Skip Ahead is a joint initiative of Screen Australia and YouTube Australia that aims to support YouTube content creators to develop their skills, and support them to work towards sustainable careers.

Skip Ahead is open to both documentary and scripted narrative projects from Australian content creators where the producers and creators of the content maintain and retain control of self-distributing the work and taking it to audience on YouTube or YouTube Kids.

Skip Ahead aims to:

• support a new generation of online storytellers and IP creators to expand their vision and ambition,
• cultivate original Australian narrative content made specifically for local and global online audiences,
• ensure the storytellers and stories being told reflect the diversity of people and experiences from around Australia, and promoting their importance - culturally, creatively and economically.

What you can apply for:

• Up to four projects will be funded.
• Up to $130,000 is available per project. 

In addition, financial support will be offered to successful applicants to participate in a three-day in person workshop held in Sydney. For successful projects with team members based outside of Greater Sydney, Australian domestic travel, accommodation and stipend support will be provided. The maximum amount of team members who can attend the workshop per project, is three. This workshop will aim to build a peer and industry cohort, develop participants' projects, and provide industry skills to assist in the development, production and release of selected projects.

Applicants can apply as a company or in certain circumstances, an individual* (either alone or as part of a team). To be eligible, the applicant must:

• be an incorporated company carrying on business in Australia, with its central management and control in Australia;

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN);

• be registered for the purposes of GST if required by law;

• control the rights necessary to carry out the project, meaning that it must have clear chain of title and must generally be party to any underlying rights agreements;

• maintain and retain control of self-distributing the project and taking it to audience on YouTube or YouTube Kids; and

• be the original content creator or team responsible for one of the following:

   

• a current YouTube channel with at least 25,000 subscribers; OR

• a maximum of two current YouTube channels with a combined subscriber base of 40,000; OR

• a YouTube video which has achieved a minimum of 1 million views on a Youtube channel which has a subscriber base of at least 10,000.

Applicants must meet at least one of the requirements listed above to be eligible.

• Phone: 1800 507 901
• Email: initiatives.narrativecontent@screenaustralia.gov.au