Access Fund

What is the Access Fund?

The Melbourne Fringe Access Fund provides a contribution of $500–$3,000 to help artists remove barriers to participation for d/Deaf, Disabled and neurodivergent audiences. It's open to any artist with a registered event in the 2026 Melbourne Fringe Festival. There are two rounds of funding, so you can apply in the round that best suits your timeline.

Round 2 of the Access Fund closes on 11:59pm, Thursday 4 June.

Please download and read through the Info Pack below.

About the Opportunity

Melbourne Fringe's Access Fund supports artists to remove barriers to participation for d/Deaf, Disabled and neurodivergent audiences. Made possible through our Radical Access and Cash for Equity programs, the fund provides a contribution of between $500 and $3,000 towards access integration for your event.

We welcome all artists registering in Melbourne Fringe 2026 to apply. Any genre, any form.

We want you to be bold and ambitious with this funding. We're not just looking for the standard checklist approach to access. We want to see creative thinking about how access can become a genuine part of your work, embedded in the experience, not bolted on at the end.

Before you apply, we recommend reading through the Accessibility Zone in the Melbourne Fringe Resource Hub. It has a range of information about access, including accessible approaches to making performance.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Access Fund you must:

•  Have a registered event (of any genre) in the 2026 Melbourne Fringe Festival. You can apply while your registration is still in progress — you don't need to have fully completed it if you're applying before Festival registrations close on Friday 22 May. 
• Be seeking a contribution of between $500 and $3,000 towards access integration.

The Access Fund provides a contribution towards access costs, not full coverage. The strongest applications will show that the artist is also contributing their own funds and/or other funding towards access. Co-investment doesn't have to mean money. There are plenty of low-cost or free ways to commit to access. What we want to see is genuine commitment, whether that's contributing to the cost or putting in the labour to make your event more accessible.

Key Dates (2026)

Thursday 23 April

Round 1 applications close at 11:59pm.

Friday 1 May

Round 1 applicants notified of outcome.

Thursday 14 May

Round 2 applications open.

Thursday 4 June

Round 2 applications close at 11:59pm.

Friday 12 June

Round 2 applicants notified of outcome.

What Can the Fund Be Used For?

The Access Fund can support two broad approaches: embedded access and access service provision. Both are valid, what matters is that your approach is right for your specific event and your audience.

Embedded Access

Embedded access means access is built into the work itself: not a separate add-on, but part of the experience for all audience members. We're particularly interested in funding this approach. Examples include:

• Building Auslan interpretation, audio description, or open captioning into the staging, script, or narrative itself — making access part of the experience for every audience member
• Developing multi-sensory elements that engage audiences through sound, touch, and movement, enabling Disabled audiences with different access needs to engage in a wider variety of ways
•  Engaging a professional access consultant to tailor your access approach — supporting preparation of sensory guides, connecting you to specialised providers, or giving feedback on your event and existing access plan
• Purchasing or hiring equipment that makes your show more accessible — for example, adding a ramp to overcome a single step, creating signage to demystify audience participation for neurodivergent audience members, or buying sensory kits for a Relaxed Performance. Ideally these items are in place for the full season, not just a single performance.

Access Service Provision

Melbourne Fringe will also consider funding the costs of access service provision. For example, booking an Auslan interpreter or audio describer for one or more performance sessions. If you can demonstrate this is the best approach for your specific event, and show that you've thought about how to reach and engage the community the service is for, we'll consider it.

If a higher amount would allow for deeper engagement with a service, be ambitious rather than trying to keep costs low.

Embedded vs Service — What's the Difference?

To illustrate the difference, here's a real example using Auslan interpretation:

Auslan embedded

An Auslan interpreter is fully integrated into the creative process from early on. This might include early consultation with a member of the d/Deaf community with the interpreter present, the interpreter attending creative team meetings, and the interpreter being part of the rehearsal process with drop-ins from a d/Deaf consultant. The aim is deeper community engagement, and this is much more likely to be achieved with a longer lead-up time and genuine involvement of lived experience.

Auslan as a service 

An artist books an interpreter through an Auslan interpreting company for a performance session and hopes that audiences requiring the service attend. The risk is that community members don't know about it, don't have a connection with the work, and don't feel confident the production is culturally safe for them.

Both approaches can be funded, but we're much more likely to fund the embedded approach, and we encourage artists to think creatively about how access can be integrated from the start.

What Makes a Strong Application?

A strong application will demonstrate:

• Comprehensive planning and thought about which forms of access best suit your event.
• A clear understanding of how the proposed accessibility will remove or reduce barriers for audiences
• The capacity to deliver what you're proposing to a high standard.
• Consideration of how you'll reach the community or communities the access is targeted towards.
• Meaningful co-investment from your creative team — whether financial, or through the labour of making your event more accessible.

How to Apply

The 2026 Access Fund has 2 rounds, and 1 stage of application – the EOI. Applications for Round 2 are now open. Please apply via the form.

Need to Apply in a Different Format?

If using Airtable forms isn’t accessible for you, please get in touch. We are keen to understand how to best accommodate your access needs. We can accept applications in a variety of formats, including text documents, video and audio files. We are also happy to work with you on other accessible application processes. We have a great team to support access, so please email [email protected] to start a conversation.  You can also call the Melbourne Fringe office by phone. The Melbourne Fringe phone number is (03) 9660 9600 (available Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm). 

We are open to your ideas around process. However, we cannot change the timeframes unfortunately – you’ll still need to get your proposal in by 11:59pm, Thursday 4 June.

Questions and Enquiries

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us. You can reach our Artist Services team at [email protected] 
Do you have questions about access or applications in other formats? You can reach our access team at [email protected] 
Alternatively, for all queries you are welcome to phone our office. The Melbourne Fringe phone number is (03) 9660 9600 (available Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm).
You may contact us through the National Relay Service, and the link is available if you click on this sentence. Alternatively, you could download Deaf-owned Relay Service Convo.