Screen and Digital Games Travel Fund

All streams

All applicants must fulfil the following criteria: 

• Be a screen or digital games practitioner(s) seeking to attend an event on the Eligible Travel Destinations List
• Be a NSW-based individual, project team or organisation:
  • If an individual, the applicant must be over 18 years of age and a NSW resident who has lived and operated in NSW for at least six months immediately before the date of application
  • If a project team, both applicants must be over 18 years of age, NSW residents as specified above and Key Creatives on the proposed project(s)
  • If an organisation, the organisation must have their central management and control in Australia, have its principal place of business in NSW and be operating for at least six months immediately before the date of application. Organisation applicants can nominate up to two people, and each nominee must be over 18 years of age, a NSW resident and a Key Creative on the project(s).*
• Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Be an Australia citizen or full-time resident
• Own or control the necessary rights to any projects taken to the event or have the written permission of the rights holder to represent them. 

*If an organisation is not NSW-based, the applicant must provide evidence of a genuine co-production partnership with a NSW-based organisation or producer, OR have at least one NSW-based Key Creative (writer, producer, director or game developer) attached to the proposed project(s) who will attend the event with assistance of this Fund. 

International Festival Travel

In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the International Festival Travel stream must: 

• Be invited to represent project(s) with confirmed screenings/showcases in the program of an approved international festival or major awards ceremony (see Eligible Travel Destinations List) and evidence of selection must be provided.

International Market Travel

In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the International Market Travel stream must: 

• Have at least one market-ready game, or
• Have a slate of at least three market-ready screen projects.

Domestic Market Travel

In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the Domestic Market Travel stream must: 

• Have at least one market-ready game or screen project
• Be an emerging to mid-career screen or digital games practitioner. 

For the purpose of this program, Screen NSW defines an emerging or mid-career practitioner as someone who has the following experience levels:

• Emerging: Practitioners in the early stage of their careers with at least 1 year of professional screen experience in the same role they are applying as. They have a small number of credits (for example, short form or early independent work) and are building a track record of professional engagement.
• Mid-Career: Practitioners with a consistent body of professional credits across multiple projects. They demonstrate sustained practice, progression in role or scale (for example, moving into lead creative or producing roles) and evidence of industry engagement such as commissioning, broadcast, distribution, or festival selection. 

Partner Initiatives

In addition to the eligibility criteria for all streams above, applicants to the Partner Initiatives stream must: 

• Meet the eligibility requirements of the relevant Screen NSW supported initiative on the Eligible Travel Destinations List.

• Applicants cannot receive funding from this Program for more than two events per stream per financial year. If applying more than once, a strong case must be made to support this. 
• Applicants must not be full-time secondary or tertiary students.
• Full-time or part-time current employees of federal, state or territory screen funding agency are not eligible to apply.
• The applicant must not be in breach of any obligation under any funding agreement it has with the NSW Government.
• Screen NSW general eligibility requirements can be found in the Screen NSW Terms of Trade, which should be read in conjunction with these guidelines. 

Applicants can apply for travel support associated with events on the Eligible Travel Destinations List, as at the time of application. The list outlines any event specific requirements such as eligibility limited to award nominees.

Screen NSW can consider additional events not on this list for International Market or International Festival Travel in exceptional circumstances. To request eligibility for an event, please send an email to investment@screen.nsw.gov.au with summary details on the proposed event.

The assessment criteria for being considered is if the event: 

• Has grown in significance and/or
• Offers demonstrable, unique commercial opportunities.

Requests are reviewed by at least three Screen NSW staff with a recommendation provided to the Senior Manager, Content Investment (or financial delegate) for approval. We aim to process requests within 3–5 business days. Approval of an event’s eligibility does not guarantee funding. If the proposed event only has demonstrable benefits for the applicant’s situation, Screen NSW may consider eligibility for the applicant only. If the proposed event has demonstrable benefits for the wider NSW screen and/or digital games industry, Screen NSW may at its discretion update the Eligible Travel Destinations List for all future applicants. 

We fund travel for events on the Eligible Travel Destinations List associated with:  

• Feature films
• Digital games
• Short films (International festival premiere only) 
• Adult and children’s television drama and narrative comedy including series, miniseries, web series and telemovies
• Content-rich factual and documentary television or web programs and series
• Animation series
• Creative interactive screen entertainment. 

Screen NSW is committed to supporting increased participation in the industry of people from under-represented groups. Priority will be given to individuals and teams that include people from the following priority areas: 

• Regional NSW
• Western Sydney
• First Nations people
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• People living with disability
• LGBTQIA+ people.

Funding caps vary by stream: 

• For International Festival and International Market Travel: Up to $5,000 per individual, or up to $6,000 (total) for two or more team members
• For Domestic Market Travel: Up to $1,500 per individual, or up to $2,000 (total) for two or more team members (being from the same project or from the same organisation).
• For Partner Initiatives: Up to $10,000, with funding caps set per initiative as outlined in the Eligible Travel Destinations List

Successful applicants will be paid following execution of the funding agreement and must submit an acquittal report at the conclusion of travel. 

Applicants may include co-contributions from other sources for costs not covered by Screen NSW.

For organisations and project teams, approved funding is tied to the nominated travellers and cannot be transferred without prior approval from Screen NSW. 

Funding through this program supports: 

• Flights
• Accommodation
• Ground travel
• Travel insurance
• Per diems, and/or
• Event registration, including exhibition/showcase costs.  

Screen NSW cannot fund travel retrospectively. Screen NSW expects applications to be submitted at least 8 weeks prior to your departure date.    

We do not fund under this program: 

• Marketing costs such as prints or publicity materials. 

We do not fund travel associated with:

• Infotainment, lifestyle, travel, magazine, sports, education, game shows and other magazine-style productions*
• Current affairs and news
• Community television
• Shorts, short features (under 60 minutes duration) or experimental films
• Projects that are being produced as part of a course of study
• Games involving gambling services, as defined in Clause 4 of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth)
• Games involving ‘gambling’ and ‘unlawful game’ as defined in the Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW)
• Games developed for advertising or corporate marketing
• Games made for internal training purposes
• Curriculum material
• Games that are likely to be Refused Classification under the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth)
• Games that are not completely digital (board games or hybrid digital/physical games). 

*For further guidance on the distinction between infotainment, lifestyle, magazine programs and documentary/factual programs refer to the advice on Screen Australia’s website. 

Merit of the opportunity relative to the applicant’s level of experience, including: 

• Planned and targeted activities such as proposed or confirmed meetings and/or networking and professional development opportunities
• Appropriateness of the budget submitted
• Level of market-readiness of project(s) and/or likelihood the opportunity will assist the applicant’s next project. 

The track record of the applicant, including the financial track record and experience of the applicant, project team and/or organisation. 

The potential of the travel opportunity to contribute to the NSW screen and/or digital games industries including how attendance will have a professional development benefit to the applicant. 

Diversity of the projects and/or applicants, and whether it increases participation from Screen NSW priority areas. 

Other relevant factors and risks may also be considered, as determined by Screen NSW, in its sole discretion, including: 

• The geographical distribution of funding, the composition of the team and alignment to the Screen NSW Priority Areas [see Key Priority Areas above]
• Assessment of the applicant’s management, its directors and officers and entities or individuals that exercise control over an applicant against the eligibility criteria
• For screen projects, consideration of NSW-based Executive Producers for travel in exceptional circumstances where Screen NSW is not providing travel support for any other Key Creatives on the project
• Assessment of other factors that may cause applicants to be unsuitable for support, such as any personnel or business activities that could cause reputational or other risk to the NSW Government. 

You must submit all core materials listed on the application form. You must ensure, across the application form and supporting materials, to address the below points: 

• Applicant information demonstrating their relevant track record, including CVs and bios for all travellers
• Planned activities, such as networking opportunities and proposed meeting list
• Statement of intended outcomes and objectives for attending the event 
• Overview of the project(s) including synopsis, genre, audience, and project team.*

In addition to the above, applicants must provide:

• For International Market and Domestic Market Travel, evidence of market support, interest and/or commitment, and if relevant, any invitations to participate in competitive programs
• For International Festival Travel, evidence of festival selection or major awards nomination for your nominated event
• For Partner Initiative, evidence of acceptance into the initiative (if required, as per the Eligible Travel Destinations List). 

*May not be required for Partner Initiative applications, where the supported initiative is not connected to a specific project. 

Applications are received on a rolling basis and are assessed on the eligibility and selection criteria.  

Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an email confirmation from our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants.  

Applications will be initially reviewed by Screen NSW staff to ensure they meet eligibility requirements, and all application materials are acceptable. If your application is not eligible you will be notified by email within 28 days of receipt. 

If your application is eligible, it will then be assessed by a minimum of one Screen NSW staff member or an external assessor with industry experience. The application will be then reviewed by an assessment panel including a minimum of three Screen NSW staff members, chaired by a Screen NSW Senior Manager or Manager, and may be attended by a probity representative.  

Please note that funding allocation follows a competitive process. Evaluations will consider the assessment criteria outlined above, the availability of funds at Screen NSW, the quality of the application against other applications received during the same assessment period, and the applicant's need for Screen NSW funds. 

Final recommendations will be made in writing for approval by the Executive Director, Screen NSW (or financial delegate). 

We shall endeavour to notify you via email on the outcome of your application between four to six weeks from the date that Screen NSW acknowledges receipt of a completed application.

Successful funding recipients will enter into a standard non-negotiable agreement with Screen NSW, setting out the terms and conditions of the funding including acquittal requirements. 

Recipients are required to provide a written report detailing the outcomes of the travel as part of the acquittal process. A statement of expenditure will also be required at the time of acquittal.  

Any variations to the Funding Grant Agreement, including project scope or activities, location or timeframes outlined in the application form and Grant Guidelines must be submitted in writing for approval from Screen NSW. Failure to do so may result in the withdrawal of the grant offer. 

Screen NSW has the discretion to approve or reject any variation request from a grantee where the grant agreement has already been executed. 

To submit a variation request please contact the investment manager assigned to your grant. 

If you are unsure if your enquiry qualifies as a variation, contact Screen NSW.

The Grants Administration Guide (Guide) requires that certain information is published in relation to grants awarded no later than 45 calendar days after the funding agreement takes effect (see section 6.5 of the Guide and Appendix A to the Guide).   

This information is also open access information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act), which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information. 

In accordance with these requirements, relevant information about the funding awarded will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder as soon as possible after the funding agreement is executed. 

All records in relation to this decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW). 

Any conflicts of interest will be managed in accordance with the Guide.  

• A conflict of interest, or perceived conflict of interest, may be identified if staff, any member of a committee or advisor and/or you or any of your personnel has:
• A professional, commercial, or personal relationship with a party who can influence the application selection process
• A relationship with or interest in, an organisation, which is likely to interfere with or restrict the applicants from carrying out the proposed activities fairly and independently
• A relationship with, or interest in, an organisation from which they will receive personal gain because the organisation received funding under the program. 

If you identify an actual, apparent, or perceived conflict of interest at any time, you must inform Screen NSW immediately via email (see Support and contact section for relevant team emails). 

NSW Government staff, committee members and other officials including the decision maker must declare any conflicts of interest and ensure they are managed as per DCITHS’s Code of Ethics and Conduct and the Guide. 

Details on how Screen NSW handles complaints, access to information and your private information is available here.