Getting an original Australian song in front of a new audience often comes down to one thing: getting the band on the road. Touring is expensive, and for most independent and emerging musicians the cost of flights, accommodation, venue hire and crew fees can make a regional or interstate tour impossible without help. The Contemporary Music Touring Program (CMTP), delivered by Creative Australia, exists to close that gap. It provides grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 to help Australian musicians, their managers, agents and music networks fund tours of original Australian contemporary music, with the largest grants reserved for tours that reach regional and remote communities.
This guide explains, in plain language, how the program works, who can apply, what the money can and cannot be spent on, and what a strong application looks like.
What Is the Contemporary Music Touring Program?
CMTP is an ongoing, multi-round grants program that funds touring activity for original Australian contemporary music. “Contemporary music” is interpreted broadly by the program, covering most genres of popular and independent music rather than classical or purely traditional forms. The program’s underlying goal is cultural: it wants to see more Australians, especially those living outside major cities, get the chance to see original Australian music performed live, while giving touring artists and the teams around them a sustainable way to fund that work.
Because the program runs multiple rounds each year, it is not a one-off opportunity. Musicians who miss one closing date can prepare for the next.
How Much Funding Is Available
Grants range from $5,000 up to $50,000, and the maximum amount available depends on how far the proposed tour reaches:
Tours that only visit metropolitan venues can receive up to $15,000. This is the entry point for artists who want support to tour between capital cities or major metropolitan centres.
Tours that include at least one performance in a regional or remote location can receive up to $25,000. Adding even a single regional stop to an otherwise metropolitan tour opens up a meaningfully larger funding tier.
Tours that include three or more performances in remote or very remote locations can receive up to $50,000, the top of the funding scale. This tier is specifically designed to offset the higher costs of reaching communities that are harder and more expensive to travel to.
Which location counts as “regional,” “remote” or “very remote” is determined using an official ARIA (Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia) code lookup, which applicants are expected to use when planning and documenting their touring itinerary. This classification directly affects which funding tier a tour can apply for, so it is worth checking early, before finalising a venue list.
Who Qualifies
The program is open to a wide range of applicants connected to the Australian contemporary music industry, not just performing artists themselves. Eligible applicants include:
Individual musicians, bands and music groups performing original Australian contemporary music.
Organisations that support or represent touring musicians, including music venues, presenters and industry bodies.
Managers, booking agents and music networks applying on behalf of the artists or industry professionals they represent.
Applicants can be a mix of individuals, groups or organisations, and a manager or agent does not need to be an Australian citizen themselves to apply on behalf of an eligible Australian act. Each applicant is limited to a maximum of two applications per funding round, which is worth keeping in mind if a manager or agency represents several touring acts and is considering which tours to prioritise for a given round.
Who Does NOT Qualify
Not every touring proposal will be eligible, and it is worth checking these exclusions carefully before investing time in an application. The program will not fund:
Performances of music that is not original, or not Australian in origin. Cover acts, tribute shows and performers of non-original repertoire fall outside the program’s scope.
Tours where fewer than three of the venues are outside the performer’s own hometown. The program is designed to support genuine touring activity, not a handful of local shows.
Overseas touring activity, or tours that include non-Australian performers as part of the touring line-up.
Performances that have already taken place by the time of application. Funding is for tours that are still ahead, not for reimbursing shows that have already happened.
Applicants who have unresolved grant acquittals or outstanding debts with Creative Australia from previous funding. These need to be resolved before a new application can be considered.
If any of these apply to a proposed tour, it is worth reworking the itinerary, or the application itself, before the closing date rather than submitting something that is likely to be ruled ineligible.
What the Funding Can Be Used For
CMTP funding is designed to cover the real, practical costs of getting a tour on the road. Eligible costs include:
Fees for artists and other creative workers involved in the tour, along with agent and manager fees connected to organising and running it.
Travel costs, including flights, accommodation, per diems (daily living allowances while on tour) and ground transport between venues.
Insurance and freight costs associated with moving people, instruments and equipment.
Childcare, carer and access costs that make touring possible for artists and crew members who need this kind of support.
Costs associated with reducing the environmental impact of the tour, for artists who want to plan a lower-impact itinerary.
Interpreter services and accessibility features such as captioning, Auslan interpretation and audio description, which help make performances accessible to a wider audience.
This is a genuinely broad list, and applicants should think through the full cost of their tour, not just the obvious travel expenses, when putting together their budget.
Key Dates and Deadlines
The current funding round closes on Tuesday, 13 October 2026 at 3pm AEDT. Applicants who are notified of a successful outcome in this round should expect to hear back in late December 2026, with funded touring activity able to begin from 1 January 2027.
For musicians who cannot make the October deadline, CMTP runs further rounds later in the year, with closing dates already set for Tuesday, 2 March 2027 and Tuesday, 8 June 2027. Because the program runs on a recurring cycle, missing one round is not the end of the road, but it does mean waiting several months for the next opportunity, so it is worth building enough lead time into tour planning to hit a round you can realistically apply for.
What You’ll Need to Prepare
A complete CMTP application draws together several pieces of information, and gathering these in advance makes the application process considerably smoother. Expect to need:
A clear project outline that sets out where and when the tour will happen, including specific venues and locations.
A detailed budget and financial plan that accounts for how the requested grant amount, together with any other income, will be spent across the tour.
A touring itinerary that includes ARIA code lookups for each location, since this is what determines whether a stop counts as metropolitan, regional, remote or very remote for funding tier purposes.
A marketing and audience development strategy that explains how the tour will find and build its audience in each location.
Documentation of the safety and wellbeing practices that will be in place for artists, crew and audiences during the tour.
Applicants can also submit optional support materials to strengthen their case: up to three URLs linking to written material, images, video or audio examples of the act’s work (capped at 10 pages of writing, 10 images, or 10 minutes of audio or video); up to two pages combined of artist biographies or CVs; up to five letters of support, capped at five pages in total; and, where relevant, an environmental impact plan that includes a cost-benefit analysis.
First Nations applicants should be aware that any application involving First Nations cultural material or knowledge needs to follow recognised protocols for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). Any successful applicant whose tour involves working with children will also need to comply with the Commonwealth Child Safe Framework and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
How the Program Assesses Applications
CMTP applications are reviewed by a panel of peers from within the music sector, meaning the people assessing an application are likely to understand the practical realities of touring, not just read a proposal on paper. Panels weigh applications against three main criteria.
Quality looks at the calibre of the artists involved and the standard of the music itself, drawn from the support materials and professional track record an applicant provides. This is where strong, well-chosen audio or video examples genuinely matter.
Impact considers the cultural contribution the tour will make, particularly how far it reaches into regional areas, what benefit it brings to the local communities being toured to, whether the applicant has built genuine partnerships with people or organisations in those touring locations, and whether the tour includes all-ages performances that widen who can attend.
Viability looks at whether the tour is actually achievable, based on the budget and itinerary supplied. This includes whether artists, crew and collaborators are being paid appropriately, whether the marketing strategy and evidence of audience demand are realistic, whether supporting partners are credible, and whether safety, wellbeing and (where relevant) environmental planning has been properly thought through.
How Competitive Is This Program
Because CMTP funds a genuinely wide range of applicants, from solo artists to bands, managers, agents and organisations, and because it runs several rounds a year rather than a single annual round, it tends to be more accessible than one-off, capped funding pools. That said, demand for touring support in the Australian music industry is consistently high, and the program’s own assessment criteria make clear that strong, specific applications outperform vague ones. Tours that reach genuinely underserved regional or remote communities, that can show real local partnerships, and that come with a realistic, well-documented budget are typically viewed more favourably than tours that stick to well-served metropolitan circuits with a thin supporting case.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A number of avoidable mistakes come up repeatedly in touring grant applications of this kind, and knowing them in advance can meaningfully improve an application’s chances.
Underestimating the itinerary requirement is a common trap. Remember that at least three venues need to be outside the performer’s own hometown for a tour to qualify at all, so a short run of local shows with one out-of-town date will not meet the bar.
Treating the ARIA code classification as an afterthought is another. Because the funding tier an applicant can request depends directly on how many regional or remote locations are included, it pays to check the classification of each proposed venue early, rather than assembling an itinerary first and discovering later that it does not unlock the funding tier the applicant was hoping for.
Submitting a thin or generic budget is a frequent weak point. Since viability is one of three full assessment criteria, a budget that simply states a lump sum without breaking down fees, travel, insurance and other costs line by line is unlikely to score well.
Leaving support materials until the last minute is also common. Because the program allows a genuinely useful set of optional materials (links, images, audio, video, letters of support), applicants who treat these as central to their application, rather than an afterthought, put their strongest evidence of quality in front of the assessment panel.
Finally, applying with acquittal or debt issues still outstanding from a previous Creative Australia grant will result in an ineligible application. Anyone unsure of their acquittal status should resolve this before spending time on a new application.
Related Funding Options
Touring is not the only kind of support available to Australian artists and creative organisations. If a proposed project sits outside CMTP’s scope, whether because it is not a touring project, involves non-original material, or is based in a particular state, it is worth checking whether a state-specific or broader arts funding stream is a better fit. You can browse more grants for Australian artists on the Grants Assist portal to compare other creative-sector funding currently open across the country.
If you are not yet sure which type of grant best matches your situation, Grants Assist’s eligibility assessment tool can help you narrow down the options based on your own circumstances before you commit time to a full application.
Applying for the Contemporary Music Touring Program
Applications for CMTP are submitted online through Creative Australia’s own Application Management System. New applicants need to register for an account first, and registration can take up to two business days to process, so it is worth doing this well ahead of the closing date rather than leaving it until the final days of the round. Once registered, the application itself is completed and submitted through that same online system.
Given the detail required, from the itinerary and ARIA classifications through to the budget, marketing plan and support materials, most applicants find it easier to draft their responses in a separate document first and then transfer them into the online system once everything is finalised.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a manager or agent apply on behalf of an artist, rather than the artist applying directly?
Yes. CMTP accepts applications from performers, managers, agents and music networks applying on behalf of the artists or industry professionals they represent, not only from artists applying in their own name.
Does a tour have to include regional or remote shows to be eligible at all?
No, a purely metropolitan tour can still apply, but it is capped at a lower funding tier of up to $15,000. Adding regional or remote performances increases both the cultural impact of the tour and the maximum funding tier it can access, up to $50,000 for tours with three or more remote or very remote locations.
How many venues does a tour need to include to qualify?
At least three of the tour’s venues need to be outside the performer’s own hometown. Tours that do not meet this minimum are not eligible for CMTP funding.
What happens if I have an outstanding acquittal from a previous Creative Australia grant?
Applicants with unresolved acquittals or outstanding debts to Creative Australia from earlier funding are not eligible to apply for a new CMTP grant until that matter is resolved.
Is there a limit on how many applications one person or organisation can submit?
Yes, each applicant can submit a maximum of two applications per funding round.
When does the current round close, and when do future rounds open?
The current round closes Tuesday, 13 October 2026 at 3pm AEDT, with successful applicants notified in late December 2026 and funded activity able to start from 1 January 2027. Further rounds are already scheduled to close on Tuesday, 2 March 2027 and Tuesday, 8 June 2027.
Want to Keep Exploring Your Options?
Grants Assist’s online portal gives you access to detailed, regularly updated information on grants and assistance programs across Australia. Explore the Grants Assist portal to browse more programs like this one, or call us on 1300-005-999 to speak with one of our advisors.
