Detailed Discussion

Arts funding in Australia exists to support the healthy functioning and growth of the sector. This allows artists and organisations at all levels of practice to deliver arts and cultural experiences for the public. Funding is provided by governments, foundations and philanthropists. 

Through government, public funding is available at local, state and federal levels in a range of capacities. 

Private funding can be accessed through foundations, bequests or directly from a donor. Major philanthropy organisations with salaried permanent staff should follow the same good-practice guidelines as public organisations.

Funding is accessed typically through an application process and is assessed by either a rotating panel of expert peers, a philanthropist, or a selected board of assessors who hold their position for a year or longer.

Openly accessed funding programs are designed by workers within the funding bodies to align with and support the strategic directions and objectives of the current government, or the goals and ideals of a foundation. Programs are often designed in consultation with the sector, including peers and recipients.

The glaring issue in arts funding across the country is that there is not enough of it, but in addition to this, there exists a range of complexities and inconsistent processes surrounding applications, assessment and allocation of funding. This is the first time that industry guidelines for funding have been included in the Code. 

Key Issues

Application processes can be complex and time consuming both for the applicants and those who must assess applications.

Artists typically apply for funding to cover their artist fees, but do not include a budget to cover administration and delivery (such as construction, performance and installation).

Public/government funding is defined and governed by legislation, Acts and strategic priorities set by the government. As agencies, funding bodies administer public funding on behalf of the government. 

Policy-driven language as well as broad and indirect questions are used too often in applications.  

Application forms often have inflexible submission formats and timelines which are barrier for many d/Deaf and Disabled artists, or those without digital access.

Typically funding assessment periods are overly long, which means that creative projects cannot respond to current contexts and time-critical new opportunities.

Some acquittal processes have become overly laborious because too much information is often requested.  

Responsibilities for funders include:

• release funding information in a timely manner and allow a reasonable lead time between the announcement of funding opportunities and closing dates

• implement equitable application and selection processes, such as offering diverse application options and plain English communication, see Equitable Application Processes

• provide guides which give applicants access to good practice information when preparing budgets - this can include links to the Code and other industry standard guides

• provide access to staff members dedicated to assisting applicants in the areas of budgeting assistance, mentoring, and scribing

• provide over the phone or in-person feedback sessions for applicants to allow for professional development of the sector, particularly for new applicants

• provide funding agreements and funds in a timely manner

Major philanthropy organisations with salaried permanent staff should follow the same good practice guidelines as public organisations.

The responsibilities of applicants receiving funding will vary from funder to funder. The specific responsibilities of an applicant who receives funding will be clearly outlined in the contract. Artists should not commence a program of activity until they have read, understood, and received a countersigned copy of their funding contract.

Responsibilities for funding recipients and applicants include:

• outline a clear budget for fees for artists and arts workers and ensure these fees are paid after receiving funding

• maintain records of how funds were spent and how obligations were met

• ensure the funded activity aligns with the proposal outlined in the application and refrain from making major changes to an activity funded through a competitive process - this is unfair to other applicants in the assessment process

• complete variation approval processes for any changes to a funded activity

• undertake funded activities with good practice and care. Evidence of the use of funds to support illegal activity, fraud or bullying can result in disciplinary action from the funder, or as outlined in the funding agreement or guidelines 

• make values-based decisions on the ethics of accepting funds from philanthropists or philanthropy foundations in the context of how their wealth was produced, see Sponsorship

Application processes vary between funding bodies and within their different programs. While it is important for application processes to be tailored to specific opportunities, the following good practice outlines can be followed across all:

• application forms should make it as easy as possible for an applicant to address the assessment criteria. There should be an obvious correlation between the questions and published criteria so the applicant is clear on what they must address

• if a funding program requires the applicant to follow specific protocols, funding bodies must make their expectations clear to artists and organisations, providing copies of the relevant protocol to applicants

• the application process should be as equitable and accessible as possible to ensure inclusion, see Equitable Application Processes 

• funding opportunity announcements should be promoted in a wide variety of media and mediums, including media targeting culturally diverse audiences, youth audiences and other under-represented groups

Assessment processes vary greatly amongst funding bodies in the visual arts, craft and design sector, particularly between philanthropy groups and public funding bodies. 

Many public funding bodies will also offer strategic funding opportunities, which are delivered out of round and operate in a similar way to philanthropic funding. Strategic funding should be minimal compared to the open application funding rounds offered to the sector, and all strategic funding activity must be made public annually (at a minimum) with reporting as to why each project or program was funded out of round. 

Ministers and executive staff should not be able to change the decisions of the engaged assessment panel without a consultation and approval process between the Minister/staff member and the chair of the panel. 

Arms length peer review, particularly for funding opportunities, is the good practice process of assessment, see Equitable Application Processes. Assessors should be inducted with unconscious bias training and understanding of conflicts of interest. Peer assessment panels should include diverse artform representation (a visual arts panel cannot be made up entirely of painters) as well as cultural and regional diversity, d/Deaf and Disabled people, especially when the funding is for a particular demographic of people. For example, it is good practice for First Nations-led assessment boards to lead assessments of applications from First Nations artists, as well as inclusion of First Nations assessors on visual arts assessment boards.

Acquittal processes are an important part of the funding relationship. It allows for the funding body to ensure the funds were appropriately spent by the recipient. The collection of information also ensures accountability and quantifies impact of funding, as well as assists in refining processes and making a case for increases or redirections of funds in future.

The following are good practice guides for funders to follow:

• only collect data that will be used

• Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting should focus on the impact of an activity rather than the quantity of activities that took place

• as in applications, acquittal guidelines should use plain English and direct questions. Alternative ways to submit information such as video formats should be permitted

• if the funding body requires extra information such as statistics for their own reporting purposes, the labour involved in collecting this information should fall upon the funding body. Collection processes could include a short meeting with the applicant to interview

Labour Time

Most funding bodies include a question in the application form on the time taken to prepare the application. This information should be averaged and reviewed to ensure application processes strike a balance between mitigating the risk of improper allocation of funds and reducing labour time for applicants.

Response Time

Funding application response periods should be reasonable and commensurate with the scale of funding and application time. Grant rounds for up to $5,000 should have shorter response periods than those greater than $50,000.

Funding bodies should meet published response times. It is good practice to communicate any delays to applicants.

NAVA advocates that public funding be equity-tested. All funding application processes should be reviewed and designed to be in accordance with current accessibility standards. These can be accessed by your state or federal accessibility organisation such as Arts Access Victoria.

For more information, see Equitable Application Processes.

Funding bodies should provide support for all activities that ensure the ongoing sustainability of independent, non-commercial arts practice in Australia. Listed below are costs which should be eligible for inclusion in a visual arts funding proposal, however the list is not exhaustive. Some costs listed below are not currently considered eligible by Australian funding bodies. 

In addition to this list, any in-kind work from the applicant should be recognised as a financial commitment to the project but should not be an essential budget inclusion.

Potential eligible costs include:

• studio rental

• research and development

• grant-writing time for independent artists and non-salaried arts workers 

• artist fee, covering the artist’s creative leadership and intellectual property

• on costs such as superannuation

• consultation fees to be paid to community groups and First Nations consultants

• access costs (such as Auslan interpreters, support workers, travel), which should be separated from the artist fee, see Access Rights for d/Deaf and Disabled People

• project administration and data collection time

• project delivery time

• travel, accommodation and per diems

• materials

• intellectual property protection

• insurance

• web hosting

• event costs 

• event access costs

• promotion

• postage

• childcare

• Working with Children and Working with Vulnerable Persons Checks and other tickets or checks required to complete work