FIRST NATIONS
SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
Travel Grants

The Travel Grants program is designed to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers in travelling to key international and Australian events. Professional development is a key objective.

Funding is available to support travel costs associated with attending:

• recognised film festivals and pitching forums where an applicant’s film has been selected or invited to attend
• events where the applicant or their film has been nominated for an award
• key international markets
• conferences and workshops providing significant professional development opportunities.

What funding is available?

Requests can be for domestic or international travel supported by a budget for:

• Up to $6,000 for International travel 
• Up to $3,000 for travel within Australia 

Only in exceptional circumstances will we provide funding outside of this amount.

Any hospitality offered by the event must be disclosed and any travel funding from other sources must be listed in the application form, including Screen Australia’s Business and Audience Department and state agencies.

Screen Australia’s First Nations Department will take into account any travel funds provided by Screen Australia’s Business and Audience Department and by state agencies, and the actual costs of travel from the applicant’s current place of residence.

Screen Australia will not provide funds retrospectively.

Who can apply?

Applicants and their projects must meet the general eligibility requirements set out in Screen Australia’s Terms of Trade in addition to the following:

• Applicants must be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians.
• Travel grants are for Australian residents. Australians living overseas are not eligible.
• The event must be one of those listed under 'Eligible events' below. In exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of Screen Australia, an event not on the current list may be considered if it has grown in significance and/or offers unique commercial opportunities.
• Proof of selection/invitation/nomination must be provided for all applications with the exception of travel to markets and conferences.
• For markets, the applicant must be a producer with at least one active project in development to pitch.
• For award ceremonies, the applicant must be nominated for an award, or the producer or director of a film nominated for an award.
• Where a project has been invited to screen at an eligible festival, applications will be considered for travel by key Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cast members, as well as key creatives.
• Practitioners may receive only one travel grant through this program within a 12-month period, other than in exceptional circumstances.

What is the process?

Applications can be submitted at any time via the Application Portal and are considered by Screen Australia executives, with industry specialists consulted as required. Screen Australia will advise applicants in writing of the success or otherwise of their application. 

Applications can generally be made at any time at least 5 weeks before the event. 

Decisions will be made within 2–4 weeks from receipt of the application or in accordance with event deadlines.  Please also keep in mind further contracting time in order to receive your first drawdown on top of the turnaround decision time.

Funding decisions will be made against the following equally weighted criteria

For all events:

• the professional development benefit to the applicant.

For film festivals and award ceremonies:

• the potential exposure for the film
• the strategic impact on the applicant’s career.

For markets and pitching forums:

• the suitability of the particular market/forum to the project(s) being pitched
• the readiness of the project(s) to be pitched.

For conferences and workshops:

• the quality and relevance of the conference or workshop program
• the applicant’s track record including previous filmmaking experience, and their demonstrated commitment to a career in the film industry.

All of the above criteria are equally weighted.

Other factors, including availability of funds and status of the event, may also influence Screen Australia’s funding decisions.

Terms of funding

Funding through this program is provided as a grant.

Funding recipients are expected to deliver:

• a report after completing the travel, including an update on any career developments which have arisen as a result of attending the event
• a statement of expenditure.