Victorian Government to provide grants for small and medium-sized events

The Victorian Government is set to provide grants for small and medium-sized event organisers across Greater Melbourne to help with running events. 

The A$3m (£1.7m/€1.9m/ $2.1m) Small and Medium Event Programme has been designed to attract more visitors to local events, support more job opportunities and provide a boost to local businesses.

This new scheme from the Australian state will deliver grants between A$5,000 and A$50,000 depending on the size of the event, and will support a diverse range of initiatives. Applications for the grants will close at 4pm local time on Tuesday, February 28.

To be eligible, applicants must be an event that is publicly accessible and open to everyone; must be creative, cultural or a community sporting event; and must demonstrate significant economic, social or community value.

Applicants must also be primarily an in-person event with estimated attendees between 1,000 and 10,000; the events must be held between June 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023; and be held in one or more of the 31 Local Government Areas (LGAs) outside the City of Melbourne.

Event organisers may seek the grant funding based on the number of estimated event attendees, with attendance numbers primarily based on previous numbers or an evidence-based estimation if the event is new.

Applicants will need to match the funding requested to at least a 1:1 ratio and all income that does not come from the Victorian State Government can be counted towards the application, including Federal or Local Government funding, ticket sales or sponsorship revenue.

There are two different tiers for funding with Tier 1 reserved for smaller events between 1,000 and 4,999 attendees and Tier 2 reserved for medium events with between 5,000 and 10,000 attendees.

Smaller events are able to apply for grants between A$5,000 and A$25,000 and medium events are able to apply for grants worth between A$25,000 and $50,000.