Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: $0-$10,000 (specified by program stream)
- Application opened: 1 July 2026
- Application closes: 30 June 2027, 11:00 pm
Program objective
The objectives of the program are to:
- Support NSW practitioners to access strategic domestic and international opportunities that advance their projects, skills and careers
- Enable market-ready projects to connect with industry partners, financiers, buyers and audiences
- Deliver clear cultural and economic benefits to NSW including industry development, job creation and project progression
- Strengthen the global profile and competitiveness of NSW screen and digital games content and talent
- Increase participation and visibility of practitioners from Screen NSW priority areas.
This program is administered by Screen NSW.
Eligibility
Who can apply
Please see the Screen NSW website for the full, most-up-to-date Program Guidelines and Eligible Travel Destinations List.
There are four streams to this program:
- International Festival Travel
- International Market Travel
- Domestic Market Travel
- Partner Initiatives
All streams
All applicants must fulfil the following criteria:
- Be a screen or digital games practitioner(s) seeking to attend an event on the Eligible Travel Destinations List
- Be a NSW-based individual, project team or organisation:
- If an individual, the applicant must be over 18 years of age and a NSW resident who has lived and operated in NSW for at least six months immediately before the date of application
- If a project team, both applicants must be over 18 years of age, NSW residents as specified above and Key Creatives on the proposed project(s)
- If an organisation, the organisation must have their central management and control in Australia, have its principal place of business in NSW and be operating for at least six months immediately before the date of application. Organisation applicants can nominate up to two people, and each nominee must be over 18 years of age, a NSW resident and a Key Creative on the project(s).*
- Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Be an Australia citizen or full-time resident
- Own or control the necessary rights to any projects taken to the event or have the written permission of the rights holder to represent them.
*If an organisation is not NSW-based, the applicant must provide evidence of a genuine co-production partnership with a NSW-based organisation or producer, OR have at least one NSW-based Key Creative (writer, producer, director or game developer) attached to the proposed project(s) who will attend the event with assistance of this Fund.
International Festival Travel
In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the International Festival Travel stream must:
- Be invited to represent project(s) with confirmed screenings/showcases in the program of an approved international festival or major awards ceremony (see Eligible Travel Destinations List) and evidence of selection must be provided.
International Market Travel
In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the International Market Travel stream must:
- Have at least one market-ready game, or
- Have a slate of at least three market-ready screen projects.
Domestic Market Travel
In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the Domestic Market Travel stream must:
- Have at least one market-ready game or screen project
- Be an emerging to mid-career screen or digital games practitioner.
For the purpose of this program, Screen NSW defines an emerging or mid-career practitioner as someone who has the following experience levels:
- Emerging: Practitioners in the early stage of their careers with at least 1 year of professional screen experience in the same role they are applying as. They have a small number of credits (for example, short form or early independent work) and are building a track record of professional engagement.
- Mid-Career: Practitioners with a consistent body of professional credits across multiple projects. They demonstrate sustained practice, progression in role or scale (for example, moving into lead creative or producing roles) and evidence of industry engagement such as commissioning, broadcast, distribution, or festival selection.
Partner Initiatives
In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the Partner Initiatives stream must:
- Meet the eligibility requirements of the relevant Screen NSW supported initiative on the Eligible Travel Destinations List.
Types of projects funded under this grant
- Applicants cannot receive funding from this Program for more than two events per stream per financial year. If applying more than once, a strong case must be made to support this.
- Applicants must not be full-time secondary or tertiary students.
- Full-time or part-time current employees of federal, state or territory screen funding agency are not eligible to apply.
- The applicant must not be in breach of any obligation under any funding agreement it has with the NSW Government.
- Screen NSW general eligibility requirements can be found in the Screen NSW Terms of Trade, which should be read in conjunction with these guidelines.
What costs you can apply for
Available Funding
Funding caps vary by stream:
- For International Festival and International Market Travel: Up to $5,000 per individual, or up to $6,000 (total) for two or more team members
- For Domestic Market Travel: Up to $1,500 per individual, or up to $2,000 (total) for two or more team members (being from the same project or from the same organisation).
- For Partner Initiatives: Up to $10,000, with funding caps set per initiative as outlined in the Eligible Travel Destinations List
Successful applicants will be paid following execution of the funding agreement and must submit an acquittal report at the conclusion of travel.
Applicants may include co-contributions from other sources for costs not covered by Screen NSW.
For organisations and project teams, approved funding is tied to the nominated travellers and cannot be transferred without prior approval from Screen NSW.
What you can apply for
Funding through this program supports:
- Flights
- Accommodation
- Ground travel
- Travel insurance
- Per diems, and/or
- Event registration, including exhibition/showcase costs.
Screen NSW cannot fund travel retrospectively. Screen NSW expects applications to be submitted at least 8 weeks prior to your departure date.
What costs you can't apply for
We do not fund under this program:
- Marketing costs such as prints or publicity materials.
We do not fund travel associated with:
- Infotainment, lifestyle, travel, magazine, sports, education, game shows and other magazine-style productions*
- Current affairs and news
- Community television
- Shorts, short features (under 60 minutes duration) or experimental films
- Projects that are being produced as part of a course of study
- Games involving gambling services, as defined in Clause 4 of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth)
- Games involving ‘gambling’ and ‘unlawful game’ as defined in the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW)
- Games developed for advertising or corporate marketing
- Games made for internal training purposes
- Curriculum material
- Games that are likely to be Refused Classification under the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth)
- Games that are not completely digital (board games or hybrid digital/physical games).
*For further guidance on the distinction between infotainment, lifestyle, magazine programs and documentary/factual programs refer to the advice on Screen Australia’s website.
Example projects
We fund travel for events on the Eligible Travel Destinations List associated with:
- Feature films
- Digital games
- Short films (International festival premiere only)
- Adult and children’s television drama and narrative comedy including series, miniseries, web series and telemovies
- Content-rich factual and documentary television or web programs and series
- Animation series
- Creative interactive screen entertainment.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
You must submit all core materials listed on the application form. You must ensure, across the application form and supporting materials, to address the below points:
- Applicant information demonstrating their relevant track record, including CVs and bios for all travellers
- Planned activities, such as networking opportunities and proposed meeting list
- Statement of intended outcomes and objectives for attending the event
- Overview of the project(s) including synopsis, genre, audience, and project team.*
In addition to the above, applicants must provide:
- For International Market and Domestic Market Travel, evidence of market support, interest and/or commitment, and if relevant, any invitations to participate in competitive programs
- For International Festival Travel, evidence of festival selection or major awards nomination for your nominated event
- For Partner Initiative, evidence of acceptance into the initiative (if required, as per the Eligible Travel Destinations List).
*May not be required for Partner Initiative applications, where the supported initiative is not connected to a specific project.
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
Merit of the Opportunity (40%)
Merit of the opportunity relative to the applicant’s level of experience, including:
- Planned and targeted activities such as proposed or confirmed meetings and/or networking and professional development opportunities
- Appropriateness of the budget submitted
- Level of market-readiness of project(s) and/or likelihood the opportunity will assist the applicant’s next project.
Applicant Track Record (30%)
The track record of the applicant, including the financial track record and experience of the applicant, project team and/or organisation.
NSW Cultural and Economic Benefit (20%)
The potential of the travel opportunity to contribute to the NSW screen and/or digital games industries including how attendance will have a professional development benefit to the applicant.
Participation and Diversity (10%)
Diversity of the projects and/or applicants, and whether it increases participation from Screen NSW priority areas.
Other relevant factors and risks
Other relevant factors and risks may also be considered, as determined by Screen NSW, in its sole discretion, including:
- The geographical distribution of funding, the composition of the team and alignment to the Screen NSW Priority Areas [see Key Priority Areas above]
- Assessment of the applicant’s management, its directors and officers and entities or individuals that exercise control over an applicant against the eligibility criteria
- For screen projects, consideration of NSW-based Executive Producers for travel in exceptional circumstances where Screen NSW is not providing travel support for any other Key Creatives on the project
- Assessment of other factors that may cause applicants to be unsuitable for support, such as any personnel or business activities that could cause reputational or other risk to the NSW Government.
Start the application
Screen NSW uses the SmartyGrants platform for submission of all applications. Applications made using any other format will not be accepted. Please note you will receive a SmartyGrants acknowledgement of submission.
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)
Applications are received on a rolling basis and are assessed on the eligibility and selection criteria.
Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an email confirmation from our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants.
Applications will be initially reviewed by Screen NSW staff to ensure they meet eligibility requirements, and all application materials are acceptable. If your application is not eligible you will be notified by email within 28 days of receipt.
If your application is eligible, it will then be assessed by a minimum of one Screen NSW staff member or an external assessor with industry experience. The application will be then reviewed by an assessment panel including a minimum of three Screen NSW staff members, chaired by a Screen NSW Senior Manager or Manager, and may be attended by a probity representative.
Please note that funding allocation follows a competitive process. Evaluations will consider the assessment criteria outlined above, the availability of funds at Screen NSW, the quality of the application against other applications received during the same assessment period, and the applicant's need for Screen NSW funds.
Final recommendations will be made in writing for approval by the Executive Director, Screen NSW (or financial delegate).
We shall endeavour to notify you via email on the outcome of your application between four to six weeks from the date that Screen NSW acknowledges receipt of a completed application.
Support and contact
For further information or clarification, please contact the following teams:
- For all games-related enquiries: pdvgames@screen.nsw.gov.au
- For screen-related International Festival and International Market Travel: investment@screen.nsw.gov.au
- For screen-related Domestic Market Travel and Partner Initiatives: industry@screen.nsw.gov.au