Celebrating cultural diversity and inclusion is important, regardless of background or location. The MFE Program recognises this.
Funding to rural and regional communities, and new and emerging communities is a priority. This is because they often have less access to resources and networks, and serve smaller populations.
Making it a priority will ensure these groups receive the necessary access to funding and support, by offering reduced attendance for small, medium and large stream events. Also, new and emerging community organisations and events have reduced matched funding requirements in the large stream. There is no matched funding requirement for rural and regional organisations and events.
For reduced attendance requirements, refer to ‘Small stream eligibility criteria’, ‘Medium stream eligibility criteria’ and ‘Large stream eligibility criteria’. For large stream matched funding information, refer to ‘Matched funding for the large stream’.
In addition, the department will prioritise applications that show engagement with the following groups:
- women
- young people
- LGBTIQA+ communities.
Rural and regional organisations and events
This round includes delivery of the Regional Multicultural Festivals and Events Fund (RMFEF). To be considered for this fund, organisations are asked in their application form whether they are:
- a regional organisation, or
- a metropolitan organisation delivering a regional event in partnership with a regional multicultural organisation.
To be eligible for the RMFEF program, all organisations must deliver their event in regional Victoria. Events held outside of regional Victoria are not supported. Organisations with membership split between metropolitan and regional Victoria can only be supported for events held in regional Victoria.
Applicants need to meet the basic eligibility requirements of either the small, medium, or large stream to be considered under the dedicated RMFEF program.
Applicants should note:
- There is no cap on how much funding can be requested for each regional festival (for large stream only). All requests are assessed based on the attendance thresholds and proposed budget expenditure.
- Matched funding will not be a requirement for eligible organisations for the RMFEF, even under the large stream.
Eligibility as a rural or regional organisation is based on your organisation being located outside the metropolitan Melbourne area, as defined by Regional Development Victoria’s list of Victoria’s regions.
Metropolitan organisations delivering an event in rural or regional Victoria are also eligible for reduced requirements by partnering with a regional multicultural organisation. A letter of support from the regional partner organisation must be attached in your application to be eligible for reduced requirements.
New and emerging community organisations and events
Those who have arrived as refugees or through a humanitarian visa may face unique challenges when resettling in Australia.
New and emerging community organisations often provide important settlement support and services to new arrivals. They also play a critical role in:
- developing strong community infrastructure
- building capacity of their members.
New and emerging communities who arrive in Australia under the Refugee and Humanitarian program face:
- a lack of established:
- family networks
- support systems
- community structures
- resources
- challenges in:
- accessing mainstream services and support systems
- attracting funds for community programs and infrastructure.
The department has created a prioritised list of new and emerging communities in consultation with the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC). Many of the listed communities have recently been or are currently part of Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program. The priority list comprises both countries of origin and specific ethnicities.
You can find the list at Multicultural Festivals and Events program.
Organisations from these prioritised new and emerging communities are eligible for reduced requirements in this program, as they are in most need of support.
Note: The department is open to adding other groups to this priority list. This is based on information provided and in consultation with Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC). The published list is updated as these considerations take place across 2025–26.
Eligible new and emerging community organisations must have a majority of your organisation’s members who are from new and emerging communities with recent humanitarian needs.
All applications from new and emerging community organisations must:
- advise which community from the priority list they identify with (in the application form a country/ethnicity must be selected).
A metropolitan or regional organisation delivering an event primarily benefitting a new and emerging community from the priority list will be considered under metropolitan or regional organisation requirements.
Organisations will not be eligible for reduced threshold requirements, if they:
- only represent a range of multicultural communities, including some new and emerging communities from the priority list
- only partner with new and emerging communities or community organisations from the priority list.
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