RAF Arts Grants Guidelines

Who can apply? I Activities not funded? I How to apply?I Do I need an Administering Body? I Supporting documents I Submission of application I Role of Assessment Panels I Role of Arts NT I How is your appliction processed? I Acknowledgment of funding I Indigenous protocols I Protocols for working with children in art I Copyright and Intellectual Property I Taxation

Who can apply?

Individuals, who must be Australian citizens or have permanent residence status and must be residents of the Northern Territory. Applicants under the age of 16 cannot apply to the Program.

Groups, which are not legally constituted, must have identified an individual within the group. This individual will be legally and financially responsible for the grant on behalf of the group. The individual must meet the above definition.

Organisations must be legally constituted and a not-for-profit organisation. This can be an incorporated association or a local government statutory authority. Organisations must be an Australian entity registered and operating in the Northern Territory.

Please note that entities operating outside of the Northern Territory, such as national/peak organisations, are not eligible, however, are encouraged to form partnerships with Northern Territory based organisations and/or artists for projects that will benefit the Territory. The NT based organisation or artist must be eligible to apply (see defi nition above) and must be the grant applicant and recipient.

Employees of the NT Government are ineligible where there is direct conflict of interest. NT Government agencies, including government schools and public hospitals are also ineligible to apply.

Activities not funded?

There are many activities that are beyond the scope of the Arts Grants Program, regardless of their merit. Arts NT does not accept applications for the following:

applications from applicants who have got outstanding acquittal reports;
activities that have already commenced before a decision has been made or activities have been completed;
projects or activities that do not have a clearly defi ned arts component;
activities that are the exclusive responsibility of other funding bodies or government agencies;
deficits from previous activities or deficit budgets;
fund-raising or charitable events;
commercial or business ventures;
capital equipment or real estate purchases;
restoration or conservation of cultural material;
research or studio work that will be offered for academic assessment;
auditions or interviews for courses at academic institutions;
the costs of prizes through competitions or awards;
delivery of accredited training or education based activity including curricular activities in primary schools, secondary schools;
international travel costs, either for an overseas artist to visit Australia or a local artist or arts worker to travel overseas;
ongoing administration costs of an organisation associated with a project;
touring projects that primarily involve touring from major urban centres to regional communities (exceptional circumstances agreed on a case by case basis);
a project or element of a festival this is also receiving funding through the Festivals Australia program (although other elements of the same festival may be eligible if the artists and preferably also the art-forms are different);
a project that is also receiving funding thorough the Indigenous Cultural Support Program, National Arts and Craft Industry Support program, the Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records program or other Indigenous program administered by DEWHA;
heritage activities (such as conservation of our signage at heritage buildings or sites). Arts projects located at heritage buildings or sites are eligible; or
ongoing activities of collecting institutions for collections development, maintenance, conservation and interpretation. Collecting institutions and heritage organisations may, however, apply for creative arts projects that fall with the program guidelines.

How to apply?

Applications for extra curricular activities with strong arts outcomes utilising educational structures and institutions, particularly in remote areas, will be considered providing they meet all relevant criteria.

All applicants should:

make contact with a Regional Arts Broker to discuss the activity and receive advice about selecting an appropriate category;
select an appropriate category and obtain and read the relevant application form;
complete the application form and provide attachments and support material;
if necessary, make a follow up appointment with a Regional Arts Broker at least a week before the closing date to ensure all the necessary information is attached;
check that all previous funding from Arts NT and the Regional Arts Fund has been acquitted;
and submit one copy of your complete application and support material to Arts NT.

Applications will not be considered outside of the advertised timeframes.

The total cost of an activity is not eligible for support through the Grants Program - you must demonstrate financial support from other sources.

You should note that Arts NT receives more applications than the Grants Program can support. Do not make any financial commitments on the expectation that you will receive funding.

Do I need an Administering Body?

Individuals are able to administer grants of up to $10 000 and are not required to have an administering body, however, must have an Australian Business Number (ABN) unless they can provide a completed Tax Office ‘Statement by a Supplier’ form (NAT3346-4.2008). For grants over $10 000 individuals must have an administering body.

Unincorporated associations, groups and other bodies with no legal status are required to nominate a legally constituted not-for-profi t organisation or an individual to take legal and fi nancial responsibility for administering the grant.

Examples of legally constituted organisations are:

NT incorporated associations
NT incorporated Aboriginal associations
companies limited by guarantee in the NT

You should enter into a written agreement with your administering body, which sets out your and their respective rights and responsibilities in relation to the grant’s administration and fi nancial management. It is recommended that the agreement contain a dispute resolution clause setting out procedures to be followed should any dispute between parties arise. You should note that most administering bodies will charge an administration fee which should be included as part of the submitted budget.

Administering bodies are often referred to as auspicing bodies.

Supporting documents

You will need to supply appropriate, high quality material to support your application as the Assessment Panel may not be familiar with your work and assesses applications on the basis of the submitted materials.

Artistic support material can include images, video or audio samples of current or previous work as well as newspaper clippings and feedback forms from past participants. Please ensure that support material provided in electronic format is compatible with PC’s. If you are unsure you are welcome to ask a Regional Arts Broker to assist and test the material prior to the submission.

A maximum of 5 support letters will be considered for the application. Only support letters relevant to the project are useful for the assessment.

Submission of application

Please submit your application:
- By mail to Arts NT, PO Box 496, Palmerston NT 0831 by COB of the advertised closing date.
- In person to Arts NT, Level 1, 9-11 Cavenagh Street, Darwin NT 0800 by COB of the advertised closing date.
- By facsimile to Arts NT on 08 8999 8949 by COB of the advertised closing date.

All applications need to be received in the Darwin Office, or posted on the closing date. Please note that applications cannot be received by email.

Role of Assessment Panels

Peer assessment of project rounds and Regional Arts Fund grants is fundamental to the Arts Grants Program. The Assessment Panel represents community and art form interests. The panels are drawn from the NT Register of Peers or other industry representatives where appropriate.

Role of Arts NT

The role of staff with regard to arts grants applications unless otherwise specified in the “Assessment” section below, is to:

provide information and advice to prospective applicants;
assess eligibility;
collate applications, support material and papers for assessment meetings;
provide secretariat support to assessment panels; and
provide additional information to the assessment panel during meetings, at the request of the Chair.

How your application is processed?

Submit Application
You should submit one copy of your application and your support material to the Arts NT Darwin office by close of business on the closing date, or post marked by 5pm on the closing date.

Eligibility check
Arts NT performs an eligibility check on the application. If the application is eligible an acceptance card will be sent to you. If the application is not eligible it will be returned to you, advising you of the reason/s. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete. Arts NT takes no responsibility for notifying applicants regarding incomplete applications.

Assessment
All applications will be assessed against the published assessment criteria for the grant category. A weighting is applied to artistic criteria at assessment. (Please note: numbering of assessment criteria does not refer to order of importance)
Assessment of grant applications and the decisions made are on the basis of the information supplied in the application
and the accompanying support material.

Please ensure you select the appropriate funding category as your application cannot be assessed under any other category once submitted.

RAF Rapid Response
Arts NT’s Arts Officers assess the Regional Arts Fund Rapid Response applications and prepare recommendations for approval by the Director, Arts NT.
Regional Arts Fund categories
An Assessment Panel representing community and art form interests assesses applications and is responsible for decision making.

Notification
You will receive a formal letter in the mail notifying you of the outcome of your application by the notification date advised. If your application is successful you will receive a letter offering you a grant.

Accompanying the letter will be a funding agreement which outlines the conditions of funding, including acknowledgement requirements, a request for your or your administering bodies bank account details, and an acquittal form.

All copies of the agreement form must be signed by yourself and, where appropriate, the administering body and returned to Arts NT before your grant payment can be made. You should not start a project that depends on a grant until all the parties concerned have signed the funding agreement.

Feedback
You can obtain verbal feedback on your application by contacting the Regional Arts Broker on 8999 8981 for Darwin or 8951 1190 for Alice Springs or for regional and remote callers use Freecall on 1800 678 237.

Some applications meet the published assessment criteria yet are unsuccessful. Arts NT receives more applications than are able to be supported within the available funding.

After each Project Round an Assessment Report is compiled detailing trends and general comments and results. Assessment Reports can be viewed at www.arts.nt.gov.au or you can contact Arts NT to obtain a copy.

Appeals
Grants decisions are not subject to appeal.

Acquittal of Grants
Acquitting a grant means accurately accounting for funding. This is done by submitting artistic, statistical and financial reports when your project is fi nished. Please note that you are not eligible to apply for another grant or receive any future payments until you have submitted satisfactory acquittal reports for all grants for which the acquittal date has fallen due. Acquittal reports allow Arts NT to fulfil its accountability obligations to the Northern Territory Government and the Australian Government. The report is also important to the development and promotional work of Arts NT. It helps monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Arts Grants Program.

Acquittal forms are listed at Applications and Acquittal Forms
For further details about the information required to successfully acquit your grant are available at Tips to write Acquittal Reports

Acknowledgement of funding

Recipients of a grant through the Regional Arts Fund (RAF) must acknowledge the Australian Government and support by the Northern Territory Government by either:

using the RAF logo in combination with the "Proudly supported by Northern Territory Government".
Both logos are available here

and/ or including the phrase “The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government initiative supporting the arts in regional, remote and very remote/isolated Australia. The program is delivered in partnership with the Northern Territory Government”.

The recipient must also invite the Australian Government Minister for the Arts or his/her nominated representative to attend public events associated with a project and, as appropriate, to launch or open the project.

Indigenous protocols

Northern Territory Indigenous Arts Strategy
The Northern Territory Indigenous Arts Strategy Building Strong Arts Business (BSAB) was launched at the Garma Festival on 8 August 2003. Information about the Strategy can be found here www. arts.nt.gov.au

If applying for a project involving Indigenous artists, cultural content or communities, you will need to certify the following:

that your project includes no misrepresentation or appropriation of Indigenous Cultures
that you have spoken to a Regional Arts Broker
that you can provide proof of Aboriginality if requested.

You will also need include evidence of consultation with relevant Indigenous individuals, community or language groups including letters of endorsement from Elders, Custodians, Land Councils, Shires or other appropriate community representatives.

This requirement applies equally to Indigenous and non Indigenous applicants.

Assessors cannot assume support for your activity – the onus is on you as the applicant to demonstrate community support and that all protocols and requirements have been met.

The Australia Council for the Arts has released a fully revised second edition of its protocol guides to help Australians better understand the use of Indigenous cultural material. New guides are available for art form areas Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Music, Writing, and Media Arts. They are relevant to anyone working in or with the Indigenous arts sector, including:

Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists
people working within related fields of Indigenous art form practice
federal and state/territory government agencies
industry agencies and peak organisations
galleries, museums and arts centres
educational and training institutions
Indigenous and targeted mainstream media.

The protocol guides endorse Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights – the rights of Indigenous people to own and control their cultural heritage. These rights are confi rmed in the 2006 United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which says Indigenous people have the right to practice and revitalise their cultural traditions and customs.

In Australia, Indigenous heritage comprises all objects, sites and knowledge transmitted from generation to generation. Indigenous people have a living heritage. Their connection with the land, water, animals, plants and other people is an expression of cultural heritage. Writing, music, performing arts, visual arts and media arts, are some of the mediums for transmitting Indigenous cultural heritage. (cited from Guides to help do the right thing with Indigenous culture, Australia Council for the Arts, 2nd edition, 2007)

The guides can be downloaded at www.australiacouncil.gov.au

Protocols for working with children in art

The Australia Council for the Arts has developed a set of protocols to address the depiction of children in works, exhibitions and publications that are the recipients of government funding.The Northern Territory Government supports the protocols for working with children in art which were adopted by the Australia Council under the direction of the Federal Fovernment.

Protocols will apply to all Arts NT grant recipients from 1 January 2009. Where Northern Territory laws exceed the requirements of the Protocols, grants recipients will be required to meet the requirements of the NT laws. There are three critical issues which have been considered in the development of the protocols (as published in Australia Council for the Arts, Protocols for working with children in art, 2008):

Creation: Ensuring that the rights of children are protected throughout the artistic process, based on informed consent about the process and the intended outcome of the artwork;
Exhibition and performance: Ensuring that artworks involving images of children have been produced and will be presented with due care and sensitivity; and
Distribution: Protecting images of children from being exploited, including use of the images beyond the original context of the creative work.

Arts NT requires all applicants to read the protocols developed by the Australia Council for the Arts, available online at www.australiacouncil.gov.au and the legal information for artists and arts organisations in the Northern Territory, available at www.artslaw.com.au Hard copies are also available at the Arts NT offices. Applicants should also refer to, and comply with, the Northern Territory Care and Protection of Children Act.

All applicants must adhere to the Australia Council protocols when applying to the Northern Territory Arts Grants Program.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

All applications must provide details of arrangements relating to copyright and intellectual property associated with the proposed activity. This includes details about authenticity, cultural ownership and appropriate contracts to artists for the publishing of their work.

Taxation

Grants paid by Arts NT may be considered part of your income in a financial year and therefore be subject to tax. You must determine your own taxation responsibilities. Further information is available from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) 13 28 66 or by referring to their website www.ato.gov.au

Successful grant recipients who have an ABN and are registered for the purposes of GST will be paid the grant amount plus GST. If the successful grant recipient is not registered for the purpose of GST, they will receive the grant exclusive of GST. Successful grant recipients who are administering their own grants up to $10 000 and do not have an ABN, must provide Arts NT with a completed“Statement by a Supplier” form (NAT3346- 4.2008). The grant will then be paid exclusive of GST.

Indigenous artists who qualify for a Zone A rebate (special or ordinary) and do not have an ABN are eligible for consideration under the PAYG withholding Variation 30. This varies the withholding amount to zero where payment is for artistic works. Further details are available from the ATO.