Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Grants of up to $3,000.00
- Application opened: 14 July 2025
- Application closed: 25 August 2025, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The aim of the Country Arts Support Program is to support community arts and cultural development in regional NSW through small grants that:
- Assist locally determined community arts and cultural activities
- Increase opportunities for regionally based groups to access a diverse range of arts programs
- Enable communities to explore and express their cultural identities
- Bring social and economic benefits to the community through training, employment and promotional opportunities
- Lead to greater awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity
- Increase the sustainability and resilience of regionally based community arts organisations
Image credit: House of Jazz Collective performing at Nundle Memorial Hall. Image supplied by Arts North West.
This program is administered by Create NSW.
Eligibility
Who can apply
WHO CAN APPLY?
• A not-for-profit incorporated body
• A local government authority
• A collective with a nominated administering body
• Applicants are required to have a current certificate of currency for Broadform Liability or ‘Public Liability’ Insurance
• Applicants who have discussed their project with the relevant regional arts development organisation via phone 0493 316 463 or email rado@artsnw.com.au
• The eligible local government area’s include:
• Armidale Regional
• Glen Innes Severn
• Gunnedah Shire
• Gwydir Shire
• Liverpool Plains Shire
• Moree Plains Shire
• Narrabri Shire
• Tamworth Regional
• Tenterfield Shire
• Uralla Shire
• Walcha Council
Location that are eligible include Armidale Regional, Glen Innes Severn, Gunnedah, Gwydir, Liverpool Plains, Moree Plains, Narrabri, Tamworth Regional, Tenterfield, Uralla, Walcha
Types of projects funded under this grant
Projects including but not limited to:
• Workshops
• Arts activities as part of community festivals or events
• Artist-in-residence programs
• Public art and design projects
• Performances
• Arts and cultural directories
• Community seminars and forums
• Exhibitions
• Other local arts initiatives
When the project can start and end
KEY DATES
• Applications Open: 9.00am 14 July, 2025
• Applications Close: 5.00pm 25 August, 2025
• Successful Applicants Notified: 3 September, 2025
• Projects are to take place between 1 October, 2025 and 1 July, 2026
The project should be started by 1 October 2025 and the project must be completed by 1 July 2026.
Who can’t apply
WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
• Applicant based outside of the Arts North West service area.
• Individuals
• Interstate organisations
• Professional touring groups
• Commercial enterprises
• Groups/ensembles and unincorporated associations with no administering body
• Regional Conservatoriums
• Those who have already received CASP Funding
• Organisations that have applied for or received Create NSW funding for the same activity
• Previous recipients where the use of the grant did not, in the opinion of the CASP state assessment panel, conform to the spirit and intentions of these guidelines
• State and federal government departments, including schools (except P&Cs who are incorporated)
• Organisations that have overdue reports or acquittals for any funding programs administered by RANSW and/or Create NSW
• Applicants who have not discussed their project with the relevant regional arts development organisation.
Types of projects not funded under this grant
CASP WILL NOT FUND:
• Core administrative costs, office costs or the purchase of equipment
• Capital expenses
• Competitions
• Fundraising events
• Prizes and adjudication fees
• Applicants who have already received Create NSW funding for the same activities
• General operating expenses or ongoing costs of long-term continuous projects
• Projects that have commenced or are completed Sporting activities
• Activities which could be considered part of the curriculum for schools or tertiary institutions
• Rent, prize money or gifts
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
CHECKLIST
• All support material must be relevant to your project and submitted with your application.
• If your project involves working with children and young people participants must supply a current Working with Children Check Number (WWCC).
• Applicants should consider access for People with Disability in their information and events.
• Applications with creative content and/or stated intended outcomes relating to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander artists, communities or their activities must provide letters of support from relevant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists and/or communities. Please follow this link to view Create NSW Aboriginal Arts and Culture Protocols
• Applications must have a current certificate of currency for Broadform Liability or ‘Public Liability’ Insurance.
• With the exception of local government, all applicants are required to provide a current financial report for your organisation (and your administering body, if applicable) with your application.
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
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
• Artistic and cultural merit (Merit)
• Relevance, extent and depth of community engagement and participation (Impact)
• Evidence of adequate planning, budgeting and capacity to manage the project (Viability)
Priority is given to projects which address these criteria with consideration given to each region’s arts and cultural resources and requirements.
Start the application
You must contact your relevant Regional Arts Development Organisation to discuss your application before it is submitted. Applications from organisations based in eligible local government areas that do not contribute to a Regional Arts Development Organisation can contact Create NSW.
To apply to the 2025 CASP funding round you need to complete and submit an application form through our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants. You will be required to create a SmartyGrants account before you can proceed with your application. You should save your application form regularly and allow plenty of time to review your application before submission.
All applications must be submitted via the Country Arts Support Program (CASP) 2025 Application in SmartyGrants by 5.00pm 25 August, 2025. Applications will not be accepted after that time.
Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Apply now
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Arts North West Assessment Panel
Once your application is received and has been deemed eligible, it will be assessed, rated and prioritised by the CASP Regional Assessment Panel in your region. Applications from organisations based in non-contributing local government areas will be assessed by a separate assessment panel.
Create NSW staff will make final recommendations with reference to the assessment criteria, artform, demographics and the distribution, range and scale of recommended applicants.
This may include prioritising applicants living and/or working in regional NSW, people living and/or working in Western Sydney, Aboriginal people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds, people with disability and young people. Prioritisation of recommended applicants ensures equity across the state and the best outcomes for NSW Government investment.
Anticipated assessment outcome date is 03/09/2025
Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is 13/09/2025
Support and contact
Please contact the Arts North West Executive Director, to proceed with your application .
Phone 0493 316 463 during business hours or email rado@artsnw.com.au