Submitting an application
Read the below information to help you complete your film application
For fifteen years Documentary Australia’s fiscal sponsorship program has been helping independent Australian documentary projects get funded, finished, seen and make an impact.
Our fiscal sponsorship program is open to independent filmmakers and documentarians, regardless of education, background or previous credits. Whether this is your first film, if you’ve been making documentaries longer than we’ve been supporting them, or if you have an idea and a plan, we can help.
Are you eligible?
Before you complete an application, please double check that you are eligible to apply:
- Your project must be a documentary project: feature film, short film, series, VR etc.
- The project producer (or production company) must have an Australian Business Number.
- The project application should reflect your ability to develop a quality project and your ability to identify funding sources.
- Although your film may be on any social issue, the film must have a clear social impact goal and must not reflect values that unlawfully discriminate, according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
- Your project must be social issue driven and have opportunities to create positive social change. It must not be produced solely for commercial gain.
Handy tips
- To avoid any technical issues, we suggest that you draft your application offline using the application template before entering your information online.
- When submitting an application, make sure you save each page as you go to avoid losing any data. If you go back without saving you may lose some data.
Application fee
We charge an application fee of $150 (+GST) to cover administration costs. In return, your submission is assessed by the Documentary Australia Board – and if approved, we showcase your project to the philanthropic community for the life of your campaign. In the meantime, we provide access to helpful workshops and resources.
Application deadlines
We have four application rounds per year, and all projects are reviewed for approval by the Board of Directors.
Please note that all applications must be submitted by 5pm (AEST) on the given date.
The upcoming application rounds are:
Wednesday 1 May 2024
Wednesday 14 August 2024
Wednesday 30 October 2024
Application Checklist
- Are you eligible? Make sure you have read this page.
- Read the Terms and Conditions
- Create an account
- Draft your application
- Start a new submission via your filmmaker dashboard
- Submit and pay the application fee