2026 Professional Development - Next Steps

Program objective

In response to Creative Communities, the NSW arts, culture and creative industries policy, the purpose of this funding is to strengthen communities through equitable access to vibrant arts and cultural experiences. 

This funding could: 

• enable career development for artists and arts and cultural workers 
• support opportunities that develop cultural leadership capacities, skills and knowledge 
• promote professional networking and collaboration 
• helps individuals build the skills, wellbeing and resilience needed to thrive in their work. 

Image Credit: 2025 Breaking Ground: Women in Arts & Creativity Symposium: Photo credit: Isabella Moore for Diversity Arts Australia

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: Minister for the Arts

Applications are assessed by 10 Create NSW Artform Boards who provide recommendations to the NSW Minister for the Arts. More information on the Create NSW Artform Boards can be found here.

You must choose which Artform Board you wish to apply to. 

Once submitted, applications will undergo a staged assessment process, including assessment against eligibility and essential criteria, as outlined below.

Assessment Process

Pre-eligibility  

After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation email from SmartyGrants. Create NSW staff will check eligibility.

Assessment Stage 1

Artform Board members from your nominated Artform Board will score your application based on the assessment criteria.

Artform Boards:

• may set aside an application if it is below acceptable standard in any of the published criteria.
• may ask for an application to be reviewed by Create NSW First Nations staff. This is for applications that are working with First Nations arts and culture.

Assessment Stage 2  

Artform Board member’s assessment scores will be amalgamated and presented at the Artform Board assessment meetings to determine final recommendations.

Final recommendations by the Artform Boards will consider the assessment criteria, the funding objectives, the geographical distribution, and the range and scale of applications. This may include prioritising applications with outcomes that address ACFP Strategic Priority Areas, geographical distribution, and artform spread.

Assessment Stage 3

Create NSW will consolidate and finalise recommendations based on the Artform Boards’ assessments and recommendations, number of applications by artform, availability of funds, and geographical distribution and ACFP Strategic Priority Areas to ensure equity across the state and the best outcomes for NSW government investment.

Assessment process considerations

Applicants should note that: 

• The NSW Government typically receives far more applications than it can support.
• Funding allocation follows a competitive process. You are not guaranteed funding even if your application meets the published criteria.
• If you are successful, your application may not be funded to the amount you requested. 

Create NSW may, at its sole discretion and at any stage of the application process, do all or any of the following: 

• Require additional information from an applicant.
• May 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.  The purpose of clarifying information will be to resolve ambiguity – applicants will not be able to strengthen their application through this process.  

Create NSW may also use previously submitted applications and acquittal data to inform the decision making of this funding round.

Successful Grant Applications

If your application is successful: you will be sent a funding agreement (contract). This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your reporting requirements.

All applicants must have an active ABN with a nominated bank account or provide details of a funds administrator.

• Individuals must have a sole trader ABN or private company ABN (only if the individual is the sole director) or a funds administrator and a nominated bank account.

The Nominated Bank Account must be a separate account at a financial institution used solely for the Grant, or an existing general account at a financial institution where adequate internal financial controls are in place to identify the Grant.

All applicants must:

• complete an acquittal at the end of the funding period.
• acknowledge Create NSW funding in all publicity materials.

You may be asked by Create NSW staff to provide additional information as a special condition to the agreement:

• a Connection to Place Statement, reference letter or letters from First Nations peers or community groups, to show details of your Cultural Artform Affirmation and how you are working with First Nations Protocols and ICIP.
• a detailed budget
• other information as specified by the Artform Board.

Contracts will not be issued, and payments will not be made, until all Create NSW outstanding acquittals have been submitted.

Notification of application outcomes

All applicants will be notified by August 2026.

Create NSW does not provide individual feedback on applications. General feedback provided by the Artform Boards will be available once applicants are notified of the outcomes.

Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is within one month of successful notification.

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 (NSW) (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, including at minimum: the project name, the project location, the grant recipient name, and the grant recipient location or contact address will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder within 45 calendar days of the funding agreement being executed, unless an exemption applies. 

Please refer to Information for Funding Recipients for more detailed processes for successful applicants.  

This includes:

• Program evaluation
• Conflict of interest management
• Complaint handling, access to information and privacy.

Support and contact