This is an open competitive Grant Program offered to NSW airports with the aim to attract new routes and increase seat capacity, driving visitor economy growth and encouraging regional dispersal.
Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: Up to $12500000 - to be matched by the applicant
- Application opened: 19 November 2025
- Application closes: 17 December 2025
Program objective
The NSW Take-Off Fund is a strategic aviation initiative designed to stimulate international and interstate aviation capacity into NSW and support the delivery of the additional 8.5 million aviation seats required to meet the 2035 visitor economy target of $91 billion in annual visitor expenditure.
The program aims to attract new routes and increase seat capacity, driving visitor economy growth and encouraging regional dispersal.
Objectives:
- Secure new or increased international and interstate capacity to airports servicing NSW
- Support sustainable route development aligned with market demand
- Enhance NSW’s competitiveness in the global aviation market
- Drive economic benefits through increased visitation and visitor expenditure.
Funding scope:
- Route establishment or expansion in the form of passenger subsidies for a period of up to two years
- Cooperative inbound marketing and promotional activities aligned with the NSW Aviation Marketing Toolkit for a period of up to two years.
Applications are now open and will be assessed against the eligibility and assessment criteria. Applications will close 17 December 2025 at 11:59 pm (AEST).
This program is funded and administered by Destination NSW.
Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- NSW Airports seeking new or expanded incremental services to the state.
- Routes serving the NSW priority markets of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, UK, Germany, France, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Vietnam and Interstate.
- For new routes, there must be a minimum of 3 weekly services.
- The additional capacity must commence prior to 30 June 2027.
- Applicants are required to match with cash the level of funding requested.
Who can apply
- NSW Airports seeking new or expanded incremental services to the state.
What your application needs to include
Applicants must provide:
- level of funding requested (noting this must be matched by the applicant in cash)
- intended route they are applying for
- the number of new/additional weekly frequencies of this route
- the proposed plane type and number of seats
- the timing of when the new/additional capacity would commence
- monthly seat and passenger forecast.
This data can all be provided in the Data Provision Template which is mandatory and must be submitted with your application.
Prepare your application with this checklist
Applicants are encouraged to:
- review the Take-Off Fund Guidelines in full
- check their eligibility for the program
- complete the Data Provision Template, this form is mandatory and must be submitted with your application.
- give consideration to the provision of advertising space to Destination NSW for destination marketing purposes
- start their application early during the application period to ensure they are completed in sufficient time before the closing date. Destination NSW is not responsible for delays to the submission of applications caused by technology, connection or other issues outside of its control.
- submit your completed application and Data Provision Template by email to aviation.funding@dnsw.com.au by the closing date.
Address the eligibility criteria
Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- NSW Airports seeking new or expanded incremental services to the state.
- Routes serving the NSW priority markets of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, UK, Germany, France, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Vietnam and Interstate.
- For new routes, there must be a minimum of 3 weekly services.
- The additional capacity must commence prior to 30 June 2027.
- Applicants are required to match with cash the level of funding requested.
Address the assessment criteria
Destination NSW is seeking applications from NSW airports looking for support in bringing new routes and increased seat capacity into NSW, to drive visitor economy growth.
Destination NSW will conduct an economic assessment on each application, and the internal assessment panel will score the application against the following criteria:
| Criteria | Weighting | Assessment Focus |
| Strategic alignment | 20% | Alignment with NSW visitor economy priority markets (Star performing, grow, maintain and emerging markets as per the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035), ability to contribute to target of 8.5m additional aviation seats |
| Market opportunity & route impact | 20% | Inbound demand analysis, route viability, connectivity benefits |
| Economic & tourism contribution | 45% | Visitor arrivals, visitor spend, jobs supported, Benefit-Cost ratio >1:1 |
| Marketing & amplification potential | 15% | Joint marketing plans, media/trade leverage e.g. Free Of Charge tickets, access to databases and other assets (e.g. inflight entertainment advertising). |
Start the application
- complete the Data Provision Template, this form is mandatory and must be submitted with your application.
- submit your completed application and Data Provision Template by email to aviation.funding@dnsw.com.au by the closing date.
- start their application early during the application period to ensure they are completed in sufficient time before the closing date. Destination NSW is not responsible for delays to the submission of applications caused by technology, connection or other issues outside of its control.
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Minister for Jobs and Tourism
The NSW Take-Off Fund is an open, competitive grant program.
Applications will be assessed in two phases by Destination NSW:
- Eligibility check
- Economic evaluation and alignment to assessment criteria.
Throughout the assessment process, Destination NSW may request additional information from the applicant.
Applicants will be advised via email and/or letter of the outcome of their grant application once approval is determined by the Decision-Maker.
Unsuccessful applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application.
Successful applicants will be advised of their application status and may be requested to keep the status and details confidential until an announcement is made.
Support and contact
For enquiries or support during the application process, please contact the Aviation and Grants Administration Team at aviation.funding@dnsw.com.au