Creative and Cultural Development Fund

Arts and culture are crucial to creating vibrant, healthy and connected communities.

The City of Casey’s vision for arts and culture is ‘to bring people, place and community together through creativity and stories.’

Council’s Arts and Culture Strategic Service Plan 2026 – 2030 seeks to enable, facilitate and inspire connection in the City of Casey through a selection of recognised services, accessible pathways, inclusive celebrations and special events.

This includes improved access to arts and cultural experiences, physical and online collections, learning programs, information, technology and community partners as well as providing pathways for experience and expression of individual and collective stories, histories and identities.

Strategic investment in arts and culture by the City of Casey will benefit local residents by:

• Improving wellbeing and helping to build a stronger sense of both individual and collective identity,
• Supporting development pathways and growth of creative industries; and
• Enabling lifelong learning through sustained engagement.

City of Casey’s multi-year Creative and Cultural Development Fund plays a vital role in bringing people, place and community together through creativity and stories. CCDF funds a range of activities and projects, within Casey, across all arts practices.

Council aims to:

• champion bold, innovative and high quality visual and performing arts and cultural practices and experiences in Casey that meet community expectations, representation and need
• elevate the local stories and creativity that represent Casey’s unique identity
• support the development and delivery of local arts initiatives which address Casey’s Community Vision, to be ‘Connected, Innovative and Resilient’ through creativity
• support accessible creative participation and pathways for arts and culture in Casey to thrive

This funding is for:

• professional arts organisations
• community arts organisations
• professional artists/arts practitioners
• artist collectives

Professional Artist/Arts Practitioner definition (source Glossary Creative Victoria)

• has specialist training in their field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
• is recognised by their peers (professional practitioners working in the art form area)
• is committed to devoting significant time to artistic activity
• has a history of professional public presentation.

This applies to those within Casey and from outside the municipality who want to deliver arts opportunities in Casey, for Casey residents.

To be eligible for the Creative and Cultural Development Fund, applicants must:

1. have the provision of arts activities as a primary focus (i.e. this funding is specifically for arts organisations, groups and professional artists/practitioners, it is not for community organisations that may run some arts activities)
2. be a professional artist/arts practitioner or an eligible organisation
3. provide (or intend to provide) arts activities within Casey boundaries for the benefit of the Casey community
4. be open and accessible to residents of Casey
5. be a legal constituted entity (e.g. sole trader, a co-operative, incorporated Association, Company or Trust)
6. or have an auspice agreement with a legally constituted entity who agree to receive and manage the funds
7. hold current public liability and professional indemnity insurance to cover any individuals, staff, volunteers, members and the general public, as appropriate (minimum $20,000,000)

• Organisations that do not have the arts as a primary focus
• For-profit businesses
• Government agencies at local, state or federal level
• Schools
• Political parties/groups

The Creative and Cultural Development Fund ($5,000 - $15,000 per year for three years) supports the delivery of arts opportunities and activities through a wide range of art forms such as:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practice
• Community arts and cultural development
• Dance
• Emerging and experimental arts
• Literature
• Multi-art form
• Music
• Theatre and performing arts
• Visual art
• Screen and film
• Digital arts

Activity/program costs and operational/administrative expenses related to the project or initiative can be funded.

Projects or initiatives must have some community outcomes and benefits for Casey residents through learning opportunities, participation in arts practice and/or as an audience to arts programming.

1. Community Participation: to support community-led creative activity that builds connection, belonging and wellbeing through active participation.

What this funding supports:

• Participatory arts programs and community projects
• Projects that prioritise access, inclusion and cultural safety
• Genuine partnerships between professional artists/arts organisations and community projects
• Activity delivered outside major venues where appropriate
• Creative learning for community participants
• Programs that remove barriers to participation (cost, access, confidence)

2. New Work: to enable the creation, development and presentation of new creative work.

What this funding supports:

• Development, testing and refinement of new work
• Creation of original performances, exhibitions, publications or screen works
• Presentation of new work to public audiences
• Documentation and evaluation to support future life of the work

3. Creative Learning and Arts Development: Tailored arts and creative development opportunities to build the skills and capacity of artists, creatives, arts organisations and community.

What this funding supports:

• Skills and artistic practice development delivered by professional artists and arts organisations including mentoring, networking and collaborations
• Activities to develop the local arts sector
• Skills development and creative learning programs for community participants
• Development and delivery of a new creative project, exhibition, event or festival unique to Casey
• Peer-led workshops, short courses and masterclasses delivered in community settings and local spaces and venues

We cannot accept applications for:

• more than one application per applicant
• activities and programs held outside the City of Casey
• capital works including permanent structures or anything that increases the value of your facility
• funding that we have approved under another grant for the same program or event in the same financial year
• programs that only advocate religion or faith activities
• projects that are due to happen (or have already happened) before we receive your application.

Ineligible costs include travel costs, fundraising and alcohol.

Your application will be assessed on how well it meets the following criteria noting that consideration will also be given to the total funding available and the distribution of funding across the municipality, grant categories and Council's priorities.

• Criteria 1 – Benefit to the Casey community
• Criteria 2 - Benefit to the applicant
• Criteria 3 – Benefit to arts and culture in Casey
• Criteria 4 – Viability: capacity to deliver the activities and manage the funding

The City of Casey has a range of creative spaces and venues available for hire, and these venues suit a wide range of needs including rehearsals, workshops, meetings, concerts, exhibitions and events.

You must confirm any facility, venue, or park with the relevant facility and booking staff and you will be required to provide evidence that you have investigated venue cost and availability of the facility you are proposing to use in your application.

Further information is available here:

• Facility hire - City of Casey
• Venue Hire - Bunjil Place

For further information about arts in Casey including suitable arts venues such as Bunjil Place, please contact Council’s Arts Development Officer on 9705 5200 or email arts@casey.vic.gov.au.

Event approvals, permits and licences that may be required 

You may need to get different approvals, permits and licences to stage an event outdoors which requires you complete an Event Approval Application.

• We will notify you by email in December 2026
• You will be provided with a Funding and Service Agreement which will outline expectations and conditions for the two years of funding
• You will need to review our Grants Policy
• If you have any outstanding payments to Council, you will need to clear these before we can pay the grant
• If you have other Council grants, acquittal requirements will need to be satisfied before funds will be released.

Successful applicants can expect their funds in early 2027 once Funding and Service Agreements have been signed and other necessary documents provided.

An email will be sent to all unsuccessful applicants explaining why the application was not successful. You should expect to hear from us in December 2026.

If your group is not incorporated, you will need an incorporated organisation to receive and hold the money for you. This organisation is called an ‘Auspice’.

The Auspice will be responsible for:

• how the money is being spent
• meeting any extra council requirements

You will need to find an Auspice organisation before you apply for the grant.

If your application is successful, you will need to sign a simple agreement with the auspice organisation to confirm the responsibilities of each organisation.

When you provide a copy of this agreement to the Council’s Grants Officers, we will send the payment to the auspice organisation for your organisation to use.

If a program or event cannot go ahead as planned, or you wish to change your successful grant application, you will be asked to complete an ‘Application Variation Request form’.

This form must be submitted before the proposed change.

Council officers under delegation will assess then approve or decline this request based on how closely the alternative program/project/event aligns with the CCDF purpose and assessment criteria.

After you have completed your project, you must tell us how you spent the grant money and what the outcomes of the project were. 

This is known as an acquittal process. An acquittal report will be required at the end of each year of funding.

Find out more about the acquittal process.

Council has zero tolerance of child abuse and is committed to creating and maintaining a child safe and child friendly City where all children and young people are valued and protected from abuse harm or neglect.

You must comply with all relevant Child Safety laws including but not limited to the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005.

• Worker Screening Act 2020
• Child Employment (Amendment) Act 2022
• Victorian Child Safe Standards
• Reportable Conduct Scheme

For plain language guides, fact sheets, videos and other child safety resources please visit the Commission for Children and Young People.

Our Grants Officers are available to answer questions about how to apply and the grant criteria.

• Phone: 9705 5200
• Email: communitygrants@casey.vic.gov.au
• Arts Development Officer: arts@casey.vic.gov.au

If you need an interpreter, call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 then ask for 9705 5200.

Please contact us as early as possible if you do need help to get your application in on time. We will not accept late applications for any reason, including internet or computer issues.