What kind of activities will the program support?

The program supports eligible organisers to deliver a single live music festival or event, or a series of live music festivals or events. Grants between $250,000 and $1,000,000 are available to support the cost of planning and delivery of flagship and large-scale music events and music festivals with a capacity of at least 3000 in-person attendees, featuring contemporary live music in Victoria.

Please refer to the Program Guidelines for a full description of activities eligible for funding.

How much funding is available?

Live Music Restart Program – Festivals & Events provides $8 million to festival and event organisers to help them recover from the impact of rescheduled and cancelled events due to the pandemic.

If eligible to apply, you should make a single application seeking program funding of between $250,000 and $1,000,000 to support delivery of the proposed festivals and events.

What kinds of access costs are covered?

We strongly encourage you to consider inclusive ways of working and ensuring access to all audiences. Funding can be used to cover any access costs that help remove barriers for participants involved in your activity. You can also use the funding to make your activity accessible to a wider audience.

In your budget, please include any relevant costs to ensure that activities are accessible to Deaf and Disabled artists, workers and audiences.

Examples of access costs

Depending on type of activity and individual, access costs could include:

  • Access consultant - for support in designing an accessible space/event
  • Access/disability support workers
  • Assistive listening devices, audio loops etc
  • Audio description
  • Auslan interpreters
  • Blind or low-vision assistance
  • Braille in labelling, marketing, signage at venue, etc.
  • Captioning services (open/closed)
  • Support programs like Bandmates Victoria – Inclusive Arts Network
  • Disability concession pricing or subsidised ticket prices
  • Disability liaison person – for meeting and/or engaging with Deaf and/or Disabled people to be responsive to their access needs
  • Ergonomic equipment and/or an ergonomic consultant
  • Guide dog access
  • Hiring access aids/equipment
  • Plain English marketing material – short, simple sentences with pictures
  • Setting up a quiet or sensory space or session – to avoid sensory overload or provide sensory input to meet a sensory or mental health need
  • Staff and volunteer training e.g., disability awareness, communication, etc.
  • Therapy – counselling, physio, occupational therapy, etc.
  • Updating website and booking system to a more accessible user interface.

I want to make my activities/organisation more accessible, but I don’t know where to start?

Access costs vary depending on the project and services required. Find an Inclusive Practice Guide and a list of organisations in Victoria offering support to Deaf and Disabled people on Arts Access Victoria.

Arts Access Victoria (external)

Eligibility

I have received a Creative Victoria grant recently. Can I apply to this program?

Previous Creative Victoria grant recipients are eligible to apply to this program, provided:

  • they meet the eligibility criteria of the Festivals & Events program; and
  • the funding is for activities that aren’t currently receiving other Victorian Government funding as set out in the program guidelines.

My organisation/company is organising more than one applicable festival/event. Can I apply for funding for different projects/activities?

We will accept multiple applications per individual or organisation if the activities to be funded are for separate festivals/events, to a maximum of two festivals/events.

View the program page for program contacts.

I’ve organised large scale events over the past five years, but I’ve started a new company. Can I still apply for the grant?

An “organiser” means an organisation with the right to hold, cancel, re-schedule, collect the proceeds from ticket sales, and/ or re-locate a given event or festival. As part of your application, you must submit supporting material/documents including evidence of previous event delivery experience in Victoria. Documents you provide must be issued in the same company ABN as the one under which your application is submitted.

When can my activities commence?

We will not fund activities that start before December 2022. Do not enter into any arrangements or make any payments on the assumption you’ll receive support for activity prior to this date.

As Creative Victoria grants use public money, the allocation of funds through our grants programs requires significant scrutiny and you cannot be funded until this process has been completed. The Festivals & Events program does not support the reimbursement of paid invoices or other retrospective funding.

My festival previously ran with less than a 3000 in person capacity. If I’d like to increase capacity to 3000, can I apply to this program? 

No. To be eligible, you must demonstrate delivery of at least two live music festivals or events in Victoria since January 2017 with:

  • an in-person attendance greater than 3,000 people; and
  • a sound revenue generating model.

Please refer to the Program Guidelines for the full eligibility criteria.

I want to make my festival free, can I apply for this program?

Please submit proof of a sound revenue generating model for the funded festival/s and event/s.

I’ve successfully organised large complex live music festivals and events previously. I’m organising a new festival. Can I still apply for this program? 

Yes. As long as you meet the program criteria, you are eligible to apply.

I would like to apply for a Festival or Event at a regional indoor venue with less than a 3000-person capacity. Is there funding available to me?

Unfortunately, no. This program only supports the return of large, complex live music festivals and events (with a capacity of 3000 or more in-person attendees) in Victoria.

The line-up for my festival is unconfirmed. Can I still apply for this program? 

Yes. Your application should include:

  • a summary of the proposed artistic/creative program including artists and/or creative practitioners involved
  • step out your project plan/outline and include key dates, locations, background, and activities during the proposed funded period and potential future opportunities
  • include any contingency planning which addresses possible delays or risks to the activity, including changes to programming.

Does my grant application need to be for my entire event, or can it be for an additional element to the event? 

The program will provide grants of between $250,000 and $1,000,000 to support the cost of planning and delivery of flagship and large-scale music events and music festivals featuring contemporary live music in Victoria intended to have a capacity of at least 3000 in-person attendees.

Applying to the program

Can I apply through an auspice?

No. You cannot apply using an auspicing body, or an organisation acting as an auspice body.

How much should I pay artists who perform at my festival/s or event/s? 

Your activity budget should include a commitment to pay creatives/artists industry rates or at least $250 per artist per performance, whichever is greater, plus contingency.

Please note: while maintaining the principle of the $250 minimum rate for funded events, in cases of not for profit, community or volunteer performers, such as with large community/ school group performances, this should be discussed with the parties and a case made in your application, for an adjustment of artist fee proposals and structures, to be considered

Does my budget need to balance?

Applicants should submit a budget specific to the grant expenditure you’re applying for. This budget needs to balance in order to submit your application. Please provide evidence of your overall festival budget including your revenue generating model in your supporting documentation.

Should I only provide a project plan outline for the proposed funded project/ activity or for the whole festival/event? 

Applicants should provide a project plan/outline and include key dates, locations, background, and activities during the proposed funded period and potential future opportunities.

We encourage you to provide a broader project plan to contextualise the funding within your entire project.

My festival/event will begin on 1 December but I’m intending to begin organising before that date. Can I use this grant funding to reimburse this organising work? 

No. Program funding cannot be used towards the reimbursement of project expenses already incurred.

Assessment

Who will assess my application?

All eligible applications will be considered by a panel of program staff and an external panel of peers with appropriate creative industries expertise.

How long will it take to assess my application?

You’ll be advised of the outcome of your application by November 2022.

After applications close, they are checked for eligibility and then allocated to external assessors. Assessors are given a period of time to review the applications and discuss recommendations. Recommendations are compiled and provided to the Minister for Creative Industries for final approval.

How does Creative Victoria support a fair distribution of funds and ensure applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds and genres are supported?

To ensure that our funding is equitably distributed, we need to engage people from diverse backgrounds in our processes, from inception to delivery.

We work with industry representatives to make sure that there’s diverse representation on assessment panels for this program. We also reach out to a broad range of organisations to promote the program to encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, including Deaf and Disabled, women, LGBTIQ+ and those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

If I’m successful, when will I receive the funding?

You’ll be advised of the outcome before November 2022. If successful, you’ll receive a notification email which details any special requirements you may need to meet and what you need to do to receive the funds. Payments will then be processed as quickly as possible.

General

What should I consider when engaging with First Peoples content in my application?

One of the key guiding principles of Creative State 2025 is First Peoples First. We are also committed to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the 11 guiding principles of Aboriginal Self-Determination as identified in the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-23 .

You need to follow correct protocols when working with First Peoples artists, content and/or communities. Please refer to Australia Council’s Protocols For Using First Nations Cultural And Intellectual Property In The Arts. In particular, use the project checklist (pp. 168-172) as a resource to guide considerations when engaging with First Peoples content, creatives/artists and cultural heritage.

For the protection of First Peoples arts practice from misappropriation, moral and copyright infringement, you must submit program appropriate documentation if you propose to work with First Peoples stories/cultural material that is not your own, such as letters of confirmation from the First Peoples you’re working with and protocols you’ll put in place to ensure cultural safety.

If you’re not a First Peoples applicant but your application includes First Peoples content, it may also be reviewed by a First Peoples panel. Activity that doesn’t follow or demonstrate correct protocols won’t be supported.

Any costs related to First Peoples content or engagement must be reflected in your budget, including:

  • programming of First Peoples artists
  • First Peoples audience engagement
  • hiring First Peoples Engagement Officers for both artists and audiences
  • Welcome to Country
  • free/subsidised tickets for First Peoples
  • cultural safety training.

Contact

To find out more or discuss your application, please contact Chloe Turner on 03 9623 1169 or programs@creative.vic.gov.au