Expressions of interest for the 2026 Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships program will close at 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, 17 August 2025. Expressions of Interest received after the closing time will not be accepted (for example, due to technical, personal or other challenges ). There are no exceptions. Also, we do not accept further information from applicants once the deadline for submissions has passed.

If you are invited to prepare a detailed application, you will have the opportunity to submit such materials.

The Fellowship is a stipend that aims to cover the living expenses of the Fellow for the Fellowship year.

The selection process is a multi-stage process taking place over a number of months. It is usually completed by the end of March each year, with new Fellows generally announced in May each year.

An amount up to $40,000 will be available to each Fellow to cover expenditure associated with the Fellowship such as renting an office space (excluding existing spaces such as home office or if the Fellow is already renting an office or similar space), travel, convening, or purchasing of external expertise. We will not generally support professional development unless it will materially affect the development of the Fellow’s project. Applicants invited to prepare a detailed application will be asked to include an estimated project budget. 

We will not generally support professional development as part of the Fellowship unless it will materially affect the development of the Fellow’s project.

Yes, Fellowship proposals may align with more than one of these areas.

No. Proposals must align with one or more of these areas.

The Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships program will not support the following.

1. Projects that have been in development for more than 3 years.
2. Benefits, fundraising events or pooled funds and re-granters (or similar).
3. Capital or endowment campaigns.
4. Ongoing or one-off academic research or work towards higher degrees (including by coursework or dissertations).
5. Medical research.
6. Initiatives focused on specific diseases.
7. International projects.
8. Scholarships.
9. Sponsorships.
10. Funding hubs or accelerators.
11. Creative arts projects.
12. Collaborations between a number of individuals (noting that should an initiative have co-founders, an expression of interest would only be considered from one co-founder).
13. Projects that are focused on program or service delivery (noting that an initiative or project would be considered if it is innovative, scalable and has potential for deep and wide impact, as opposed to delivering, for example, regular activities for particular groups).
14. Organisations (noting that the Fellowship supports initiatives that have been created by an individual; that is, supporting individual endeavour, rather than initiatives that have been created within an organisation).
15. Education / curriculum based projects (education related to developing content or programs for pre-, primary or secondary school, university or other curriculum-based educational institutions).

• See also Funding Exclusions on the Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships page here. 

We would consider a part-time Fellowship application in circumstances where the applicant has caring responsibilities. Applicants who wish to undertake the program part time whilst maintaining full, part-time, or casual employment would not be eligible.

Applicants are asked to identify outputs and outcomes expected from their Fellowship as part of the detailed application process.

Fellows will have access to a support panel of experts, an individually matched mentor and specialist pitch training, as well as to a network of 33 alum. They will also be supported by program staff of The Myer Foundation and Sidney Myer Fund.

The main responsibility of each Fellow is to develop the various aspects of their project. We ask Fellows to commit to the Support Panel meetings and trainings offered and to provide collegiate support to each other where possible during their tenure. Upon completion we ask Fellows to participate in an alumni event and to respond to a short completion survey.

Fellows will be expected to provide a mid-term report to the Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships Committee via a personal presentation, and to provide a completion report to the Directors of The Myer Foundation, Trustees of the Sidney Myer Fund and the Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowship Committee via personal presentation.

Expressions of interest for the 2026 Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships program will close at 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, 17 August 2025. Please note, late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances (for example, due to technical, personal or other challenges ). We do not accept further information from applicants once the deadline for submissions has passed. There are no exceptions.

Expressions of Interest received after the closing time will not be accepted (for example, due to technical, personal or other challenges ). There are no exceptions. Also, we do not accept further information from applicants once the deadline for submissions has passed.

The documentation checklist is outlined in the online application process. Requested documents can be uploaded as part of the online application process. Please note that if your application does not include one of the documents requested, and you do not give a reason why, it may be withdrawn from consideration.

If your organisation doesn’t produce an annual report, please let us know via the online application process. This will not affect the outcome of your application, however if we aren’t aware that you don’t produce one, it may be considered an incomplete application and can be withdrawn from the application process.

Each grantmaking program of Sidney Myer Fund and The Myer Foundation has different decision-making timelines. Check the program website for information specific to your application.

Upon approval of your grant and receipt of appropriate banking details, you will receive the payment of the grant within approximately two weeks.

We pay all grants through Electronic Funds Transfer. When receiving notification of your application’s outcome, if successful, you will be provided with a ‘Request for Direct Credit of Payment’ form. The banking details you list on this form will be used to pay the grant directly into your organisation’s bank account.

The grant we pay your organisation will not include GST, nor are you required to pay GST at your end.

We require successful applicants to submit an acquittal report at the end of their funding period. Your acquittal report is accesible through your SmartyGrants login.

Your acquittal form is accessible through your SmartyGrants account.

Please contact us to apply for an extension to your grant timeline.

If the funding is going to be used for anything other than what is specified in the original application, it needs to be approved by us. Please contact us to discuss any changes to your project.

Successful applicants are not required to display our logos as part of the grant conditions. However, if you wish to include a logo, please contact admin@myerfoundation.org.au.

Please contact us at admin@myerfoundation.org.au.