Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: $5,000 - $150,000
- Application opened: 19 June 2026
- Application closes: 16 July 2026, 2:00 pm
Program objective
The objectives of the Industry Development Program are to:
- Deliver a dynamic and inclusive range of professional development opportunities to emerging and mid-career screen and digital games practitioners across NSW
- Contribute to the growth of a skilled, sustainable and globally competitive screen and digital games industry in the state
- Support employment, professional networks and long-term career pathways for NSW-based practitioners through targeted funding for professional development and career advancement initiatives
- Strengthen the capability and capacity of skilled screen and digital games organisations operating across the state
- Fund skilled organisations to continue to seek, foster and strengthen the upskilling of the next generation of screen and digital games practitioners
- Promote collaboration, business development and strategic partnerships across the screen and digital games sectors
- Bolster initiatives that promote upskilling, innovation and adoption of best practices among NSW screen and digital games practitioners
- Increase upskilling opportunities for practitioners from the NSW Government key priority areas:
- Regional NSW
- Western Sydney
- First Nations people
- People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- People living with disability
- LGBTQIA+ people.
The Industry Development Program is funded and administered by Screen NSW, a division within the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport (DCITHS).
This program is administered by Screen NSW.
Eligibility
Who can apply
Please see the Screen NSW website for the full Program Guidelines.
To be eligible for funding under the Industry Development Program, applicants must:
- Be an Australian organisation, including:
- Companies and not-for-profit incorporated bodies
- Co-operatives, trusts or local government authorities
- A consortium or a group of organisations working collaboratively*
- Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Be legally constituted and able to provide proof of legal status
- Adhere to general eligibility requirements under the Screen NSW Terms of Trade.
*In the case of a consortium or group of organisations working collaboratively, one eligible organisation must be nominated as the lead organisation. If successful, the funding grant agreement will be between Screen NSW and the lead organisation.
Types of projects funded under this grant
Funding is available for initiatives that deliver dynamic and innovative upskilling opportunities for emerging and mid-career NSW screen and digital game practitioners.
Eligible one-off or annual initiatives may include:
- Workshops
- Masterclasses
- Forums or industry conferences
- Talent or project development labs
Targeted professional development and upskilling activities.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
With regard to the Assessment Criteria, applicants must prepare responses to all questions and submit all core materials listed on the application form, including:
- Description and rationale of initiative, including any proposed delivery partners
- Demonstrated demand for initiative
- Initiative engagement and participation, including target demographics and inclusion of any NSW Government key priority areas
- Location/s for delivering the initiative
- Budget, including other sources of financial and/or in-kind support
- Organisational capacity to deliver initiative, including key team members
- Marketing strategy and target participants
- Milestones, outcomes, and key performance indicators
- Relevant support material (see information below)
- Additional application materials if seeking Multi-Year Funding (see information further below).
Support material
Support material plays a vital role in how we understand and assess applications. Please submit high-quality support material that is concise, current and directly relevant to the proposed initiative.
Support material for proposals involving the First Nations arts and cultural sector and/or First Nations people, organisations and cultural material must include letters of support and confirmation of involvement from the relevant communities and/or organisations (see NSW Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Protocols).
Other support material may include:
- A program of activities
- Relevant and recent examples of delivering similar initiatives
- A brief biography or CV for any screen practitioners or key collaborators involved in the initiative (maximum one A4 page per person)
- Confirmation letters and/or letters of support related to your initiative (provided as one document), such as from partners, venues, key sector contacts or other funding agencies.
Please submit support material in the amount and format required, including:
- Combined files not exceeding 25MB
- Up to five minutes of video or audio recording
- No zipped or compressed files
- Documents in PDF format where possible
- Links for externally hosted work only.
Multi-Year – Additional support materials
Applicants seeking Multi-Year funding must also provide:
- A business plan that demonstrates the applicant organisation’s viability for the period of funding (2 or 3 years) including other sources of funding and the most recent annual report (which must contain most recent financial statement)
- A detailed budget of proposed initiatives and activities over the requested funding periods
- A Strategic Plan outlining:
- The proposed initiatives and activities over the requested funding periods
- Mission and Vision statements.
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.
Start the application
Screen NSW uses the SmartyGrants platform for submission of all applications. Applications made using any other format will not be accepted.
A preview of the application form can be viewed on the SmartyGrants portal.
Late applications
Late applications due to technical difficulties will be reviewed and eligibility determined with absolute discretion by the Manager, Industry & Audience Development, Screen NSW.
A request for late submission due to technical difficulties must be submitted by email to industry@screen.nsw.gov.au within 60 minutes of the application close time, setting out the reasons for the request, along with any evidence.
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: Executive Director, Screen NSW (or their financial delegate)
Eligibility
Applications will be initially assessed by Screen NSW staff to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria, and that all application materials are acceptable. Applications deemed ineligible will not proceed to the formal assessment process.
Screen NSW will inform all ineligible applicants via email within 14 days of this outcome.
Assessment and Recommendations
Eligible applications will proceed to formal assessment by an assessment team, which includes a minimum of one Screen NSW staff member and at least two external industry subject matter experts.
Grant funding allocation under the Industry Development Program follows a competitive process. This means that the assessment team evaluates applications against the:
- Assessment criteria
- Strength of other applications
- Availability of Screen NSW funds.
The assessment team will assess and score applications individually, before meeting to discuss the overall applicant pool and identifying a shortlist of recommended successful applications. All applications are based on their overall score and recommended in order of ranking.
Support and contact
Screen NSW Industry and Audience team (industry@screen.nsw.gov.au)