Regional Media Fund in Australia

Deadline: 11-Apr-23

The NSW Government is now accepting applications for its Regional Media Fund to improve the long-term sustainability of regionally focused media and news gathering organisations by providing support towards innovation, digitisation and technology enhancements that enable more effective creation and distribution of media content in regional NSW.

Objective

The key objectives of the Regional Media Fund are to:
- improve the long-term sustainability of regionally focussed media and news gathering organisations
- support organisations that are investing in the regional media industry by maintaining or creating employment opportunities in regional areas
- support innovation and digitisation that will enable more effective creation and distribution of regional media content
- ensure that people living in regional NSW have access to a diverse range of local news and content.

Funding Information

Grant amount: From $20,000 to $60,000.

Eligible Projects

Projects must deliver benefits in one or more of the 93 regional NSW Local Government Areas (LGA), in the Unincorporated Far West region, or on Lord Howe Island.
Projects delivering benefits in the Greater Sydney metropolitan area, and the Newcastle and Wollongong LGAs are ineligible for funding.

Types of projects funded under this grant

Examples of eligible project types include:
- developing and delivering online engagement strategies to complement and enhance existing distribution methods
- undertaking website development and upgrades to improve the user experience and distribution
- acquiring equipment that will increase the quality and/or quantity of print or video content
- acquiring equipment to diversify content and distribution channels
- developing and trialling innovative methods of distribution that will enable more people in regional NSW to access relevant news and content.

Eligibility Criteria

All applications will be assessed for eligibility and only eligible applications will be considered for funding.
- Who can apply
  - To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate that they:
    - are a media or news gathering organisation with a primary focus of creating, producing, and distributing news and content to a readership or audience in regional NSW
    - have been trading for over 12 months
    - have resources located in regional NSW, or that a significant portion of the organisation’s business is undertaken within regional NSW through other means such as remote work.
    - Applicants must provide evidence that they are an incorporated entity by providing either an Australian Business Number (ABN) or an Australian Company Number (ACN). Applicants must be a company incorporated in Australia, a company incorporated by guarantee, an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust, fixed unit trust, an incorporated association or co-operative, partnership, individual/sole trader or indigenous corporation, and are required to provide a copy of evidence of incorporation or registration in their application.
    - Applicants must be financially viable and have at least $20 million public liability insurance or be willing to secure the insurance before entering into a Funding Deed if the application is successful.
- Who can’t apply
  - Organisations that primarily provide news and content for a niche audience such as local sporting clubs, exercise groups, community groups and events, political parties, and tourism focused material will not be considered eligible.