Fellowship Guidelines
Everything you need to know before you apply for the Natalie Miller Fellowship.
2026 Fellowship Key Dates
- 2026 Applications are now closed
- Recipients announced at the Australian International Movie Convention, held on the Gold Coast in late October
Our Vision
Advancing women in screen industry leadership through mentorship and opportunity.
Our Purpose
The Natalie Miller Fellowship exists to inspire, support and empower women to lead, shape and transform the future of the screen industry.
We strongly encourage applications from all women including but not limited to:
- Professionals in emerging sectors (e.g. immersive media, digital content)
- Professionals in traditional sectors: distribution, exhibition, production, post producer, financing, crew
- 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 as a pitch deck (see application requirements below) should:
- Run for up to 12 months (flexible start and end dates, but it 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.
- Align with NMF’s mission (leadership growth, industry impact).
Eligible activities can include:
- Secondments, mentorships and leadership training
- Research (if tied to leadership goals)
- Conference or market attendance (with clear professional outcomes)
What we don’t fund:
- Script or 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:
- Pitch deck — maximum 6 slides/pages outlining your professional development proposal and proposal outcomes. Applications can be designed in Canva or PowerPoint but should be submitted as a PDF.
- Your professional development proposal should include key activities. We’d expect to see:
- your ‘logline’ — your one-line elevator pitch
- a one-paragraph synopsis of your proposal
- a full outline of your proposal including intended outcomes
- Your outcomes should show how the Natalie Miller Fellowship would contribute to your professional development and how it would benefit the wider screen community.
The pitch deck should also include:
- your CV, including details of business/creative output, education and employment history
- a detailed topline category budget for your proposal, including any additional funding you are applying for or have received (download the budget template)
- a timeline for your proposal, including approximate milestones (download the timeline template)
- optionally, a video introduction of up to 2 minutes introducing yourself and succinctly describing your pitch deck
In addition to your pitch deck, your application should include:
- at least one signed letter of reference supporting your proposal, including contact details
- a confirmation letter, if relevant, of acceptance into a professional opportunity — for example a mentorship 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 professional 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:
- Secondments that are an opportunity to progress forward in your career or learn essential skills towards being a leader.
- Training programs, courses and workshop fees focused on building your leadership skills.
- Research that is self-conducted and will directly impact your leadership goals.
- Conference, event or film festival attendance fees that offer more than general networking. Attendance should support your overall Fellowship program through targeted opportunities.
- Coaching and mentoring.
- Networking opportunities and meetings with those essential to 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 and course fees.
- Travel, accommodation, ground transfers and per-diem costs.
- An applicant fee or wage covering 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 in your Fellowship program.
- Stationery, office supplies, software, consumables and research materials that clearly support activities essential to your proposed program.
- If there are other activities and costs not listed here that you’d like to include, please email admin@nataliemillerfellowship.com to check whether they’re applicable.
Application Supporting Documents
Does my application need to include written evidence of acceptance into programs, secondments or training that I’ve proposed as part of my Fellowship?
Yes. This can be as simple as an email screen-grab, or a letter of recommendation or 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 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. However, 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 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 (for example leadership potential and industry impact).
- If an applicant meets the criteria, they are in contention for one of the two grants — there is no need to ‘outperform’ others.
- Applicants are not scored or ranked against one another (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 (for example one from gaming, one from documentary filmmaking, one from distribution) to broaden impact.
Selection Criteria — Weighting
- Leadership Potential (50%) — has the applicant demonstrated leadership potential, and how will the Fellowship assist their leadership development?
- Industry Impact (40%) — how will the applicant, and their program, have an impact on the screen industry? Will the successful applicant be a good ambassador?
- 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:
- An interim report (300 words or a video update), provided part way through the program, with exact timing determined by the individual program.
- A final report (500 words or a 3-minute video) including:
- a leadership impact statement
- a pledge to ‘pay it forward’ (for example mentoring others)
- optionally, participation in NMF events and webinars
The Fellowship will be paid in three 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 about applying for the Natalie Miller Fellowship, please visit our FAQ page, or be inspired by our previous Fellowship recipients.
Ready to apply?
Applications for the 2026 Natalie Miller Fellowship are open.
The Natalie Miller Fellowship is supported by Principal Sponsor Universal Pictures.
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