The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund offers grants to support key industry stakeholders to offer sustained and realistic support to Australian writers, publishers, and visual artists.

The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund supports leading Australian creative organisations and key industry stakeholders with grants to create and deliver exceptional opportunities for Australian writers, journalists, editors, publishers, English and literacy teachers, and visual artists, and especially for those from First Nations and diverse backgrounds.

The Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund supports leading Australian creative organisations and key industry stakeholders with grants to create and deliver exceptional opportunities for Australian writers, journalists, editors, publishers, English and literacy teachers, and visual artists, and especially for those from First Nations and diverse backgrounds.

The Cultural Fund's priorities are:

• Commissions and paid opportunities for writers and visual artists through audience development projects
• Targeted leadership and sector development projects for the writing, publishing and visual arts sectors
• To complement Reading Australia, we are interested in supporting Australian literary organisations to run writers-in-schools programs for Australian writers whose work is featured on Reading Australia or is used in the classroom

The Cultural Fund will consider applications for the following projects:

Audience Development

• Audience and reader development projects
• Payments to creative writers published in literary magazines and journals
• Reviews of new Australian books in national publications
• Projects connecting teachers and librarians with Australian Literature
• Writers/artists-in-residence/schools/universities
• Literacy-based projects for children involving professional writers (excluding the writing of educational resources)
• Significant national writers' awards for payments to writers (excluding prizes offered by publishers and literary journals)
• Commissions for First Nations and culturally diverse authors whose work is contracted and published by Australian book publishers
• Commissions for visual artists to create new artistic work and whose work will be exhibited in galleries or institutions in Australia

Sector Development

• For people working in the Australian Publishing industry - leadership initiatives and opportunities for First Nations and diverse editors, publishers and journalists
• Writing and Publishing sector leadership - for trade organisations only. Includes bespoke/focussed/individual industry mentorships with professional authors and sector professionals.
• For the Visual arts sector - leadership and policy development opportunities for First Nations and diverse curators at galleries and cultural institutions. Note we do not support visual arts writing or illustrations in arts and literary journals.

This excludes visual arts publishing, mentorships and professional development.

Amount of grant:  

• Minimum: $10,000
• Maximum: $30,000

Who can apply 

• Legally constituted Australian organisations and incorporated associations
• If applying as a University, only one application from the University may be submitted per round. You must confirm this before applying.
• Organisations working with schools on writers-in-schools programs for Australian writers whose work is featured on Reading Australia or is used in the classroom.
• Applicants may submit only one application per round to the Cultural Fund
• Applicants must have acquitted any overdue Cultural Fund grants to be eligible to apply for further fundin

Who can't apply 

• Individuals, sole traders or partnerships. Please see our Grants for Individuals.
• Unincorporated entities that are not endorsed as a charity
• Government departments
• Schools
• We do not accept auspiced applications
• Organisations applying for writers' fees for visual arts publications, art catalogues, art journals, multi-arts journals and arts magazines
• Writers' festivals and multi-arts festivals

• Email: culturalfund@copyright.com.au