NZ On Air Goes Trans-Tasman for Kids

NZ On Air has joined Screen Australia and the ACTF's Kids IP Incubator, giving New Zealand children's creators a path to digital-first series for YouTube and FAST.

By Catherine Crowe October 22, 2026 5 min read

Photo: NZ On Air

New Zealand children’s creators now have a seat at an Australian table. NZ On Air has joined the Kids IP Incubator, a scheme run with Screen Australia and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) to help creators build digital-first series for young audiences on platforms such as YouTube and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST). Applications opened on 15 October and close on 26 November.

The incubator is now in its second year in Australia, and NZ On Air describes its involvement as a new trans-Tasman initiative for New Zealand creators.

What is on offer

NZ On Air says it will select up to four New Zealand teams to join up to eight Australian teams in an eight-week programme. Support includes online webinar modules, masterclasses with international content strategists, analysts and marketplace experts, a collaborative in-person workshop, and tailored mentorship.

At the end, up to two New Zealand projects will be funded into production.

The money

NZ On Air says it is investing around NZ$180,000 to run the scheme, with a further NZ$748,000 set aside for development and production funding.

Who can apply

The incubator is open to established and emerging New Zealand children’s content creators. Full eligibility criteria are in NZ On Air’s guidelines. Applicants must watch a recorded presentation before submitting, and NZ On Air is holding a live webinar for New Zealand applicants on Tuesday 27 October at 11am.

What NZ On Air is saying

Amie Mills, Head of Funding at NZ On Air, framed the scheme as a two-way exchange. “Putting our creators in the same room as theirs, working on a shared kaupapa, gives everyone the chance to learn from each other,” Mills said. “We hope this is the start of creative partnerships that carry on long after the incubator ends.”

Why it matters

NZ On Air calls the incubator a direct-to-audience initiative, and the design follows from that: series designed for YouTube and FAST channels from the start, with production money at the end for the strongest New Zealand ideas. It also links New Zealand creators directly with their Australian counterparts and two of Australia’s main screen bodies.

What the guidelines require

NZ On Air’s published guidelines set out the detail behind the headline numbers. Applicants must be a New Zealand-based individual or entity, and the project must be original children’s IP for an audience aged up to 11 that has not already been produced or commissioned. Its first release window must be direct to audience, online. The scheme is for linear audiovisual series only: games, VR, AR and other interactive or immersive formats are excluded.

Each team needs at least two key creatives, one of them the writer or writer-creator, and two members able to attend the Melbourne events. Applicants may submit up to two projects, and the compulsory video presentation is by digital content strategist Nico Lockhart. NZ On Air will assess creative strength, the clarity of the strategy and pitch, alignment with its purpose (including New Zealand identity and sustainable local IP), and the team’s capability. It expects YouTube to be the core focus for most projects, aimed at a defined preschool (0 to 4) or primary (5 to 9) audience.

Dates and dollars per team

Applications close at 4pm NZDT on Thursday 26 November through the NZ On Air portal, and New Zealand applicants will hear by 23 February 2027. Selected teams receive up to NZ$22,000 each in development funding. The programme then runs from March 2027, with a three-day in-person workshop in Melbourne from 6 to 8 April and a pitch event there on 28 April; economy travel, accommodation and a stipend are covered for up to two people per team. Phase II production funding, by invitation, is up to NZ$330,000 per project for up to two New Zealand teams.

What the first round produced

Screen Australia and the ACTF launched the incubator in April 2025 with eight Australian teams, each eligible for a development grant of up to A$20,000. In May 2026 the ACTF announced three of them had been funded into production, all for YouTube (Made for Kids): Worm Diner, an eight-minute comedy for ages 7 to 11 from Victoria’s Strange Mage, set in a family diner at the edge of the multiverse; Pit Pats, a preschool series from regional Victoria mixing stop motion, live action, puppetry and hand-drawn animation; and Magic Monkey Mayhem from Queensland’s Little Tiger Films, about the Monkey King and his younger brother adjusting to life in modern Brisbane. The ACTF scheduled Worm Diner and Magic Monkey Mayhem for June 2026 and Pit Pats for early August.

That is the model New Zealand teams are joining: small development grants, a pitch, and production money for a few projects built for the platforms where Australian children’s television already reaches young viewers. For more on how the two countries are funding local screen work, see Screen Australia’s 47 new documentaries and this year’s Show Me Shorts in Christchurch.

What it means for you

If you make children’s content in New Zealand, applications close on Thursday 26 November 2026.
The live webinar for New Zealand applicants is on Tuesday 27 October at 11am, and the recorded presentation is compulsory viewing before you apply.
Up to four New Zealand teams will be selected, and up to two projects funded into production.
Details and guidelines are on the NZ On Air website.