Fellowship Guidelines

2025 Fellowship Key Dates

Applications Open: Tuesday 15 July 2025

Applications Close: Friday 5 September 2025 (5pm AEST)

Recipient announced at the Australian International Movie Convention held on the Gold Coast between Monday 27 October – Thursday 30 October 2025.

Our Mission

The Natalie Miller Fellowship (NMF) supports women and female-identifying professionals in the Australian screen industry to become bold, visionary leaders. We fund professional development initiatives that empower individuals and create lasting benefits for the wider industry into the future.

We strongly encourage applications from all women including but not limited to:

• Professionals in emerging sectors (e.g., immersive media, digital content) and traditional sectors (distribution, exhibition, production, post, financing, etc).
• First Nations women
• Women of colour
• LGBTQIA+ communities
• Women with disabilities
• Those from regional/remote areas

 

Fellowship Guidelines

Grant structure: 

• Two awards of $10,000 each (previously one $20,000 award).
• All eligible applicants meeting the criteria will be considered for one of the two grants, with no ranking (see further details below).
• Flexible use: Each recipient designs their own 12-month leadership development program.

 

Who Can Apply?

Open to women and female-identifying professionals in the Australian screen industry who:

• Have 7+ years of professional experience (including freelance, hybrid, or non-traditional roles).
• Demonstrate leadership potential, innovative spirit, and a commitment to industry growth in the screen sector.
• Will be credible ambassadors for NMF’s mission and values.
• Are not a previous recipient of the NMF Fellowship. Previous recipients of an NMF catalyst grant are, however, eligible.

 

Proposal Requirements

Your proposal should:

• Run for up to 12 months (flexible start/end dates but cannot start prior to the awarding of the Fellowship, with approval for extensions if needed).
• Clearly outline how it will advance your leadership skills and standing, and benefit the industry, giving back to others in the screen industry.
• Include innovative approaches (by way of example only; pilot programs, remote collaborations, research).
• Activities must align with NMF’s mission (leadership growth, industry impact).
• Collaborative projects encouraged (e.g., joint mentorship initiatives, shared research).

Eligible Activities:

✅ Secondments, mentorships, leadership training
✅ Research (if tied to leadership goals)
✅ Conference/festival attendance (with clear professional outcomes)

What We Don’t Fund:

❌ Script/production funding
❌ Business investment
❌ Retroactive costs (activities already started)

 

Application Requirements

All applicants are required to provide the following as part of the online application form: 

1. Proposal including: 
   (a) project description (300-500 words or 2-3 minute video pitch) — a succinct description of your proposal including evidence of your ability to execute the project; and 
   (b) proposal outcomes (500-800 words or 2-3 minute video pitch) — how the Natalie Miller Fellowship would contribute to your professional development and how it would benefit the wider screen community
2. CV including details of the business/creative output, education and employment history
3. A detailed budget for your proposal, including any additional funding you are applying for or have received (download the template here). 
4. Timeline for your proposal (download the template here). 
5. Two signed letters of reference supporting your proposal, including contact details. 
6. A confirmation letter, if relevant, of acceptance into a professional opportunity, e.g. mentor or internship. 

What We Fund (and What We Don’t)

Do you fund development or production costs?

No, applications must not have any elements that go towards development or production costs for a feature film or series. We recommend looking at Screen Australia or your state screen agency for development or production funding. 

Do you fund businesses?

No. While we celebrate entrepreneurial women in the screen industry, the NMF Fellowship is to support professions and leadership development, not the establishment or support of a business. 

Do you fund research?

Yes, if the research is conducted during your proposed Fellowship program (one-year duration). We do recommend that your professional development initiative not be solely composed of a research project, as we want to see you prioritise strategies that grow your leadership skills. 

What can I include in my Fellowship program proposal?

Your Fellowship proposal can include, but is not limited to, any of the following elements: 

• Secondments that are an opportunity to progress forward in your career/learn essential skills towards being a leader. 
• Training program, course, and workshop fees that are focused on building your leadership skills. 
• Research that is self-conducted and will directly impact your leadership goals. 
• Conference/Event/Film Festival Attendance fees that will offer more than just general networking. Attendance should support your overall Fellowship program, through targeted opportunities that will contribute to you researching your leadership goals. 
• Coaching and mentoring. 
• Networking opportunities and meetings with those that are essential in achieving your leadership goals and fulfilling your Fellowship program. 

What can I include in my Fellowship Budget?

• Fees directly related to your program proposal such as coaching and mentoring fees, conference fees, course fees. 
• Travel, accommodation, grounds transfer and per-diem costs. 
• Applicant fee/wage that covers your time spent executing your proposed Fellowship program. 
• Childcare costs incurred because of the activities included in your Fellowship program. 
• Accessibility costs (including support workers) associated with the activities included in your Fellowship program. 
• Stationery, office supplies, software, consumable, research materials that clearly support any activity that is essential in achieving the activities that are part of your proposed Fellowship program. 
• If there are other activities and costs not listed here that you would like to include, please feel free to email admin@nataliemillerfellowship.com to check if applicable. 

 

Application Supporting Documents

Does my application need to include written evidence of acceptance into programs/secondments/training that I’ve proposed as part of my Fellowship?

Yes, this can be as simply as an email screen-grab, or a letter of recommendation/acceptance. We encourage applicants to source this evidence as soon as possible and not leave communication until the last minute.
You do not need to enrol in a course, however, you will need to provide evidence of your eligibility and proposed dates. This can include confirmation from a course provider that you are able to undertake the course within the next 12 months. Or, it could include email correspondence with the proposed host company for a secondment, indicating they are willing to host you and what the structure of the secondment will look like. 

 

Budgeting

Should I include GST in my budget?

No.

Can I include childcare costs in my budget?

Yes, if this is necessary to you completing your program successfully. 

How important is it that I contribute my personal funds towards my Fellowship program?

It is not necessary to contribute your own costs — we understand that not all applicants are able to do so. If you are in a financial position where this is possible, or you have other sources of funds, we would like you to include those amounts in the application budget. 

Can I propose to combine the NMF Fellowship with other sources of funding to complete my program?

Yes, provided however that if you plan to apply for grants from other funding bodies, please include details in your application and indicate how the costs will be covered and your program can be carried out if this additional support is not received. 

What should the budget look like?

Please use our budget template, which can be downloaded here.

Timeline Template
Please use our timeline template, which can be downloaded here. 

 

How Are Applications Assessed? 

The NMF Fellowship awards two equal grants of $10,000. Applicants are assessed individually against the NMF Fellowship criteria, not ranked against each other. We aim to support a diverse cohort of leaders, each with unique projects that align with NMF’s mission.

• Each application is assessed independently against the same criteria (e.g., leadership potential, industry impact).
• If an applicant meets the criteria, they are in contention for one of the two grants, i.e. no need to “outperform” others.
• Applicants are not scored or ranked against one another (e.g., no “top candidate” or “runner-up”).
• The panel selects two equally awarded recipients based on individual merit, not relative performance.
• The panel may intentionally select recipients from different sectors (e.g., one from gaming, one from documentary filmmaking, one from distribution) to broaden impact.

 

Selection Criteria – Weighting

• Leadership Potential (40%)
  • Has the applicant demonstrated leadership potential and how the Fellowship will assist their leadership development?
• Industry Impact (30%)
  • How will the applicant, and their program, have an impact on the screen industry?
  • Will the successful applicant be a good ambassador?
• Innovation (20%)
• Feasibility (10%)
  • Is the budget suitable for the proposal, and is the timeline feasible?

Post-Award Requirements

The successful recipients will be required to execute a Recipient Agreement and provide the following:

• Interim report (300 words or video update) to be provided part way from through the program with the exact timing to be determined based on the individual program
• Final Report (500 words or 3-min video) with:
  • Leadership impact statement.
  • Pledge to “pay it forward” (e.g., mentoring others).
• Optional: Participation in NMF events/webinars.

The Fellowship will be paid in three (3) instalments:

50% on execution of the Recipient Agreement

40% on delivery of the Interim Report

10% on delivery of the Final Report.

To find out more information on applying for the Natalie Miller Fellowship, please visit our FAQ page, or be inspired by our previous Fellowship recipients.

 

The Fellowship is proudly supported by major sponsors and donors.