Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: From $15,000 to $80,000
- Application opened: 14 August 2025
- Application closed: 23 September 2025, 2:00 pm
Program objective
The purpose of the Live Performance Venue Grant Program is to:
- Increase the number of hospitality venues staging live performance in NSW
- Increase the number and diversity of live performances in the NSW night-time economy
- Create employment opportunities for those working in the live performance sector in NSW (e.g. artists, audio-visual professionals, hospitality and venue staff).
Please refer to the Program Guidelines for further information, including eligibility criteria, assessment criteria and application process.You can find them, along with Frequently asked questions, on our Program Guidelines and Resources page here.
LPVP Collage Image credits:
- Dancer: Shutterstock Audience
- Guitar player: Destination NSW
- Red dress performer: Destination NSW
- Close hands on DJ set: 24-Hour Economy NSW
- Man behind microphone: 24-Hour Economy NSW
- DJ: 24-Hour Economy NSW
This program is administered by Create NSW.
Eligibility
Who can apply
The Live Performance Venue Grant program is an open, competitive grant program, open to existing small to medium hospitality venues who meet the eligibility criteria and do not currently stage a regular and recurring program of live performance but have a desire to diversify their business to do so.
The Program would suit a venue that has an existing space that could be dedicated to live performance, without needing to undergo significant structural alterations to the venue.
Eligible Venues
A venue will be considered if it can demonstrate it meets the following criteria:
- Venue is located within NSW
- Is an Australian incorporated organisation with an active Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Has the relevant development consent, including current and valid occupation certificates in force as its primary purpose and, if relevant, can demonstrate that the proposed activity meets exempt development standards
- Is a hospitality venue that provides a commercial on-premise food and/or beverage offering;
- If a restaurant, bar, cafe, winery, brewery, hotel/pub, distillery: have a maximum total venue capacity* of 300 patrons - and not be owned and managed within a larger complex that exceeds 300 patrons
- If a registered club: have a maximum total venue capacity* of 600 patrons - and not be eligible to participate in the ClubGRANTS scheme
- Possess relevant approvals to operate at least once per week after 5pm
- Possess a valid, current NSW Liquor License, if your venue is licensed. Licensed and unlicensed venues can apply
- Has been operating for at least 12 months at the time of submitting this application
- If venue not owned by the applicant: hold a lease of the venue with a minimum period of 24 months remaining of the lease term (excluding any option to renew) from 1 January 2026, or if a shorter lease arrangement is in place, then a letter of intent from the landlord is required indicating the lease will continue for a minimum of 24 months from 1 January 2026.
- The business owner and the venue building owner support the project
*total venue capacity means the venue in its entirety (combined indoor and outdoor)
Types of projects funded under this grant
Projects that support and increase the number of existing hospitality venues staging live performance.
When the project can start and end
Project needs to be delivered within 12 months.
The project should be started by 1 January 2026 and the project must be completed by 31 December 2026.
What costs you can apply for
- Acoustic appraisal of the venue by an acoustic consultant
- Audio-visual equipment training for venue staff
- Paying live performance artists
- Paying booking agent costs - for performances starting after 5pm
- OneMusic licence for the period of the project
- Hiring sound/staging equipment
- Hiring contractors to provide security services for performances starting after 5pm○ only applicable on dates where live performances have been programmed
Marketing for performances starting after 5pm, including:
- advertising and/or marketing campaigns (including design and production costs)
- brand and asset development
- public relations activity
Purchase and installation of sound and staging equipment, including:
- speakers
- PA systems
- microphones
- mixing desks
- lighting
- soundproofing equipment
Who can’t apply
- Any hospitality venue that does not satisfy the eligibility criteria
- Any hospitality venue operated by government this includes local, state or federal government
- Individuals, sole traders and unincorporated partnerships
- Educational institutions
- Venues that are prohibited from staging live performance or entertainment in their venue, as a condition on their development consent, liquor licence, or any other regulatory documentation or legal requirement
- Religious institutions
- Dedicated entertainment facilities e.g theatres, casinos, stadiums, cinemas, music halls, concert halls, dance halls, performing arts centres and the like.
- Venues that require a change of use in order to stage live performance are not eligible for funding under this Program.
- Registered Clubs that are eligible to participate in the ClubGRANTS scheme
Venues that have already received funding from the following programs:
- Live Performance Venue Program Round 1
- Sound NSW Soundproofing Grant
- Sound NSW Venues Upgrade Grant Program 2 & 3
What costs you can't apply for
There are several activities and costs which are not in scope of this Grant Program; these include but are not limited to:
- Capital works, structural changes/upgrades or internal refurbishment or fit-out works which require a development application
- Rent, outgoings and utilities
- General maintenance and repairs
- Equipment purchases not directly related to staging live performance
- Marketing costs over 30% of the total amount funded
- Funding for one-off special events, such as fundraisers or single headline acts
- Any project costs incurred, or use of the grant funding, that takes place prior to 1 January 2026 or after 31 December 2026
- Any activities, goods or services that take place, or are utilised, outside of the nominated venue
- Live performances and activities that start prior to 5pm
- Staff and management salaries
What co-contributions are required
Applicants will be required to co-contribute at least 10% of the funding amount, e.g. funding of $80,000 requires a minimum co-contribution of $8,000.
Additional eligibility requirements
Venue capacity exception:
- Venues will not be subject to the 300/600 patron capacity requirement only if they previously applied to the Live Performance Venue Accelerator Round 1 or Live Performance Venue Accelerator Round 2 AND were assessed as eligible venues in either of those programs.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
What to include in your application
- Evidence of total venue capacity via one of the following documents:
- Development consent for use of premises
- Liquor licence
- Fire safety certificate
- A council-approved venue management plan, or
- A letter or email from your local council, all of which must confirm the maximum venue capacity.
- If none of these alternatives are available, you may provide a venue floor plan that clearly displays the floor dimensions and total square metres of usable floor space.
- Evidence of permission to operate after 5pm at least once a week via one of the following documents:
- Development consent for use of premises
- Liquor licence
- A letter or email from your local council confirming your approved operating hours.
- Evidence of a lease of the hospitality venue with a minimum period of 24 months remaining of the lease term (excluding any option to renew) from 1 January 2026, or if a shorter lease arrangement is in place, then a letter of intent from the landlord is required indicating the lease will continue for a minimum of 24 months from 1 January 2026.
- Proof of venue licence agreement for the presentation of live music or performance (OneMusic licence), or commitment to obtain one prior to signing a funding agreement
- Financial statements (including balance sheet and profit/loss statement) for at least the last 12 months (at the time of submitting an application)
- Latest available annual report (registered clubs only)
- A project plan that includes:
- A description of your project i.e.
- What are you planning to do to start or increase your live performance offering? What will your live performance program look like?
- How often you plan to stage live performances in your venue and what will they be?
- How many people do you employ, including venue staff and performers
- Project delivery timeline, showing estimated completion times e.g.
- When equipment will be purchased and installed
- When marketing and promotion activities will start
- When programming will start – expected by 1 September 2026
- How you will deliver the project e.g.
- Who will manage and do the work?
- What experience do they have in hospitality and/or live performance management?
- How will you find and manage artists?
- How will you keep track of the project and timelines?
- A description of your project i.e.
- A Project budget, including co-contribution amount, showing what funds will be spent on
- Quotes for budgeted purchases over $1,000 to demonstrate value for money
- A draft minimum 3-month live performance programming schedule
- A forward plan of marketing activities
- How will live performances be marketed? Where? How often? Who is the target audience?
- Supporting information such as letters of support from stakeholders, the local community, your local council
Applicants that do not supply the required information, and evidence may be deemed ineligible at the discretion of the Department. The Department reserves the right to request applicants provide further information if required during the application assessment process.
Please refer to the Program Guidelines for further information on documentation required.
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
Address the assessment criteria
This is an open, competitive Grant Program, where all eligible application will be assessed against each other based on the following criteria.
Applicants are required to clearly outline the purpose of the requested funding, including a description of the proposed activities, intended outcomes, and a detailed budget.
Impact on the community and the live performance sector – weighting 30%
Assessors will look for how well the proposed project:
- addresses a community need
- fills a gap in the local night-time economy
- increases the number of hospitality venues staging live performance in NSW
- contributes to the variety of night-time live performance in the venue’s local area
- increases the number and diversity of live performances
- creates employment opportunities in the live performance industry
- demonstrates support from relevant local stakeholders and/or community members
Viability – weighting 30%
Assessors will review the project plan and timelines, and will be looking for:
- all project delivery and grant funds expenditure between 1 January and 31 December 2026
- who will deliver the project and their experience in the hospitality and/or live performance industry
- projected costs i.e. how grant funding and co-contribution will be spent
- value for money – quotes for budget items over $1,000
- whether any expert advice has been sought in relation to appropriate equipment for the performance space e.g. quotes and/or consultant reports
- a draft programming plan including timings and types of performances
- a draft marketing plan including types of media and when promotion will take place have been operating for at least 12 months as a going concern.
Need for funding – weighting 25%
Applicants will be expected to:
- describe the venue’s current resources, ownership structure and access to support.
- Is the venue independently owned? Part of a hospitality group?
- describe the venue’s proposed performance space
- Is it already set up for live performances? Does it need updates? Upgrades? New equipment?
Risk – weighting 15%
Applicants should consider any risks that may impact the delivery and timeline of their project and how those risks can be mitigated.
Assessors will consider risks identified by applicants and any additional research conducted by the Department which is relevant to the application. This may include reviewing:
- compliance with NSW liquor laws, and any previous breaches
- compliance with the conditions of development consent, and any previous breaches
- consideration of the business or company’s management, its directors and officers or any other individuals that exercise control over an applicant
- assessment of other factors that may cause applicants to be unsuitable for support, such as any personnel or business activities that could cause reputational or other risk to the NSW Government
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Deputy Secretary, 24-Hour, Screen and Sound Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport
The grant program is an open, competitive grant. This means that:
- An eligibility check of all applications will be completed by members of the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commission, and Create NSW, who are familiar with the Live Performance Program.
- The Department may contact and provide information from your application to other NSW Government departments, agencies and other sources such as a probity advisor to verify information provided, and to assist in the assessment process.
- Applications containing insufficient, incomplete or incorrect information may be deemed ineligible.
- Applications which meet the eligibility criteria will progress to assessment.
- Eligible applications will be assessed by two assessment panels. One panel will assess regional applications and one will assess Sydney Metropolitan applications.
- When application numbers are high, panels will be split into multiple assessment groups of at least 3 assessors.
- Each assessment panel will be comprised of a chair and a minimum of two additional assessors, supported by an external probity advisor. These panel members will be relevant senior representatives from NSW Government departments, such as Hospitality and Racing, the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner and Create NSW. The panel/s may seek advice from external experts if required.
- The panels will assess all applications against the same assessment criteria as defined within the program Guidelines.
- Funding decisions will be based on the relative strength of each application across the assessment criteria and the availability of program funds within the relevant funding pool (Regional or Sydney Metropolitan).
- If the total funding for recommended applications in either category is less than the $1,250,000 funding pool, the difference may be used to fund applications from the other pool.
Successful applications will be approved by the Executive Director, Data, Strategy and Coordination, 24-Hour Screen and Sound, in the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport based on written recommendations from the assessment panel. The assessment process will be overseen by independent probity advisor, O’Connor Marsden.
Assessment process considerations
Applicants should note that:
- The NSW Government typically receives far more applications than it can support.
- If you are successful, your application may not be funded to the amount you requested.
The Department’s decision is final in all matters including:
- application eligibility
- the assessment outcome
- the approval of the grant; and the grant amount to be awarded.
The Department may, at its sole discretion and at any stage of the application or assessment process, do all or any of the following:
- Require additional information from an applicant.
- Request applicants to provide clarification or additional information regarding the Eligibility Criteria.
- Change the scope of the requirements of these guidelines.
- Vary, amend (including by replacement), or terminate the application process.
- Re-open an application after the closing date, provided it doesn’t give the applicant an advantage over other applicants.
- Consider any non-conforming or late application.
- Request further advice and/or clarification from applicants during the assessment process.
- Conduct its own research into an applicant, or information relevant to an application.
- Consider other factors that may affect our decision to provide the grant including whether there are any conflicts of interest, whether the applicant and any person associated with the applicant are fit and proper and whether there is any reputation risk associated with providing the grant.
Anticipated assessment outcome date is end November 2025
Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is within one month of successful notification
Support and contact
Applicants are encouraged to thoroughly read through the Program Guidelines before beginning the application and attend at least one of the scheduled Pre-Application Information Sessions where you will also have the opportunity to ask questions.You can find them, along with Frequently asked questions, on our Program Guidelines and Resources page here.
If you still have queries, please contact us via email between 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) at liveperformance@24houreconomy.nsw.gov.au.