about 1 in 8. According to the Creative Australia general feedback report for recent rounds, 12% of the 2,307 eligible applications to the March 2026 Arts Projects round were funded, and the awarded list shows 278 grants from that round. Here are the figures it publishes:

Creative Australia, General feedback page, read October 29, 2026. The Fellowships figure is Grantsights' calculation: the awarded list shows 16 Fellowships of $80,000 from the June 2026 round.

The lesson: if you're eligible for a smaller, targeted program, it's usually a better bet than the main Arts Projects round. Fellowships are the hardest door at Creative Australia.

2. Successful requests aren't all at the cap, but they're close. In the March 2026 round, 30 of 193 individual grants were the full $50,000 and 22 of 85 organisation grants were the full $100,000. The median individual grant was $40,000, so most funded applicants asked for a substantial amount. Peer feedback says to ask for what you need, break down lump sums, show how you calculated rates and quotes, and pay artists properly, including superannuation. Underquoting rates can count against viability.

3. AI-written applications lose marks. The feedback page says assessors consistently find that applications relying heavily on AI lose the artist's unique voice, and that they often didn't properly answer the question asked. If you draft with AI, rewrite it in your own words.

4. Support material is strictly limited. For individuals and groups, peers look at up to three weblinks with up to 10 minutes of audio or video, 10 images or 10 pages of writing, a CV or bios of no more than two A4 pages, and up to five one-page support letters. They won't open links that need a login (the guidelines name Spotify), and Creative Australia won't contact you if a link doesn't work. A broken link is a common, avoidable reason a strong project gets scored poorly on quality.

Where the Money Goes: States and Art Forms

Victoria received 178 Arts Projects grants worth $8.4 million across the September 2025 and March 2026 rounds, the most of any state, according to Grantsights analysis of the awarded list. New South Wales received fewer grants (150) but a higher median ($49,678).

Grantsights analysis of 488 Arts Projects grants; 5 grants to recipients located overseas are left out.

Across all programs in 2025-26, New South Wales recipients received $27.3 million (473 grants) and Victorian recipients $20.8 million (529 grants). The Northern Territory stands out for its size: 83 grants worth $3.8 million, with a median of $42,930, the highest of any state or territory.

According to our analysis of the awarded list, Music led Arts Projects with 143 grants ($6.1 million), followed by Literature (79 grants, $3.7 million) and Visual Arts (61 grants, $2.9 million). Music also has its own streams through Music Australia: in 2025-26, the Export Development Fund's three categories made 227 grants worth $4.2 million, and the Contemporary Music Touring Program made 44 worth $1.0 million.

How Applications Are Assessed and Paid

Creative Australia aims to notify applicants no later than 13 weeks after the closing date, and the data matches: March 2026 Arts Projects decisions are dated 28 May to 1 June 2026, and September 2025 decisions 28 November 2025. Peer assessors make the recommendations. Creative Australia publishes a list of its peer assessors and industry advisors from 2019 onwards.

Some rules that catch applicants out:

• No changes after you submit. Creative Australia won't amend any part of an application once it's in. You can tell staff about new confirmations (a venue, a partner, other funding), and they may pass them to the panel. To fix an error before the deadline, submit a new application and ask for the old one to be withdrawn.
• Late means out. The deadline is 3pm on the closing date, support is only available in office hours, and late applications aren't accepted.
• ABN and bank account names must match. All Australian-based applicants need an active ABN in the applicant's name, and the bank account must be in the same name. Individuals without an ABN can nominate an administrator.
• Projects can't have started. Activity must start after you're notified and within a year of notification.
• Payment timing. Grants are paid within two weeks of you accepting the funding agreement, in the financial year they're approved.

If your work involves First Nations artists, communities or stories, you must follow Creative Australia's Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts and show it in your budget, for example through fees for Elders or cultural consultants. Peer feedback repeatedly flags this.

Other Funding for Australian Artists

With roughly 7 in 8 Arts Projects applications declined, most artists and organisations need more than one funder. Some routes to check:

• Screen work. Creative Australia says it doesn't generally fund feature film, television or documentary and points those applicants to Screen Australia (opens in a new tab).
• State and territory arts funding. Each state and territory government runs its own arts grants, with separate rounds and rules, so a project declined nationally can still be a fit there.
• Community funds linked to gaming. Our guides to ClubGRANTS in NSW and Queensland's Gambling Community Benefit Fund explain two community grant schemes that are separate from arts funding and have their own eligibility rules.
• Business support. If you run a creative business that develops new technology, read our R&D Tax Incentive guide before assuming arts grants are your only option.

If you work across borders, our guides to Canada Council for the Arts grants, Ontario Arts Council grants and Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants show how other national and provincial arts funders compare, and the UK's National Lottery Heritage Fund covers heritage projects there.

Where to Go Next

If you're an individual artist or group, the next realistic deadline is the Arts Projects round closing 2 March 2027, so register in the Application Management System now and draft against the three criteria. If you're an independent contemporary musician with overseas dates between April and June 2027, the Music Australia Export Development Fund closes on 1 December 2026, and you'll need evidence of matched funding. If you have an overseas market event in 2027, the International Travel Fund closes 10 November 2026. Before you start, read the general feedback page for your panel; it's the most direct guidance Creative Australia publishes.

Sources Checked

All pages read and data downloaded on October 29, 2026.

• Creative Australia, Find grants and opportunities (opens in a new tab) (open, closing soon and closed listings)
• Creative Australia, Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups (opens in a new tab) and Arts Projects for Organisations (opens in a new tab), including FAQs
• Creative Australia, Fellowships (opens in a new tab)
• Creative Australia, International Travel Fund: Market Development (opens in a new tab) and Translation Fund for Literature (opens in a new tab)
• Creative Australia, Music Australia Export Development Fund, Category 1 (opens in a new tab), Category 2 (opens in a new tab) and Category 3 (opens in a new tab)
• Creative Australia, The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships (opens in a new tab) and Impact Investment Readiness Program (opens in a new tab)
• Creative Australia, General feedback (opens in a new tab) (eligible applications and success rates for recent rounds)
• Creative Australia, Awarded grants (opens in a new tab) (searchable list since 2015; data read for decisions from July 2019 to October 2026)
• Screen Australia, Funding overview (opens in a new tab)