Documentary Development Program
Screen Australia
Development money for documentaries headed for cinemas, television or direct-to-audience platforms such as YouTube and VR.
up toA$30kRepayableany time
Regional fund Australia, Adelaide
ABC First Look, Early Development Grant
Run by South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) with the ABC
Early concept money aimed at one buyer: drama, comedy, children's, factual and documentary ideas for the ABC, developed in South Australia from an outline or treatment. The prize beyond the grant is a commissioner's notes toward ABC committed development. The 2026 round is in its second stage.
Grant up to A$50,000Open to writers in AustraliaA writer with a producer or a production company
Stage 2 (2026) Nov 13, 2026 (closes in 12 days)
That closing date has passed. We check the funder's page every day and add the next dates once they are published.
The money
- Amount
- Up to A$50,000Up to AUD 50,000 for scripted including children's, AUD 25,000 for unscripted; repaid only if produced without SAFC finance
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer with a producer or a production company
- Where you write
- In Australia
- Rules
- A credited South Australian producer holding or optioning the rights, with a South Australian writer or director attached, who has read the ABC's commissioning priorities and watched the program webinar. Theatrical features, shorts and social series are ineligible.
- Stages
- Development
- Formats
- Series, Documentary, Animation
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
The next closing date is Nov 13, 2026. The dates below are the current cycle's, as the funder states them. Stage 1 eligibility closed October 5, 2026; only applicants accepted then may file Stage 2 by November 13; decisions by December 16, 2026
| Round | Closes |
|---|---|
| Stage 2 (2026) | Nov 13, 2026 |
Dates are as the funder states them. Check the time of day and the time zone on the official page.
What it gives besides money
ABC commissioners sit on the panel and give selected teams feedback on their early materials and what the broadcaster wants to see next.
Also open to writers in Australia
Documentary Production Program
Screen Australia
Three lanes for documentary production: Producer First for films still closing finance, Platform First for commissioned programs, and Direct-to-Audience for work released on YouTube…
up toA$500kInvestmentcloses in 95 days
First Nations Documentary Development
Screen Australia, First Nations Department
Treatments, draft scripts, research and sizzle shooting for documentaries by First Nations key creatives, including emerging producers.
up toA$30kGrantcloses in 74 days
First Nations Feature Development
Screen Australia, First Nations Department
Draft money for feature screenplays by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers with a track record.
up toA$45kGrantcloses in 74 days
More development funding elsewhere
Grants for Artist Projects (GAP)
Artist Trust
Small, fast and plentiful: 65 Washington artists a year receive USD 2,500 toward a specific project, from research travel to a first draft.
range$2.5kGrantbetween rounds
Incubator Fund
ITVS, Independent Television Service
ITVS's development door, replacing its earlier diversity development fund: a small first payment to shape a nonfiction feature or web series for PBS streaming, with a few months of…
up to$10kGrantpaused
Public Media Content Fund
Latino Public Broadcasting
Documentaries and limited series about Latino life for national public television, funded from first research through the final mix.
range$100kInvestmentbetween rounds
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grants at Film Independent
Film Independent, with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Science on screen pays here: three cash grants a year for fiction projects about scientists or technology, awarded inside Film Independent's Episodic Lab, Producing Lab and Fast Track…
range$30kGrantbetween rounds
Also useful
Fellowships and labsPrograms that pick a few writers and work with them for months, on the events pages.Where Creative Europe's development money goesEvery MEDIA development grant since 2014, by country, company and year.How to write a treatmentThe document a development application is built on, step by step.Screenwriting eventsContests, labs, festivals and conferences, with their deadlines.