Are you looking for information on grant application assessments or timeframes? Log into the grants portal to find out how your application is progressing.

News Innovation Fund

The News Innovation Fund Grant Program is supporting Australian news producers to develop innovative business practices to increase their commercial sustainability and to improve the resilience of the sector in response to significant external pressures through innovative new projects. 

Closed
This grant is currently closed to applications

What do you get?

Grants from $10,000 to $9 million.

Who is this for?

Australian news organisations whose primary purpose is the creation and distribution of digital core news content and Australian enabling organisations that provide support to Australian news producers.

About the program

The News Innovation Fund Grant Program will run over 2 financial years from 2026-27 to 2027-28. This program is part of the News Media Assistance Program (News MAP), which aims to support public interest journalism and safeguard media diversity.

This program aims to support Australian news producers and enabling organisations to increase their commercial sustainability and improve the resilience of the sector through the funding of innovative new projects.

There is a total of up to $31.5 million available over 2 years for the program. Grants will be from $10,000 to $9 million.

The program will have two streams. Eligible applicants can apply for funding for activities that align with the outcomes under one of the following streams:

Stream 1: Journalism Production

Activities that increase journalism production and distribution including increasing training and staffing.

Applicants may apply for new projects that meet one or more of the following:

  • improve or expand core news content produced and distributed digitally
  • activities that develop the capacity and capability of Australian organisations to produce or expand their digital core news content,
  • establish and support the emergence of new journalism in under-represented areas and/or underserved audiences in Australia (i.e. ‘news deserts’).

Stream 2: Organisational Support

Activities that support internal capacity building and commercial sustainability of Australian core news producers.

Applicants may apply for new projects that:

  • develop or engage resources to build organisational and business capacities,
  • diversify the avenues of support for the digital core news producers, through commercial means; and/or
  • realise innovative economies of scale across multiple organisations in the provision of digital core news content.

Contact

Need help?

Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.

  • Phone:
  • Open Hours:
    Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm across Australia
  • Website:

Key documents

Grant opportunity guidelines

pdf · 0.50 MB docx · 0.32 MB

Sample application form

pdf · 0.59 MB docx · 0.31 MB

Sample grant agreement

pdf · 0.47 MB docx · 0.15 MB
Was this page helpful?