Capacity Building for First Nations Organisations

Capacity Building for First Nations Organisations

First Nations led small to medium arts organisations are invited to submit a proposal for a one-off capacity building investment for the 2026 calendar year. This one-off investment is only eligible to legally constituted organisations or enterprises.

Key dates

Applications close : 3pm AEDT on Tuesday 3 March 2026.

Applicants will be notified by 11 May 2026.

Funding is for the period 1 June 2026 to 31 December 2026.

The purpose of the program is to provide small to medium First Nations arts organisations with one-off capacity building investment to assist with program and artistic delivery and / or operations to the end of 2026.

The program will support arts organisations or organisations that deliver services in support of First Nations arts and culture activity.

Organisations approved for this investment will be eligible to apply later in 2026 for a two-year investment for 2027 and 2028. This investment is designed to assist organisations build capacity in the areas of planning and program design in the lead up to the two-year investment opportunity.

Organisations can apply for $60,000.

Supported activities must take place between 1 June 2026 and 31 December 2026.

Please read through the following funding guidelines.

Organisations interested in applying need to contact the First Nations Arts & Culture Team FirstNationsArts@creative.gov.au or a Multi-Year Investment Manager at myi@creative.gov.au . Following a meeting you will be provided with access to the application form in our Application Management System.

If you are an applicant with a disability, or are working with artists with disability, you may apply for access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, translation services, specific technical equipment, carer or support worker assistance. Please contact the First Nations Arts & Culture Team.

Who can apply

Only organisations may apply to this category.

Organisations must :

• identify as an Australian First Nations organisation with at least 51% First Nations board representation
• demonstrate a history of working and supporting Australian artists and / or arts workers who identify as Australian First Nations
• be based in Australia
• only submit one application to this grant initiative
• you receive multi-year investment in the years 2025 to 2028 through other Creative Australia multi-year programs.

What can be applied for

We will fund a range of activities which help support and build capacity in the small to medium arts sector, for example :

Activities can take place nationally, internationally, online, or a combination of in-person and online (hybrid activities).

If your program involves a partnership or collaboration with organisations in the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework you must discuss your application with us before applying.

Access costs are legitimate expenses and may be included in your application. We encourage applicants to ensure that their work is accessible to everyone. Therefore, budgets may also include costs associated with making activities accessible to a wide range of people (e.g. performances using Auslan, translation to other languages, captioning, audio description, temporary building adjustments, and materials in other formats).

If you are an applicant with a disability, or are working with artists with disability, you may apply for access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, translation services, specific technical equipment, carer or support worker assistance. Please contact the First Nations Arts & Culture Team or a Multi Year Investment Manager to discuss your specific needs.

What can’t be applied for

Your application must comply with the following Protocols. We may contact you to request further information during the assessment process, or if successful, as a condition of your funding.

Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts

All successful applicants are required to comply with all Australian law relating to employing or engaging people who work or volunteer with children, including working with children checks and mandatory reporting. Successful organisations who provide services directly to children, or whose funded activities involve contact with children, will additionally be required to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by Industry Advisors and Creative Australia staff.

Assessment Criteria

You must address three assessment criteria in this category.

Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what Industry Advisors may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.

First criterion

You can address one of the following two options :

Quality of artistic or cultural activities or Quality of Services to the Arts

Industry Advisors will assess the quality of the artistic and cultural activities at the centre of your proposal. For quality of artistic or cultural activities they may consider :

or

For quality of services they may consider :

Second criterion

Viability

Industry advisors will assess the viability of your proposal.

They may consider :

meaningful evaluation

Third criterion

Impact

Industry advisors will assess the potential impact of funding on your creative activity and how likely you are to achieve this. The impacts may relate to you and your creative practice, other people such as your collaborators or partners, your participants or audiences, your communities, or your sector.

The impacts they may consider include :

The types of questions we ask in the application form include :

You must provide the following support material :

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