Current Grant Opportunity View - GO7257

The News Media Relief Program (the program) will support the sustainability of Australian news publishers in the face of significant disruption to the media sector.

The objectives of the program are:

• support the sustainability of Australian news publishers in the face of significant disruption to the media sector
• support the creation of news content distributed online
• encourage the continued employment of journalists who primarily produce news that is in the Australian public interest
• building and maintaining social cohesion in Australia, including for Cultural and Linguistically Diverse CALD communities, First Nations communities and the wider Australian community.

The intended outcomes of the program are:

• support and safeguard news coverage in Australia
• mitigate the significant risk to the financial sustainability of news publications in regional and outer metropolitan areas of Australia, and publications providing news for CALD and First Nations communities.

Organisations with a primary purpose of producing core news content will be eligible for funding to support a proportion of the salary costs of journalists producing core news content that is distributed digitally.

The grant amount is $13,000 per eligible journalist full time equivalent (FTE).

If the journalist is not employed full time with the applicant, the grant amount requested should be based on a pro-rata amount of the FTE.

The program will run over 1 year from 2024-25.

You can apply if you:

• have an Australian business number (ABN)
• be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• have an account with an Australian financial institution

And either:

• be located in, and provide core news content to, an eligible geographic community, or
• provide core news content targeted to an eligible audience.

You must also be one of the following entities:

• an entity, incorporated in Australia
• a company limited by guarantee
• an incorporated association
• a co-operative
• a partnership
• an incorporated not for profit organisation or registered charity
• an individual.

Eligible geographic communities are:

• a regional community - located in a regional area of Australia, i.e. one that is in a location that is not a major city of Australia. The geographic community may be centred on one or more specific towns or local government areas in a regional area with shared communal interests. The publication’s target audience is the regional community and does not target a state or national news audience.
• a local suburban community - located in a major city of Australia and is centred on one or more specific suburbs or local government areas in a metropolitan area with shared communal interests. The publication’s target audience is the local suburban community and does not target a state or national news audience.

Under the Australian Bureau of Statistics Remoteness Structure, major cities of Australia include but are not limited to: Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide, and Melbourne. Hobart is not considered a major city of Australia.

Eligible audiences are:

• First Nations audiences - primarily made up of members of at least one Australian First Nations community
• CALD audiences - primarily made up of members of at least one, specific community defined by their national, linguistic or cultural background.

See the full eligibility criteria in the grant opportunity guidelines.

$15,000,000.00

To apply, go to https://business.gov.au/nmrp

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