Applicants must:

• be registered and based in Queensland as well as owned and controlled by Queensland-based stakeholders
• have an active following online with a minimum with 25,000 total followers across your channel(s) and a minimum of 10,000 on at least one platform
• demonstrate that you are the creator and owner of all Intellectual Property (IP) content on their channel(s)
  • if IP is owned by an interstate producer/creative, your business will be considered eligible with demonstrable significant benefits to Queensland through the promotion of Queensland Resident above-the-line talent
• be engaged in creating original online content
• have consistently posted to your channel(s) for a minimum of 12-months prior to applying
• not be a full-time undergraduate, honours or master’s student
• only submit one application per round
• have not already received an Online Elevation Grant in the same financial year.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Businesses

Online channels involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content will be eligible for Screen Queensland support where some or all of the Intellectual Property is owned by members of these communities. Please ensure that consultation with ICIP Rights holders and appropriate licences for ICIP Rights have been obtained and that you read and abide by Screen Australia’s Pathways and Protocols document.  

Applicants will be required to provide evidence of eligibility and meet Screen Queensland’s general eligibility requirements as set out in the Terms of Trade.

Eligible Activities

Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

• hiring staff and services
• leasing offices and studio space
• professional development
• community/audience building
• launching new channels

Ineligible activities include:

• primarily educational or internal training content
• branded content primarily for the promotion of another business’ activities
• individual production of projects, i.e. short films, web series or feature films.

Applicants can apply for up to $50,000 and must provide a budget which demonstrates what the funding will be used toward. Expenses must be primarily spent in Queensland.

Applications will be accepted via the above link.

Applicants must provide: 

1. Business plan (max. 5 pages) – outlining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business, the current activities of the business and how you will utilise the funding to elevate the business.
2. Financial sustainability strategy – outlining your business’ path toward becoming financially sustainable. Provide an overview of your business’ current revenue with consideration of how funding will contribute to sustainable growth.  
3. Budget – demonstrating how your business will utilise the funding with expenses primarily spent within Queensland.  
4. Current analytics – an overview of your channel analytics over at least the past 12 months including information on the current total followers, total monthly views and post engagement broken down by platform.  
5. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – outlining the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals you want to achieve with the funding based on your business plan provided.
6. Creator overview – providing links to three videos that sum up your business’ content, accompanied by a brief synopsis about each piece discussing how they represent your business’ unique selling proposition and engage an audience.  
7. Pitch video (max. 3 min) – introducing the key creative team, providing an overview of your creator business and how this funding can help you elevate the business.  

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Strategy – do the proposed activities make strategic sense for your business and align with the opportunities in the online landscape and objectives of the fund? 
• Creative strength – is your content produced to a high quality? Is your audience/community engaged with the content? Is there room to expand within the market?
• Sustainability – does the provided business plan outline how your business will move towards financial sustainability? 
• Current analytics – is/are your channel(s) growing? Does the engagement on your channel(s) align with your following? Do you post across platforms and, if not, should you?
• Diverse voices – how do the proposed activities meaningfully contribute to a diverse screen industry by championing people, stories and projects that reflect Queensland communities and audiences?
• Capability and executability – have you identified the resources, expertise and abilities required to deliver the proposed activities, and how will you access these resources and capabilities? 
• Benefits to Queensland – are the proposed activities going to have an ongoing economic, employment or cultural impact on the Queensland screen industry? 

Successful applicants enter a formal agreement with Screen Queensland outlining delivery, reporting, acquittal, and legal requirements. Grants are paid over drawdowns, only for eligible costs. 

Drawdowns will be paid over the following milestones:  

• 40% On execution of contract  
• 25% Milestone interview and KPI review 
• 25% Milestone interview and KPI review 
• 10% Final delivery report and acquittal