Uptown Grant Program

The Uptown Grant Program aims to enable the development of districts into unique going-out destinations by supporting formally aligned groups of businesses in a local area (District Teams) to collectively work on enhancing their district's offering and building consumer engagement with their district.

The Program aims to:

• increase coordination and collaboration between businesses in distinct geographical areas
• support business models that allow for partnerships, including major events, brands and government
• increase the marketability of unique districts with distinct products developed
• increase consumer awareness and engagement with districts.

The Uptown Grant Program has been opened to District Teams across Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle, and Illawarra Shoalhaven.

The Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner provides grants to support the development and enhancement of the night-time economy in NSW. Each year grant programs are funded within the budget allocated annually to the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner by the NSW Government. Future rounds of grant programs are aligned to the priorities in the 24-Hour Economy Strategy and contingent on the government budget allocation. 

For more information about the grant programs, including previous rounds of funding, recipients and Program Guidelines please search the grant program on the Grants and funding webpage.

Uptown Grant Program - Round 4

The NSW Government has committed a further $4 million in funding to support Round 4 of the Uptown Grant Program.

Round 4 aims to support mature District Teams to further develop their local area into vibrant going-out hubs through the delivery of collective initiatives.

The value of the grant is from $100,000 to $120,000 (excl. GST)

District Teams that have already received two rounds or more of Uptown Grant Program funding will be required to co-contribute a minimum of 20% of the requested or final approved funding amount as additional funding.

Please refer to the Uptown Grant Program Guidelines Round 4 (PDF 435.25KB) and FAQs for further information, including eligibility criteria, assessment criteria and application process. 

Applications are now open. Visit the grants and funding page to apply. 

Applications close: Tuesday, 31 March 2026 at 2:00pm (AEDT)

Apply now

Information sessions

Information sessions were held on 2 March and 9 March 2026. Watch the recording to learn more about Round 4 of the Uptown Grant Program.

videocam 30:31

Uptown Grant Program - Round 3

The NSW Government committed a further $5.5 million in funding to support Round 3 of the Uptown Grant Program.

Round 3 of the Program provided the following funding opportunities:

• New Applicants – from $100,000 (excl. GST) to $200,000 (excl. GST) of seed funding to eligible District Teams to coordinate their district and for consumer engagement.
• Previous Recipients – from $50,000 (excl. GST) to $100,000 (excl. GST) of funding for previous Uptown Grant Program recipients that are working to self-sustainability and growing consumer engagement.
  • Districts that have already received two rounds of Uptown Grant Program funding will be required to co-contribute a minimum of 20% of the requested funding amount in additional funding.

Applications for the Uptown Grant Program – Round 3 closed on 29 January 2025.

Read the guidelines for New Applicants (PDF 3.7MB) and Previous Recipients (PDF 3.25MB), and review the FAQs for additional information.

Uptown Grant Program - Round 2

The NSW Government committed a further $6 million in funding to support Round 2 of the Uptown Grant Program.

Round 2 of the Uptown Grant Program provided the following funding opportunities:

• up to $200,000 (excl. GST) but no less than $100,000 (excl. GST) of seed funding to eligible District Teams to coordinate their district and for consumer engagement.
• $100,000 (excl. GST) of funding for previous Uptown Grant Program recipients that are working to self-sustainability and growing consumer engagement.

Applications for the Uptown Grant Program - Round 2 closed on 18 March 2024. 

For more information on the requirements of the second funding round, see Uptown Grant Program Guidelines Round 2 (PDF 4.37MB).

Download the booklet of the Round 2 funded Districts (PDF 22.28MB). 

Uptown Grant Program - Round 1

Round 1 of the Uptown Grant Program offered up to $200,000 (excl. GST) in seed funding to eligible District Teams to establish and coordinate their District and for consumer engagement.

Applications for the Uptown Grant Program - Round 1 closed on 9 March 2023.

For more information on the requirements of the first funding round, see Uptown Grant Program's Guidelines Round 1 (PDF 1.29MB).

Download the booklet of the Round 1 funded Districts (PDF 7.73MB)

Discover how the Uptown Program helped unlock capacity, connection and transformation across Greater Sydney’s 24-Hour Economy in the Uptown Program Evaluation Round 1 (PDF 3.97MB).