Eligibility- Who can apply for support?

To be able to apply for support from Creative New Zealand, you will need to meet a number of different eligibility criteria.

You’ll need to meet both –

• the general eligibility criteria that cover everyone who applies for support (explained below), and
• the specific criteria for the particular grant or investment programme that you are applying for.

General eligibility criteria

All applications for support must meet these basic criteria:

• You must be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, if you are applying as an individual.
• You must have a track record of experience and success in your particular artform or cultural practice
• Your project or activities must directly benefit New Zealand arts, artists or practitioners.

Even if you meet the criteria above, you or your particular project or activity may be excluded by one of the rules listed below.

People and organisations that Creative New Zealand does not support

• organisations funded by a government agency, tertiary institution or local authority (for example a public gallery), unless the proposed activity goes beyond the core activity for which they receive funding
• employees of tertiary or other educational institutions, if the arts activity for which they are seeking funding is part of their job (your application will need to include a written statement from your Head of Department, or the equivalent position, confirming that the activity is not part of your job)
• individuals or organisations (or key members of the team) who are more than 16 weeks overdue with a report for a previous Creative New Zealand grant or investment
• individuals or organisations (or key members of the team) who have sent in a late report (after receiving a second reminder) within six months before the closing date for applications
• individuals or organisations (or key members of the team) who are in breach of the conditions of a current funding agreement with Creative New Zealand
• overseas arts organisations or New Zealand artists based overseas, unless they can show that their proposal will have direct benefits for New Zealand artists or arts organisations (your application will need to name a New Zealand artist or an established arts organisation and include an endorsement from them)
• Creative New Zealand staff or members of the Arts Council, the Arts Board, Te Waka Toi or the Pacific Arts Committee. (We also cannot consider letters of support for your application from these individuals.)

Projects and activities that Creative New Zealand does not support

Creative New Zealand does not provide support for the following kinds of projects or activities:

• those already supported through other government agencies such as Radio New Zealand, the NZ Film Commission, the New Zealand Music Commission, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board, NZ On Air, Te Māngai Pāho or Te Matatini
• attending a school or tertiary institution (whether undergraduate or postgraduate) in New Zealand
• developing or producing content for TV or radio
• buying capital items (such as cars, computers or recording equipment)
• buying or renovating buildings.

Specific criteria for particular grants, investments and programmes

There are also specific eligibility criteria for each of our grants, investments and programmes. Look into specific Funding & Opportunities for this information.