Please note: to apply you must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date
Literary Journals Capacity Building Fund 2026–27
Key dates
Applications open: Tuesday 3 February 2026 at 9am (AEDT)
Applications close: Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 3pm (AEDT)
Notification date: Mid-May 2026
Start dates for this program must be from 1 July 2026.
Amount
You can apply for the following amounts only:
$15,000
$25,000
$35,000
$50,000.
Requests for other amounts will not be accepted.
Contact
Phone: 02 9215 9000
Toll-free: 1800 226 912
NRS: 1800 555 677 | Visit the NRS
Email: enquiries@creative.gov.au or writing@creative.gov.au
If you need advice about eligibility and the program, contact Writing Australia.
If you need advice about applying, contact an Artists Services Officer.
Please note: Are you registering to use our Application Management System for the first time? You must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date.
About the opportunity
Literary journals are essential to Australia’s reading and writing culture. They publish new and innovative work, encourage experimentation, and nurture emerging talent. They amplify voices from marginalised communities, reflecting the diversity of contemporary Australian writing and offering insights into Australian literature and culture that differs from the mainstream.
The Creative Australia report Literary Journals in Australia identified two key priorities for investment: digital infrastructure and improving staff remuneration.
Digital platforms are central to how journals publish new work, connect with audiences, and respond to current events. Investing in digital capacity is critical for journals to sustain and expand their reach, remain future-focused and preserve their archives.
While journals aspire to pay staff fairly, many prioritise payment to contributors. This investment may also support editorial staff through professional development, succession planning, and recognition of expertise with appropriate payment.
Investments of $15,000, $25,000, $35,000 or $50,000 are available for:
- building digital infrastructure, including website upgrades, improving user experience (UX), archiving, analytics and accessibility
- remuneration for staff involved in digital upgrade planning
- training, capacity building, and professional development for editorial staff
- engaging editors to support activities including succession planning or building pathways for diverse editorial voices
- payment for editorial staff.
The Literary Journals Capacity Building investment is a competitive program. Applicants must ensure they meet all eligibility requirements before applying.
Please read the following grant guidelines.
If you need advice about eligibility and the program, contact Writing Australia.
If you need advice about registrations and applications, contact an Artists Services Officer.
Applicants that do not meet the requirements for this investment may be eligible for Arts Projects for Organisations or Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups Photo: Joseph Mayers
Eligibility
Individuals, groups and organisations are eligible to apply. To apply, your publication must:
- be primarily dedicated to publishing original literary work of a high standard including fiction, poetry, essays and criticism. Published work can also include reviews, interviews, and commentary on literature and culture
- be based in Australia and primarily serve Australian audiences
- have an ABN
- have been operational for at least two years
- have evidence of publishing at least eight unique Australian authors in the year before the funding period
- demonstrate evidence of paying Australian writers
- outline how the proposed activity will build digital capability and/or strengthen editorial capacity.
Who can’t apply
You cannot apply for this investment if:
- your publication is based outside of Australia
- your publication does not pay writers
- you have already applied to this program in this closing date
- you have an overdue grant report to Creative Australia
- you owe money to Creative Australia.
Recipients of Creative Australia Multi-Year Investment are eligible to apply but may not be prioritised depending on available funding.
Digital publications that predominantly publish content other than literary work are not eligible. This includes news, academic research, commercial publishing, advertorial writing, and personal blogging.
What can be applied for
Activities and costs may include, but are not limited to:
- building digital infrastructure, including website upgrades and redesigns, improving UX and accessibility
- implementing digital analytics tools
- developing or enhancing archiving systems
- systems for managing subscriptions and reader engagement
- platforms for hosting and delivering online content
- tools for multimedia integration (audio, video, interactive content)
- training in digital publishing and editorial technologies
- remuneration for staff involved in digital upgrade planning
- professional development for editors
- payment for editorial staff.
Access costs are legitimate expenses and may be included in your application. We encourage applicants to ensure that their work is accessible to everyone. Budgets may include costs associated with making activities accessible to a wide range of people (e.g. presentation activities using Auslan, translation to other languages, captioning, and audio description).
If you are working with d/Deaf people or people with disability in your application, you may apply for access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, specific technical equipment, carer or support worker assistance. Please contact Artists Services to discuss your specific needs.
What can’t be applied for
You can’t apply for:
- business as usual expenses including the regular payment of writers or contributors
- activities that have already taken place
- travel expenses
- the same activities you are applying for via other Creative Australia programs including any funding through Multi-Year Investment or project investment.
Protocols
Your application must comply with the following protocols if relevant to your publishing program. We may contact you to request further information during the assessment process, or if successful, as a condition of your funding.
Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts
All applications involving First Nations artists, communities or subject matter must adhere to these Protocols, provide evidence of this in their application and support material. More information on the First Nations Protocols is available here.
Commonwealth Child Safe Framework
All successful applicants are required to comply with all Australian law relating to employing or engaging people who work or volunteer with children, including working with children checks and mandatory reporting. Successful organisations who provide services directly to children, or whose funded activities involve contact with children, will additionally be required to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
Assessment
Assessment Process
Applications to this initiative will be assessed by industry advisors with relevant experience. Final decisions will be made by Writing Australia based on this advice.
For more information on how we assess applications please visit our Assessment page.
Assessment Criteria
After eligibility has been met, applications will be assessed by a panel of Industry Advisors against the following three criteria.
Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what industry advisors may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.
1. Viability
Advisors will assess the viability of the proposed activities. They may consider:
- the calibre and track record of the journal, its reputation and history of publishing quality work
- how the proposed digital upgrades or editorial development meet current needs
- realistic and achievable planning and resource use, including clear timelines, budgets, contingency plans and planning for any ongoing costs
- appropriate remuneration for editors, consultants and digital specialists
- evidence that digital platforms and content will be inclusive and accessible.
2. Impact
Advisors will assess the expected impact or outcome/s of the proposed activities on the applicant or targeted audience.
They may consider:
- impact of investment on strengthening the journal’s long-term viability
- benefits for the wider literary community, including published writers
- potential to reach new readers through improved digital presence
- the extent to which the activity contributes to a sector that is accessible and inclusive
- the capacity to build digital and editorial skills and expertise among staff and collaborators.
3. Alignment
Advisors will assess the extent to which the proposed activities align to the investment’s priorities.
They may consider:
- evidence of creative or forward-thinking approaches to building or improving digital platforms, tools and systems
- the relevance of the journal to contemporary Australia and how the journal reflects diverse voices
- how the project will help the journal grow audiences, develop new sustainable business models, or maintain archives.
Application form
Applications must be submitted via Creative Australia’s Application Management System.
If you are registering to use the System for the first time, make sure you register well before the closing date. It can take up to two business days to process your registration.
Example application questions:
- a brief description of the journal
- information about the journal’s publishing track record and future program
- an outline of your project plan and what you want to do
- a timeline for your project
- a description of the anticipated outcome/s your project delivers
- a description of the expenses of the project
- supporting material relevant to your application, including examples of your publishing history and evidence of payment to writers and contributors.
Support material
Additional material must be submitted to support your application. We will review support material to understand your organisation and viability/impact/alignment of your proposal. Do not assume that those who are reading your submission, know the journal and consider this when deciding what should be included.
We strongly recommend you curate your support material to be relevant, targeted and easily accessible.
You can submit URLs, PDFs, or Word documents that are relevant to your submission.
Creative Australia will not view any URLs that require log in or to sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to applications or documents that require users to log in or pay for access.
If you are linking to sites or files that are private or password protected, please provide the password in the password field on the application form.
You can provide up to 3 URLs and 3 file uploads.
You can include a maximum of:
- Up to 10 pages of written material (for example, evidence of payment to writers and contributors, digital infrastructure plans and editorial development plans).
If you provide material that exceeds these limits it may not be reviewed as a part of the assessment process.
If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your application in the following formats:
- written material (Word, PDF).
We do not accept support material submitted via post. Support material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender. If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online or need advice on what type of material to submit, please contact Writing Australia.
Learn more about support material via the Creative Australia website.
1. Information about your publication and/or writers and contributors
This could include background information on the journal; writers published on a website or media clippings. You may include evidence of confirmed commissions or scheduled pieces of work.
2. Evidence of author payment
Please upload evidence of payment to published writers for the previous year. This could take the form of financial statements, past commission rates, current commission rates or invoices.
If you cannot supply these documents via URLs, you may upload to your application as a Word or PDF.
Please see Creative Australia’s Payment of Artists page for more information.
3. Project plans
Please provide a high-level plan of no more than 4 pages outlining the key aims and expected outcome/s of your project. The purpose of this document is to explain how you will take steps to:
- build digital infrastructure for the journal
- build skills, capacity and remuneration for editors
- or a combination of the two.
The project plan should demonstrate:
- evidence of creative or forward-thinking approaches to building or improving digital platforms, tools and systems
- the relevance of the journal to contemporary Australia and how the journal reflects diverse voices
- how the project will help the journal grow audiences, develop new sustainable business models, or maintain archives.
We expect that applicants will demonstrate plans to sustain activities for future years beyond the initial investment period.
Frequently asked questions
When does my activity/project have to take place to be eligible?
Supported activity must start between 1 July 2026 and be completed by 30 June 2027.
Will there be other rounds?
Writing Australia’s vision is long term and intends to support literary journals. Writing Australia will review all new programs based on emerging priorities, feedback and industry demand.
How can I get assistance with my application?
Our staff are available to assist you in understanding the purpose of the investment, application requirements and submitting your application. Creative Australia staff can assist over email, phone and video calls. We cannot review application drafts.
Do I need an ABN to apply for a grant?
All individual or organisation grant application based in Australia must have an active Australian Business Number (ABN). Individual applicants without an ABN may have their grant administered by an individual or organisation with an ABN.
The name of the applicant must match the name of the ABN and the name of the back account we pay the grant into. If you cannot provide an ABN and bank account that are in the same name as the applicant, you will need to nominate an administrator for your grant.
Should I include GST in my budget?
If you are GST-registered when you receive a grant, we will pay the grant amount plus GST. The budget provided in your application should be excluded of GST.
Can I include editor fees in my budget?
Yes, we expect that editors will be paid for their work. Payment of fees should be reflected in your application budget.
For more information, see the Creative Workplaces page.
Should I include superannuation for editors in my budget?
Yes, we expect that editors will be paid for their work including superannuation. Payment of superannuation for editors should be reflected in your application budget.
For more information, see the Creative Workplaces Superannuation page.
Can I include organisational administration costs?
Organisational administration costs cannot be included in your budget. Any administrative costs should be directly related to project delivery.
How do I enter my grant request?
In the application form, we will ask you to provide a description of proposed activities and expenses. We will ask you to list how you will spend the Writing Australia investment. Please break this down into categories, for example:
- building digital infrastructure, including website upgrades and redesigns, improving UX and accessibility
- implementing digital analytics tools
- developing or enhancing archiving systems
- systems for managing subscriptions and reader engagement
- platforms for hosting and delivering online content
- tools for multimedia integration (audio, video, interactive content)
- training in digital publishing and editorial technologies
- remuneration for staff involved in digital upgrade planning
- professional development for editors
- payment for editorial staff.
Your application should reference any other Creative Australia funding within the project period including any funding through Multi-Year Investment or project investment.
Can I include volunteer costs in my budget?
Yes. Volunteer out of pocket expenses, such as telephone calls or petrol for travel are recognised as legitimate expenses and may be included in an applicant’s budget.
Can Universities or University departments apply?
Yes, they can. We accept different business units, departments, divisions or trading names (listed under the one parent entity ABN) as separate entities.
The journal must be recognised as a separate department or entity within their institution if associated with a post-secondary institution, such as university presses.
Can local government authorities or state-based agencies apply?
No, they cannot.
I’m an individual writer / illustrator / contributor, can I apply to this fund?
No, individual writers, illustrators or contributors are not eligible to apply under this investment fund.
We work in education (for example primary schools), can I apply to this fund?
Journals which predominantly publish academic research are not eligible to apply.
Journals associated with a post-secondary institution, such as university presses, may apply if their organisation meets the eligibility requirements listed.
Student journals may apply if their publishing output meets the eligibility requirements listed. Please note your submission would be competing in a very competitive field of grant applications from established literary journals that work solely in the literature sector. Applications from schools that are based on projects that mainly benefit the school and its grounds would not be competitive.
We are a journal focused on art forms other than literature. Can we apply?
Journals focused on art forms other than literature are not eligible for this investment.
Journals that do not meet the requirements for this investment may be eligible for Arts Projects for Organisations or Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups.
We don’t have any confirmed project plans at the time of the closing date, will my application be competitive?
Assessors understand that it's not possible to confirm every element of your project at the time that you apply. If there are too many unconfirmed elements of your proposal, the advisors may question its viability. If your future publishing activity or digital infrastructure plan is still not sufficiently developed, you may not be ready to apply. The process of drafting your application will help you determine this.
How do I explain our activities are not business as usual for our organisation?
As the applicant, it is your responsibility to demonstrate how the proposed activity differs from your usual activities. We are seeking to support innovative proposals that expand Australians access to literature.
Successful applicants
If your application is successful, we will give you a draft investment agreement that specifies the amount of investment we will provide, the proposed payment schedule, milestones, deliverables, and any other conditions of investment. We will negotiate the final version of this agreement with you.
We will pay you once you have accepted your investment agreement and any reports or deliverables you must provide us with have been approved.
You may be asked to participate in evaluation activities with Creative Australia staff and external evaluators at various times throughout your project.
