Games Market and Travel fund

The Market and Travel fund assists games developers to attend and participate in a range of industry opportunities. In 2025, we have expanded the Market and Travel grants for games developers into two streams.

The ongoing Market stream will continue to support Queensland-based practitioners to attend markets and conferences with a project that they are actively pitching, while the Professional Development stream provides travel support for games developers selected to participate in eligible professional development opportunities.

The Market and Travel Fund is a rolling fund and all applications will be assessed competitively.

MARKET

The Market stream of the Market and Travel grants is for Queensland-based individuals or teams travelling to games industry markets, conventions and conferences to attract support and finance for their project. Funding through this program supports flights, accommodation, ground travel and event registration.

Market support typically benefits games developers looking to take at least one project to markets either nationally or internationally.

There are two ways to apply for Market support

Apply to attend any eligible event of your choosing, submitting an application six weeks prior to the travel date
Apply for specific opportunities promoted by Screen Queensland.

Queensland screen practitioners or teams can apply for $1,000–$1,500 for Australian Markets, $3,500–$5,000 for overseas markets in the Asia Pacific region, and $5,000–$7,500 for international markets beyond the Asia Pacific.

All applicants must be Bona Fide Queensland residents. Please submit your application a minimum six weeks prior to the travel date.

HOW MUCH CAN I APPLY FOR?

Grants of up to $5,000 for an individual and $7,500 for a team for markets outside the Asia Pacific region that suit your game
Grants of up to $3,500 for an individual and $5,000 for a team for markets within the Asia Pacific region that suit your game
Grants of up to $1,000 for an individual and $1,500 for a team for Australian markets that suit your game

All travellers must be a Queensland resident. Please submit your application a minimum six weeks prior to the departure date.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Eligible applicants for Market and Travel grants are:

game developers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents living in Queensland, either travelling as an individual or a team
attending a market or prestigious event
if representing a project, taking at least one project
the demonstrated owner of the rights to all projects listed as part of the application.

Please call Screen Queensland on (07) 3248 0500 or email games@screenqld.com.au if you have any questions or would like to discuss special circumstances for travel.

PREPARING YOUR APPLICATION

Market program applications must be received at least six weeks prior to your departure date but can be submitted at any time of year.

You can preview the application form on Smartygrants

Your proposal will need to include the following items

Plan – an outline of who you are going to meet and why they’ll be interested in your slate
Strategy – why this market is the right one for you and your business/career
Team – your cv and bio and those of anyone you are travelling with

Legalities – things you must have

Rights to the game, clear chain of title
Option agreement and/or the approval of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owners of the story
Writers/key creative agreement

WHAT IS SCREEN QUEENSLAND LOOKING FOR?

Your application will be assessed against the following criteria:

Is it a good game concept?
Is it well-told and likely to excite an audience?
Does the team have a clear idea of who their audience is and how to reach them?
Is the budget appropriate for the kind of project and the size of the audience it will reach?
Does the team have a good reputation for delivering what it says it will and the skills to make this happen?
How will this impact the careers of Queensland talent and the state screen sector more broadly?

We seek to support the creation and growth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander screen practitioners, content and representation across our industry and state. Additionally, we are committed to ensuring diverse representation across all aspects of the production and development process. As such, diversity in areas of gender, age, culture, ethnicity, language, ability, sexuality, location (such as regional and remote areas) and socio-economic status are encouraged in projects we support.

We encourage prospective applicants to reach out to our First Nations team prior to submission.

APPLICATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Submission of an application constitutes acceptance of these Guidelines and the application terms and conditions.

Your information will be used in accordance with Screen Queensland’s Privacy Policy which you hereby agree to by submitting this application.

Applicants must notify Screen Queensland in writing if they have an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest in applying for the Funding and, if so, the manner in which they propose to deal with the conflict.

The applicant retains all intellectual property rights in its submission. The applicant grants an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty and fee free licence to the Screen Queensland to use, adapt and modify its intellectual property rights in its submission for the purposes of Screen Queensland analysing and evaluating the applicant’s submission.

Screen Queensland’s liability in relation to the application process is limited to $1.

Screen Queensland reserves the right to change any element of the Funding, these Guidelines or the application process at any time and in its absolute discretion.

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS TO READ

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Professional Development stream of the Market and Travel Fund supports Queensland-based game developers travelling to take part in a broad range of professional development activities and opportunities, such as: 

Participation-by-invitation in significant national or international labs, workshops and masterclasses.
Funding to support travel to other significant professional development opportunities will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants must be able to provide evidence that they will be actively involved participants in the opportunity for which they seek funding, which must entail clear and demonstrable career-escalation benefits.

Applicants please note, the following will not be funded under the Professional Development stream of the Market and Travel fund and applications seeking funding for the below will be considered uncompetitive or ineligible.

Attendance at games festivals, screenings, panels, workshops or conferences etc. solely as an audience member.
Attendance at invitation-only events (labs, workshops etc.) where invitation to participate is not confirmed in writing.
Internships and similar positions where the role is unpaid or paid below industry-standard minimums.
Internships similar positions where the project concerned does not have a clear pathway to audience/marketplace.

Funding will be capped and competitive. 

WHAT CAN I APPLY FOR?

A wide range of travel activities will be supported through this fund and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Key criteria are:

You must be travelling for a significant professional development opportunity with clear and demonstrable career-escalation benefits.
You must be an active participant in the opportunity, attending on the basis of personal invitation or a competitive selection process (e.g. this strand does not fund attendance at games festivals or conferences solely as an audience member).
Your involvement in the opportunity must be confirmed in writing at the point of application.
Your budgeted travel costs must be reasonable and we expect all applicants to contribute toward their own travel expenses to some degree.