First Nations Feature Development Grant

  • Up to $30,000 per application, or up to $45,000 if a producer is attached
  • Applications open all year round
  • Decisions made in approximately six weeks

This grant supports Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers, with demonstrated experience, to develop an idea they wish to explore in a longer feature format.

Key Requirements

Applicants can be a producer, writer or writer/director must be Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander practitioners.

The director (if attached), any co-directors, and the writer must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander with at least two eligible drama credits in their respective roles.

In the case of co-writing teams, made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers, the original concept must come from the First Nations Australian writer.

Producers must be an experienced producer, have at least two eligible drama credits or an emerging producer applying in conjunction with an experienced producer.

Applications must meet Screen Australia’s Terms of Trade.

What is eligible for funding?

Funding is available for the further development of a treatment and/or draft scripts, project development as well as fees for writer, producer, director, story consultant, research, and/or securing production financing.

What companies are eligible for funding?

To be eligible for assistance from Screen Australia’s First Nations Department:

  • a sole applicant must be an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander practitioner
  • projects must have Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander practitioners in key creative roles – at least as writer and director, and in the case of writing teams the lead writer must be First Nations Australian

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.