Indigenous Languages and Arts grants to open 2 February -with new funding caps set out

First Nations community organisations will be able to apply from Monday, 2 February 2026 for project funding through the Australian Government’s Indigenous Languages and Arts (ILA) program, with applications set to close Monday, 16 March 2026.

The Office for the Arts says the ILA program supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to “express, conserve and sustain” culture through language and arts activities around Australia.

On its program page, the department says the ILA program “will invest over 48 million in 2026–27” for Indigenous languages and arts projects, including funding specifically for the annual open competitive grant opportunity.

A December 2025 fact sheet says the program will invest over $47 million in 2025–26, and that in 2025–26 it funded 124 projects, including support for a network of 25 Indigenous Language Centres.

The open competitive stream is for “discrete one-off Indigenous languages and/or arts activities” with projects funded for a specific purpose and period, according to the program FAQs.

Those FAQs set out the 2026–27 funding bands:

• Micro – up to $20,000 (up to 12 months)
• Minor – up to $50,000 (up to 12 months)
• Intermediate – up to $150,000 per year (12–24 months)
• Major – up to $200,000 per year (24–36 months)
• Macro – “to be negotiated” (up to 36 months).

The FAQs also state that individuals and sole traders are not eligible, unincorporated associations are not eligible and the program does not fund auspicing arrangements.

In linking the program to national policy, the ILA FAQs quote Closing the Gap Target 16, which states: “By 2031, there is a sustained increase in number and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages being spoken.”