Creative Australia has told applicants to its Flourish: First Nations Fashion and Textiles Fund that, “due to unavoidable delays over this end-of-year period”, funding outcomes “will not be released until January 2026”.
It also advised that “project start dates will now need to commence after 1 March 2026, and apologised “for any inconvenience”. Applicants were directed to email firstnationsarts@creative.gov.au with queries.
The update was issued by the agency’s First Nations Arts and Culture team, which also noted Creative Australia would close for the holidays from Thursday 25 December 2025 and return on Monday 5 January 2026.
Flourish is advertised as offering $10,000 to $50,000 in support for “design, production, marketing and development” in the First Nations textile design and fashion sector, with applications closing on 11 November 2025 (3pm AEST) and notifications scheduled for January 2026.
On the fund’s published guidelines, activities were to begin on or after 2 February 2026 and run for no longer than 12 months, with applications assessed by First Nations Industry Advisors and final recommendations approved by Creative Australia’s executive team.
The timeline change has landed as Creative Australia continues to face scrutiny about decision-making systems and governance. An independent external review by Blackhall & Pearl into the Venice Biennale controversy found “a series of missteps, assumptions and missed opportunities” that left leadership and the board “not well placed” to manage foreseeable criticism or controversy.
“no single or predominant failure” but “a series of missteps, assumptions and missed opportunities.”
Separately, the Australian National Audit Office has found Creative Australia’s fraud and corruption control arrangements “partly effective”, pointing to documentation and assurance gaps.
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