Who can apply 

This program is open to:  

• First Nations individuals only
• First Nations fashion and textile label owners, designers and industry professionals.
• adornment artists.

You must:

• be available to travel to Darwin in early August 2026 (approx. two weeks)
• be available to travel to Aotearoa, New Zealand in 2027 and Canada in 2028
• hold and/or obtain a passport valid until January 2029
• be eligible to obtain visas for travelling to Aotearoa, New Zealand and Canada. 

Who cannot apply  

You cannot apply if:

• you are a group or organisation
• you are based outside of Australia
• you have an overdue report for another Creative Australia grant
• you owe money to Creative Australia.

Your application must comply with the following protocols. 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. 

Applications are assessed by First Nations Industry Advisors with diverse and relevant experience and will assess the applications against the criteria listed below. 

Assessment Criteria 

Applicants must address the following assessment criteria: 

1. Impact: First Nations Industry Advisors will assess the potential for this opportunity to strengthen your practice and career. 

They may consider: 

• How participation in the program will build your skills, leadership, and networks.
• How the program will support your long-term growth and community contribution.
• The potential to create new collaborations or relationships across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Canada.
   

2. Alignment: First Nation Industry Advisors will assess the extent to which the applicant’s values and goals align with the aims of the Tri Nations Exchange.  

They may consider: 

• Alignment with the program’s focus on cultural protocols, storytelling, sustainability and First Nations-led growth.
• Your commitment to sharing knowledge, mentorship and respectful cultural exchange.
• The fit between your ambitions and the goals of the program. 

Successful applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by May 2026.

Applications must be submitted via Creative Australia’s Application Management System.  

Application Form

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. 

You are required to address the following in your application: 

• About you: Tell us about your fashion and textile practice, career development, highlights and key achievements.
• Impact: How will this program enhance your artistic and creative practice.
• Alignment: Describe how this program will contribute to your professional development. 

Support Material

You should submit support material with your application. The Industry Advisory Panel may review this support material to help them gain a better sense of your activity and arts practice.  

Evident of adherence to First Nations Indigenous Culture and Intellectual Property. 

We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post. Application-related 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 Maya Johnson, Project Manager, First Nations Arts and Culture. 

There are three types of support material you may submit:  

• Artistic support material
• Biographies and CVs
• Letters of support 

Artistic support material  

This should include relevant, recent examples of your artistic or cultural work.  

Types of support material we accept  

Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks).  

You can provide up to three URLs (weblinks) that link to content that is relevant to your project activity. This may include video, audio, images, or written material. 

These URLs can include a total of  

• 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording
• 10 images
• 10 pages of written material.  

Please note: The Advisory Panel will not access any URLs that require them to log in or sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to Spotify or other applications that require users to log in or pay for access. If you are linking to media files that are private or password protected like Vimeo, please provide the password in the password field on the application form.  

Other accepted file formats  

If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your application in the following formats:  

• video (MP4, QuickTime, and Windows Media)
• audio (MP3 and Windows Media)
• images (JPEG and PowerPoint)
• written material (Word and PDF).  

Biographies and CVs  

You can include your current brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) that is relevant to your application.   

Please note: Brief bios or CV information should be presented as a single document no longer than two A4 pages in total.  

Letters of support  

Organisations and individuals can write letters in support of your project. A support letter should explain how the project or activity will benefit you, other artists or arts professionals, participants or the broader community. It can also detail the support or involvement of key project partners, or evidence of consultation.  

Letters of support must provide evidence of appropriate permissions and support from First Nations organisations, individuals, cultural authorities, communities, and Elders. Please refer to the First Nations Protocols for more information.  

You can include up to five letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.