Sector Impact Program

To be eligible for funding under the Sector Impact Program, applicants must:

• Be invited to make an application
• Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Legally be able to enter into an agreement with Screen NSW
• Adhere to general eligibility requirements under the Screen NSW Terms of Trade.

*In the case of a consortium or group of organisations working collaboratively, one eligible organisation (typically the applicant) must be nominated as the lead organisation. The funding grant agreement will be between Screen NSW and the lead organisation.

Select applicants will be invited to apply to the program following a meeting with Screen NSW staff and submission of a high-level written expression of interest (EOI). All potential applicants should contact Danielle McCarthy, Industry & Audience Development Manager at danielle.mccarthy@screen.nsw.gov.au to book a meeting to confirm eligibility and discuss the EOI process. More information is outlined in the Application process section below.

Screen NSW accepts proposals for activities that:

• Are well planned and of high artistic quality and/or of strategic importance to the NSW screen or digital games industry
• Represent significant benefits to NSW screen or digital games practitioners
• Contribute to the overall stability of the NSW screen or digital games sector
• Represent value for money and efficient use of Screen NSW funding
• Have adequate levels of financial and/or in-kind support from other funding sources
• Increase industry participation for screen or digital games practitioners from NSW Government key priority areas
• Are designed and delivered by an organisation (and any partner organisations) with demonstrable experience in the screen or digital games sector.

Please note that if your proposal involves First Nations content or people, it will be ineligible for consideration if it cannot demonstrate appropriate First Nations consultation and/or participation.

Funding will generally not be available for:

• Publications or magazines about screen, including podcasts (online or print)
• Development, production, or distribution of screen content
• Business development for screen organisations
• Business travel to festivals or markets
• Awards or competition component of a film festival or initiative
• Film festivals
• Games festivals
• Expos
• School-focused programs.

Applications for Single Year funding cover activities occurring over a single financial year. 

Applications for Multi-Year funding cover activities occurring over multiple financial years, for example 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2027 (for 2-year funding) and 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2028 (for 3-year funding). 

Applicants requesting Multi-Year funding must have a proven funding history with Screen NSW (i.e., at least 3 funded activities that were successfully acquitted in the past 5 years).

Please refer to the Organisational Capacity section of the Assessment Criteria for additional requirements for organisations requesting Multi-Year funding.

Applications should include:

• A clear outline and rationale for activity including evidence of the need or demand for the event or activity, delivery partners and proposed delivery location/s
• Information about the personnel who will deliver the activity including details of their roles, relevant experience, and key achievements
• Key activity details including proposed activities, milestones, and dates
• A clear explanation of how the requested funding will be used to achieve activity objectives
• Quality and viability of the proposal i.e., whether the activity fulfils an industry need
• Key result areas, indicators, and targets for the activity.

Applications should demonstrate:

• Well-developed strategies for engaging NSW screen or digital games practitioners in the proposed activity
• Appropriate measures to assess the success of these strategies and to integrate knowledge gained into the design of future activities
• Justification for why the initiative should be regarded as a priority for funding i.e., creating innovative engagement opportunities that industry practitioners would not otherwise have access to.

Applications should identify how the activity will:

• Build the capacity of NSW screen or digital games practitioners
• Provide NSW screen or digital games practitioners with access to innovative professional development opportunities
• Increase industry participation opportunities for screen or digital games practitioners from one or more of the NSW Government key priority areas
• Provide cultural and economic benefits to the NSW screen or digital games industry.

Please note that when an applicant is located outside of NSW, the activity must be delivered in NSW and/or have a direct and strong benefit for NSW screen or digital games practitioners.

The application should provide brief information demonstrating that it has the experience and expertise to deliver the activity effectively, including:

• An outline of the core business, aims and objectives of the organisation
• An outline of the experience and expertise of the organisation as it relates to the activity
• Details of the members of the organisation’s governing body/committee
• Track record of the applicant, including the financial track record and experience of the applicant and any key individuals associated with the application
• Evidence of specialist screen or digital games experience.

Multi-Year – Additional Assessment Criteria

To be considered for Multi-Year funding applicants must:

• Demonstrate an outstanding track record of outcomes in delivering related activities of scale
• Have successfully received and acquitted grant funding from Screen NSW in three of the last five years
• Have a proven impact on the NSW screen or digital games sector.

Applicants should submit a budget that:

• Demonstrates value for money and efficient use of Screen NSW funding
• Is cost effective, including realistic income and achievable expenditure targets, as well as adequate provision for insurance and other liabilities
• Includes a majority contribution of additional sources of financial and in-kind support available to deliver the activity 
• Reflects the activity’s size and benefit to the NSW screen sector.

Explanatory notes should be used where needed.

All potential applicants should contact Danielle McCarthy, Industry & Audience Development Manager at danielle.mccarthy@screen.nsw.gov.au to schedule a meeting to confirm eligibility for the program. 

If an applicant’s eligibility is confirmed, they must submit a high-level written EOI to the Industry & Audience Development Manager that outlines their proposed activity, the amount of funding sought, and how the activity meets the objectives of the Sector Impact Program.

If the Industry & Audience Development Manager considers an applicant’s EOI to aligned with the objectives of the program, they will be invited to submit a formal application to the program.

If invited, applicants must submit a formal application through Screen NSW’s secure grants application portal, SmartyGrants.

Applications made using any other format will not be accepted.

Regarding the Assessment Criteria, applicants must prepare responses to all questions and submit all core materials listed on the application form, including:

• Description and rationale of activity, including any proposed delivery partners
• Demonstrated demand for activity
• Activity engagement and participation, including target demographics and inclusion of any NSW Government key priority areas
• Location/s for delivering the activity
• Budget, including other sources of financial and/or in-kind support
• Organisational capacity to deliver activity, including key team members
• Marketing strategy and target participants
• Milestones, outcomes, and key performance indicators
• Relevant support material (see information below)
• Additional application materials if seeking Multi-Year Funding (see information further below).

Support material

Support material plays a vital role in how we understand and assess applications. Please submit high-quality support material that is concise, current, and directly relevant to the proposed activity.

Support material for proposals involving the First Nations arts and cultural sector and/or First Nations people, organisations and cultural material must include letters of support and confirmation of involvement from the relevant communities and/or organisations (see NSW Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Protocols).

Other support material may include:

• A program of activities
• Relevant and recent examples of delivering similar activities
• A brief biography or CV for any key collaborators involved in the activity (maximum one A4 page per person)
• Confirmation letters and/or letters of support related to your activity (provided as one document), such as from partners, venues, key sector contacts or other funding agencies.

Please submit support material in the amount and format required, including:

• Combined files not exceeding 25MB
• Up to five minutes of video or audio recording
• No zipped or compressed files
• Documents in PDF format where possible
• Links for externally hosted work only.

Multi-Year – Additional support materials

Applicants seeking Multi-Year funding must also provide:

• A multi-year business plan that demonstrates the applicant organisation’s viability for the funding period (either 2 or 3 years), including other sources of funding and the most recent annual report (which must contain most recent financial statement)
• A detailed budget of proposed activities over the requested funding periods
• A Strategic Plan outlining:
  • The proposed activities over the requested funding periods
  • Mission and Vision statements.

When an application has been submitted, applicants will receive an email from our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants, confirming receipt of your application. 

Please note that applicants cannot edit or modify an application once it has been submitted.

Applications will be initially assessed by Screen NSW staff to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria, and that all application materials are acceptable. 

Applications deemed ineligible will be informed of any such reasons within 14 days of this outcome.

Eligible applications will proceed to formal assessment by an assessment team, which includes a minimum of two Screen NSW staff and one external screen industry assessor.

Grant funding allocation under the Sector Impact Program is non-competitive. This means that the assessment team will assess applications individually, without reference to the comparative merits of other applications to the Sector Impact Program. 

The assessment team will also evaluate applications against the:

• Assessment criteria
• Availability of Screen NSW funds.

The assessment team will assess and score an application on its own merits and will convene to discuss whether the application should be recommended for funding.

The assessment team will recommend successful applications to the designated decision-maker, Executive Director, Screen Development.

The designated decision-maker will review, consider, and approve successful applications based on recommendations from the assessment team.

All applicants will be informed of their application outcome via email.

Application outcomes will typically take up to 4 weeks after submission.

Successful applicants must enter, and abide by the terms of, a funding grant agreement with Screen NSW, which will include all deliverables and acquittal requirements in addition to the process for dealing with any variations to the funded activity.

For Single Year applications, funding will usually be paid in one lump sum per financial year upon receipt of a signed funding grant agreement and valid tax invoice.

For Multi-Year applications, funding will be paid up front upon receipt of a signed funding grant agreement and valid tax invoice. For subsequent years of funding under the same agreement, payment for the following year will be paid after receipt and approval of satisfactory acquittal materials and forward plan (if required).

Screen NSW will not enter into a funding grant agreement with an organisation that has not acquitted any previous funding or is in breach of any funding obligations it has with Screen NSW.

Any variations to the funding grant agreement, including activity scope or activities, location or timeframes 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 written variation request from a grantee where the funding grant agreement has already been executed.

To submit a variation request, or if you are unsure if your enquiry qualifies as a variation, please contact the Industry and Audience Development Team via email at industry@screen.nsw.gov.au. 

After delivering the activity and before the end of the funding period, successful applicants must provide a final acquittal report detailing the outcomes of the activity. Specific acquittal materials will be identified in the funding grant agreement between Screen NSW and the successful applicant, but will typically include:

• Overview of activity
• Engagement with target participants and any NSW Government key priority areas
• Delivery locations
• NSW employment outcomes relevant to delivering the activity, including volunteers
• Budget (actuals)
• Evaluation of activity compared to identified outcomes and key performance indicators
• Marketing and publicity.

All acquittal materials and final reports must be submitted via SmartyGrants.

Failure to comply with any acquittal and reporting requirements may impact an applicant’s eligibility to apply for future Screen NSW funding.

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 at industry@screen.nsw.gov.au.

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.