Aboriginal funding

Funding for programs and projects to celebrate Aboriginal culture and preserve history and traditions.

Arts Activities in Regional Communities

Funding for projects that support participation in, access to and creation of arts and culture in regional Western Australia.

For arts and cultural projects in regional WA that align with the following objectives:

  • Increase access to and/or participation in arts and culture in regional Western Australia.
  • Provide employment opportunities, skills development or/and career pathways for regional Western Australian artists and arts workers.
  • Encourage development of regional creative and cultural industries including cultural tourism.
  • Support community led activities and creative developments.
  • Contribute to social inclusion, wellbeing, cohesion and vibrancy in regional WA communities.

Available for

  • Aboriginal communities
  • Groups
  • Individuals
  • Organisations
  • Regional local governments

Categories and amounts

  • Creative Projects (Up to $60,000)
  • Creative and Cultural Planning (Up to $50,000)

Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups

Offering between $5000 and $80,000 funding for artists and creative industry professionals to deliver a one-off project or a program of activity.

The program supports the development and growth of a vibrant sector that promotes the participation and active engagement of Western Australian communities in high quality arts and cultural experiences.

Available for

  • Groups
  • Individuals

Categories and amounts

  • Creative Development (Between $5000 and $80,000)
  • Arts and Creative Business Development (Between $5000 and $80,000)
  • Aboriginal Arts (Between $5000 and $80,000)

Arts Projects for Organisations

Offering between $5000 and $80,000 funding for arts and creative industry organisations to deliver a one-off project or a program of activity.

The program supports the development and growth of a vibrant sector that promotes the participation and active engagement of Western Australian communities in high quality arts and cultural experiences.

Available for

  • Organisations

Categories and amounts

  • Creative Development (Between $5000 and $80,000)
  • Annual Program of Activity (Between $5000 and $80,000)
  • Arts and Creative Business Development (Between $5000 and $80,000)
  • Aboriginal Arts (Between $5000 and $80,000)

Arts Short Notice Activity Program

The Arts Short Notice Activity Program (Arts SNAP) for individuals and groups offers funding for regional, national and international short notice activities for artists and creative industry professionals.

The program supports the growth of a vibrant sector that promotes the participation and active engagement of Western Australian artists and arts workers in high quality arts and cultural opportunities. Grants of up to $5000 for national and regional opportunities, and up to $10,000 for international, are available for individuals and groups. 

Available for

  • Groups
  • Individuals

Categories and amounts

  • Regional and national opportunities (Up to $5000)
  • International opportunities (Up to $10,000)

Connecting to Country

Supports projects that enable Western Australian Aboriginal people and organisations to undertake on Country activities that foster the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, preservation of culture and strengthening of communities.

The program intends to:

  • facilitate sharing of cultural knowledge and skills between generations, such as the preservation of language, stories and dance
  • recognise Aboriginal cultural leadership within the Aboriginal community and support leadership development in young people
  • contribute to stronger community mental health and wellbeing
  • strengthen, protect and maintain traditional ways of maintaining cultural knowledge.

Available for

  • Aboriginal communities
  • Community organisations
  • Education institutions
  • Groups
  • Individuals
  • Industry representative bodies
  • Local governments

Categories and amounts

Contemporary Music Fund Development Program

The Contemporary Music Fund (CMF) assists homegrown contemporary music artists with projects that enable them to produce and promote their work, along with building links nationally and internationally.

The Contemporary Music Fund Development Program supports career changing opportunities for individuals, bands and music industry professionals.

The program offers up to $20,000 funding for professional development, sector development, international, national, and regional touring/showcasing opportunities, and recording and promotional activities. 

For the purpose of this program, contemporary music is defined as music that is currently being written and recorded and/or performed, with priority given to music that is broadly understood as popular.

The CMF Development Program is designed to complement existing creative industries grant programs.

Applicants must clearly demonstrate how the opportunity or activity will develop their career and why it is particularly timely.  

Available for

  • Community organisations
  • Groups
  • Individuals

Categories and amounts

  • Regional, national and international touring/showcasing, professional development, and recording and promotional opportunities (Offers up to $20,000 funding)

Creative Learning

This program partners schools, creatives, and organisations to embed creativity into students' learning and understanding across curriculum areas.

The Creative Learning program offers funding to support creative learning projects and the development of creative learning practices in schools. The program invites Western Australian schools, creatives, and organisations to partner, connect and learn about creative processes.

Creative learning encourages the use of insight, imagination, intuition, connection, questioning, immersive practice, reflection, process driven practice, design, research, fieldwork and observation.

The 3 program categories, Partnerships, Collaborations and Residencies, support activities utilising arts-based practice to engage students in their learning beyond arts curriculum areas. These activities do not replace the learning in the arts curriculum subject areas.

Projects will support access, participation and overall engagement for students (K to 12) and develop educators’ capacity to use creative pedagogy through professional learning with creative practitioners.

The funded project should be designed as a series of transformative creative learning experiences that is inclusive of multiple curriculum areas and demonstrates deep learning through creativity.

Available for

  • Arts organisations
  • Community organisations
  • Cultural organisations
  • Groups
  • Individuals
  • Local governments
  • Organisations
  • Not-for-profit organisations
  • Primary schools
  • Secondary schools

Categories and amounts

  • Partnerships (Grants of $80,000 to $120,000 per annum for 2 year projects)
  • Collaborations (Grants of up to $60,000)
  • Residencies (Grants of up to $20,000)

Creative Learning Partnerships Program

Increasing access for students and teachers to engage in enriched learning through arts experiences.

The Creative Learning Partnerships Program offers grants between $60,000 and $250,000 per annum to deliver 2-year creative learning programs. 

The Creative Learning Partnerships Program enhances students’ (years 2 to 9) and educators’ creative learning capabilities in and through the arts. Programs will build educators' pedagogical capacities and increase access to and participation in the arts, cultural and creative activities.

A key concern addressed through the program is those students who are disadvantaged and least likely to have access to such opportunities to enrich their overall learning and engagement. As part of the Creative Learning Partnerships Program, arts organisations will work with identified clusters of schools to deliver programming over two years.

Available for

  • Education institutions
  • Organisations
  • Primary schools
  • Secondary schools

Categories and amounts

  • Creative Learning Partnerships Program ($60,000 to $250,000 per annum to deliver two-year creative learning programs)

Creative WA Fellowships

The Creative WA Fellowships program supports individual artists and creatives to undertake creative development, skills development and forge career pathways via individual arts fellowships.

This program supports the Creative WA vision to grow and sustain thriving culture, arts and creative industries in Western Australia.

Available for

  • Individuals

Categories and amounts

Creative WA Internships

The Creative WA Internships program offers organisations the opportunity to provide internships for individuals to undertake skills development and forge career pathways.

Internships of $70,000 are available for an organisation to employ a young person or recent graduate.

Up to 3 Creative WA Internships will be offered each year.

This program supports the Creative WA vision to grow and sustain thriving culture, arts and creative industries in Western Australia.

For a list of other opportunities available across Australia for WA residents, see fellowships, residencies and internships.

Available for

  • Organisations

Categories and amounts

  • Creative WA Internships ($70,000)

Creativity and Wellbeing for Young People

Supporting projects for children and young people to engage in authentic creative and artistic experiences, promoting positive social and emotional wellbeing.

The Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport and Healthway recognise the importance of providing opportunities for children and young people to engage in authentic creative and artistic experiences, promoting positive social and emotional wellbeing.

The program will support the engagement of creative practitioners to use the arts as a vehicle to reach priority communities and increase opportunities for young people to engage in continuous creative activities to encourage agency, creativity, connection and resilience. The program also supports activities to build preventative health initiatives aimed at supporting participants’ mental health and fostering social and emotional wellbeing. 

Available for

  • Artists
  • Local governments
  • Organisations
  • Not-for-profit organisations

Categories and amounts

Kids Access All Areas Vouchers program

The Kids Access All Areas Vouchers program will give WA children the chance to experience the joy of arts and culture — connecting families with local performances and supporting the creatives who make them possible.

The Kids Access All Areas Vouchers program is an exciting new initiative for Western Australian children aged 5 to 15 to attend arts and cultural events. Up to 25,000 vouchers will be available each year over 2 years.

Parents and guardians of children aged 5 to 15 can reserve one $50 voucher per child, up to a maximum of 4 children for $200.

Available for

  • Individuals

Categories and amounts

  • Kids Access All Areas Vouchers (One $50 voucher per child, up to a maximum of 4 children for $200)

KidSport

KidSport helps Western Australian children take part in community sport and swimming lessons.

KidSport enables eligible Western Australian children aged 5 to 18 years to participate in community sport by offering them financial assistance towards club fees, and in some cases essential uniforms and equipment.

Available for

  • Individuals

Categories and amounts

  • KidSport application ($300)

Partnership Acceptance Learning Sharing (PALS)

Grants for WA schools to promote and advance reconciliation.

The Partnership Acceptance Learning Sharing (PALS) program encourages WA schools to develop projects promoting and advancing reconciliation in their local community. By supporting projects that enhance the education and understanding of Aboriginal cultures, achievements and histories in the classroom, we gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and diversity of Aboriginal people, which is key to recognising our shared histories and unified futures.

The PALS program objectives are:

  • Partnership between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people based on trust, mutual respect and understanding.
  • Acceptance of and respect for diversity and valuing Aboriginal perspectives.
  • Learning more about each other, Aboriginal histories, languages and cultures; and how we can build strong partnerships with Aboriginal people.
  • Sharing a common journey towards healing and reconciliation.

Available for

  • Primary schools
  • Secondary schools

Categories and amounts

  • Connecting to Country and Culture
  • Community Relationships
  • History
  • Arts
  • Inclusive Environments
  • Language

Regional Aboriginal Arts Development

Funding for projects that support the development of Aboriginal artists and the Aboriginal arts and cultural sector in regional Western Australia.

For Aboriginal arts and cultural projects in regional and remote WA that align with one or more of the following objectives:

  • support the development of significant and large-scale works created and produced by Aboriginal artists in regional Western Australia
  • showcase the unique stories of Western Australia’s First Nations peoples and engage new and diverse audiences
  • support regional Aboriginal arts and cultural organisations to develop strategic, business, succession, sustainability, and/or governance plans
  • support audience development and economic diversification by strengthening Aboriginal arts and cultural organisations and industry
  • support long-term skills development goals for Aboriginal arts workers, artists and communities
  • enable employment opportunities and improve economic growth for regional Aboriginal artists, arts workers and communities.

Available for

  • Aboriginal communities
  • Community organisations
  • Groups
  • Individuals
  • Regional organisations

Categories and amounts

  • Creative development (Grants of up to $150,000)
  • Business development and capacity building (Grants of up to $50,000)

Regional Performing Arts

Funding to support the development of new performing arts work and touring of existing performing arts work in regional Western Australia.

The Regional Performing Arts — Made in WA category supports the development of new performing art works, which are relevant and responsive to regional audiences and communities, that will be premiered in regional venues.

The Regional Performing Arts — Playing WA category supports the touring of WA produced performing arts shows to regional and remote communities in Western Australia.

Available for

  • Groups
  • Individuals
  • Organisations
  • Regional local governments

Categories and amounts

  • Made in WA (Up to $150,000)
  • Playing WA (Up to $150,000)

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Page reviewed 12 June 2025