2026-27 Quick Response Fashion Grant Program

Program objective

Quick Response Fashion Grants support business development and industry engagement, with dedicated funding for First Nations, Western Sydney and regional NSW applicants.  The Program will enable emerging designers to purchase essential fashion and textile equipment or pursue professional development opportunities. 

Grants of up to $10,000 are available for:

1. professional development opportunities; or
2. purchase of equipment

A total of $500,000 (ex GST) is available for the 2026-2027 financial year, with $250,000 allocated to First Nations, Western Sydney, and regional NSW emerging designers and businesses.

The Program supports emerging fashion and textile design practitioners and businesses to grow, helping sustain NSW’s fashion industry.  

The Program aims to provide opportunities for applicants to:   

• undertake professional development for their career progression 
• produce new works  
• show works in new ways  
• gain access to equipment to further their work.  

The intended outcomes of the Program are: 

• skill and experience development  
• expanded professional networks across NSW  
• increased industry recognition (e.g. media, trade shows, publications) 
• strengthened career development and/or business capability.

The Quick Response Fashion Grant Program is funded and administered by Create NSW.

The Program will be administered in accordance with the NSW Grants Administration Guide.

Image: Ngali Credit: Lucas Dawson

This program is administered by Create NSW.

Eligibility

What your application needs to include

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: Director, Program Development and Delivery, Create NSW

This grant program is an open and competitive grant program. All applications are to be submitted and assessed through the process below. 

Create NSW aims to allocate $250,000 of the Program budget to First Nations designers and applicants from Western Sydney and regional NSW.  

Applications are assessed on a rolling basis, in Tranches. That is, application received within the following periods will be assessed together.

Tranche 1:

From 10:00am Monday 17 August 2026 to 11:59pm Thursday 10 September 2026

Tranche 2:

12:00am Friday 11 September 2026 to 11:59pm Thursday 1 October 2026

Tranche 3:

12:00am Friday 2 October 2026 to 11:59pm Thursday 29 October 2026

Tranche 4:

12:00am Friday 30 October 2026 to 2:00pm Thursday 19 November 2026

Please note: Create NSW staff are available to answer questions Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Applications submitted after midnight on the closing date will be considered in the next Tranche.

Eligibility Assessment 

All submitted applications are initially reviewed against the eligibility criteria set out above in the program guidelines. Eligibility assessments will be conducted by Create NSW staff. 

If further information is required to determine the applicant’s or application’s eligibility, a request will be made to the applicant in writing before the eligibility assessment is completed. Where an application’s eligibility remains uncertain, a final eligibility determination will be made by the Director, Program Development and Delivery. 

If an application is deemed ineligible, applicants will be notified by email within 7 days from the Tranche closing date. 

Eligible applicants will proceed to the next stage of the assessment process. 

Application Assessment  

Assessments will be conducted by an assessment panel comprising representatives with relevant experience and skill, including a senior representative from Create NSW, and external experts/advisors from the fashion and textile industry.   

The assessment panel will assess all eligible applications against the published assessment criteria.  

The assessment panel’s scores will be amalgamated and presented at an assessment meeting to determine their final recommendations. They will consider the assessment criteria, distribution, range, and scale of the initial recommendations. This may include prioritising applications and activities with outcomes that better meet the Program objectives, such as the geographic or demographic targets set for the program, or address and ensure equity and the best outcomes for NSW Government investment. 

The NSW Government typically receives far more applications than it can support. You are not guaranteed funding even if your application meets the assessment criteria.

Due diligence and other checks  

At any time during the assessment process, Create NSW may undertake due diligence or other checks on an application. This may include, but is not limited to:  

• financial checks such as ASIC searches to confirm the financial status or financial viability of the applicant  
• criminal checks  
• internal conflict checks 
• commissioning or completing research, analysis and modelling to support assessments
• contacting identified project participant organisations.  

Recommendation and decision making  

The Director, Program Development and Delivery Create NSW, makes the final decision to determine successful grant recipients. Where applicable, advice from a probity advisor may be considered in making the final decision.  

The Department has the discretion to reject, refuse or cease assessment of an application at any time. 

Notification of application outcome

All applicants will be notified via SmartyGrants email of the outcome of their applications within 5 weeks after the Tranche closing date.   

If you are successful, we will advise you of any specific conditions attached to the grant. This could include a request to keep the grant confidential for a specified period due to an announcement being made by the NSW Government in relation to the grant.  

The Department’s decision is final. 

Publication of grants information

The Grants Administration Guide (Guide) requires that certain information is published in relation to grants awarded no later than 45 calendar days after the grant agreement takes effect (see section 6.5 of the Guide and Appendix A to the Guide). This information is also open access information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act), which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.

In accordance with these requirements, relevant information about the grants awarded will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder as soon as possible after the grant funding is approved or declined.

All records in relation to this decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998.

Successful grant applications

The NSW Government makes no funding or other commitment to the successful applicant until all parties have signed a grant agreement. You must not make financial commitments reliant on this grant until the grant agreement is signed and executed by all parties.   

The grant will be paid to the nominated bank account only after the grant agreement has been executed by the relevant parties. Payment/payments will be made: 

• upon the receipt of correctly completed invoices
• within the specified timeframe set out in the grant agreement.

Create NSW may not issue a grant agreement and/or make payments until all outstanding Create NSW acquittals have been submitted.  Please refer to Contracts and Payments information for the process regarding successful applications.

All grant amounts are GST exclusive.

Variations to the grant agreement

Any variations to the funding agreement, including project scope or activities, location or timeframes outlined in the application form and Grant Guidelines must be submitted for approval from the Department. Failure to do so may result in the withdrawal of the grant offer.

The Department has the discretion to approve or reject any variation request from a grantee where the grant agreement has already been executed.

All variation requests must be submitted in writing to the Department. To request a variation, please complete and submit the variation form in SmartyGrants. If you are unsure if your request qualifies as a variation, contact creativeindustries@create.nsw.gov.au for assistance.

Unspent funds

All grant funds are required to be spent on the approved project, and any unspent funds must be returned to the Department in accordance with the terms and conditions of the grant agreement.  

Acquittal requirements

When you complete the project, you must submit a final report and an audited financial report for the Program. Final reports must:

• include details of the results achieved against the agreed project activities and explain how the project objectives have been met
• include the agreed evidence as specified in the funding agreement
• identify the total eligible expenditure incurred
• be submitted within 90 business days of completion in the format provided in the funding agreement.

Acknowledgement

All recipients of NSW Government funding should acknowledge this financial support in accordance with the Funding Acknowledgement Guidelines for Recipients of NSW Government Rebates available at nsw.gov.au/branding/sponsorship-and-funding-acknowledgment-guidelines.

You must seek our written consent prior to any significant public announcement, marketing, press announcements, or official launch in relation to the grant.

The NSW Government logo should be used on all materials related to grants provided to the funded activity. Whenever the logo is used, the publication must also acknowledge the NSW Government.

Evaluation

The Department regularly evaluates its initiatives to determine the effectiveness of implementation and to examine the extent to which outcomes and objectives have been achieved. Evaluations are conducted and published in line with requirements from NSW Treasury and the NSW Grants Administration Guide.

We may use information from your application, grant activities and reports you have submitted for this purpose. We may also interview you or ask you for more information to help us understand your experience with the grant program, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Program in achieving its objective(s) and outcomes. All applicants, whether successful or unsuccessful, may be contacted to participate in interviews or surveys for evaluation purposes.  

You consent to the use of your information for this purpose by:

• the Department
• NSW Treasury
• the Minister or Minister’s office
• the NSW Ombudsman and Audit Office of NSW
• office staff, consultants and advisers
• any agency or body of the NSW Government, or any other organisation or individual considered by the office to have a need or an entitlement to know that information (including any federal, state or territory agency or body), where that need or entitlement to know that information arises out of or in connection with the purpose above.

Complaint handling

Details on how we handle complaints, access to information and your private information is available at: https://www.create.nsw.gov.au/about-us/feedback-complaints-privacy-and-government-information. 

If the complaint is unable to be resolved, a complainant can refer the matter to the NSW Ombudsman for external review. Please note that the NSW Ombudsman will not consider a complaint unless the matter has been first raised directly with the Department.

Access to information.

The GIPA Act provides for the proactive release of government information by agencies and gives members of the public an enforceable right to access government information held by an agency (which includes Ministerial offices). Access to government information is only to be restricted if there is an overriding public interest against disclosure.

The NSW Legislative Council has the power to order the production of State papers by the Executive Government. Standing Order 52 provides that the House may order documents to be tabled by the Government in the House. The Cabinet Office coordinates the preparation of the papers – that is, the return to order. The return to order may contain privileged and public documents. Privileged documents are available only to members of the Legislative Council.

Note that documents submitted as part of a grant application may be subject to an application under the GIPA Act or an order for papers under Standing Order 52. 

More information about the Department’s practices for managing requests to access information under the GIPA and for publishing information is available on the Department’s Information access guide .

You can also contact Department by email or by post as follows:

Attn: Legal Officer (GIPA) Office of the General Counsel Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Email: information@dciths.nsw.gov.au McKell Building2-24 Rawson Place, Haymarket NSW 2000

 Ethical conduct

The Department will administer the grant in accordance with the published Grant Guidelines and the principles and processes set out in the NSW Grants Administration Guide.

The Department will implement measures and controls to enable a fair and transparent process and incorporate appropriate safeguards against fraud, unlawful activities, and other inappropriate conduct.

Conflict of interest management

Conflicts of interest are any factors that could compromise the judgement, decisions, or actions of a person or group of people.

Conflicts may arise if a party in the grants administration process, whether it be Department staff, assessment panel members, the applicant or staff employed by the applicant: 

• has a professional, commercial, or personal relationship with a party who can influence the application selection process
• has a relationship with or interest in, an organisation, which is likely to interfere with or restrict the applicants from carrying out the proposed activities fairly and independently
• has a relationship with, or interest in, an organisation from which they will receive personal gain because the applicant received a grant
• are involved in any other situations which could lead to unfavourable advantage.

Conflicts of interest for the Department will be handled as set out in the Department’s Code of Ethics and Conduct.

Applicants must disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest as part of their application or, if successful, as they arise during project implementation.

You must inform us as soon as you identify an actual, apparent or perceived conflict of interest.

NOTE: You are advised to contact us if you are unsure whether something constitutes an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

Risks are managed in accordance with Department’s risk management framework. Risk management, including fraud controls, will occur throughout the grant life cycle.

Confidentiality

Successful applicants may be required to keep the outcome of the application process confidential until the Government makes a public announcement. The Department follows all requirements of confidentiality required as part of the grants administration and assessment process as outlined in the NSW Grants Administration Guide.

Unless otherwise stated, any commercial-in-confidence provisions (as defined under the GIPA Act) provided by you as part of, or in connection with, a registration, application or negotiation process will be treated confidentially by the office. We may disclose commercial-in-confidence information provided by You to the following parties:

• The Minister or Minister’s office;
• the NSW Ombudsman and Audit Office of NSW;
• office staff, consultants and advisers;
• any agency or body of the NSW Government, or any other organisation or individual considered by the office to have a need or an entitlement to know that information (including any federal, state or territory agency or body), where the need or entitlement to know that information arises out of or in connection with the office’s assessment, verification or due diligence of any aspect of your application; and
• where authorised or required to by law.

If we disclose commercial-in-confidence information to any of the above parties, we will inform the party that the information is strictly confidential. We will otherwise only disclose commercial-in-confidence information provided by You with Your consent.

Privacy

The Department will collect and store the information you voluntarily provide to enable the implementation of this grant program.

The Department is required to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act). The Department collects the minimum personal information to enable it to contact an organisation and to assess the merits of an application. Applicants must ensure that people whose personal details are supplied with applications are aware that the Department is being supplied with this information and how this information will be used.

We treat your personal information in accordance with the PPIP Act and the Department’s privacy policy. This includes letting you know:

• what personal information we collect
• why we collect your personal information; and
• who we give your personal information to.

The personal information will only be used for the purpose for which it was collected unless an exemption applies.

Anticipated assessment outcome date is Five weeks after the Tranche closing date.

Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is Six weeks after the Tranche closing date.

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