The federal government has today announced an additional $35 million in funding for the arts, with $20 million going to Support Act and $15 million being added to the government’s Sustainability Fund.

Support Act is a charity that provides financial and psychological support to artists, crew and music workers. During COVID, demand for their services has been extraordinarily high, with more than 4,500 grants totaling over $10 million going directly to affected individuals. In addition to cash payments, Support Act has facilitated more than 1,700 hours of counseling through its Wellbeing Helpline.

Photo © John Gollings

This latest grant is specifically designed to allow Support Act to broaden the scope of its support beyond the music industry, and it will now offer support to people affected right across the arts including dance, theatre and circus. Support Act will open applications to performing arts workers from 23 August, once it has had the chance to modify its existing processes and bring on additional support staff. Applications from music workers will continue to be processed as normal.

In late July, applications for Support Act’s crisis relief grants of...