About the Program
The Western Sydney Meetings Fund – National is an Expression of Interest (EOI) program designed to incentivise national association and corporate conference organisers to consider Western Sydney as the host destination for eligible events in 2027 or 2028.
The program is administered by BESydney, with assessment undertaken by an internal panel and final decisions made at BESydney’s discretion.
No. WSMF is a competitive program. Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee funding.
Eligibility
Eligible events are national association or corporate meetings, conferences or conventions. The program specifically excludes seminars, training courses, trade exhibitions and B2C events
Events must have a minimum of 300 delegates.
A delegate is a registered physical attendee for the full duration of the Event and excludes day or part event registrants, exhibitors, accompanying persons, children (under 18 years of age), no-shows and virtual attendees.
Events must run for a minimum of two (2) days, with at least 6 hours of eligible business content on each day.
The event must be delivered in-person in Western Sydney. Hybrid elements may be included, but funding is assessed on registered in-person delegates only.
The entire event must be hosted within eligible Western Sydney LGAs as defined in the program guidelines.
At least 40% of registered in-person delegates must originate from interstate or international destinations.
Events must be held between 1 January 2027 and 31 December 2028.
No. At the time of application, the event must still be at bidding stage and the host destination must not yet be confirmed.
Funding and Financial Questions
Funding is offered at AU$50 (excl GST) per registered in-person delegate, capped at $50,000 (excl GST) per event.
Funding is provided as an offset against venue costs, as defined in the program documentation.
Funding is paid post-event, following receipt and verification of required acquittal documentation and confirmation that eligibility requirements have been met.
No. Funding is not paid upfront and should not be relied on to secure venues or suppliers prior to formal approval and event delivery.
Application and Assessment Process
Applications must be submitted by the event organiser or their formally appointed agent / intermediary. For clarity, venues are unable to submit an application on behalf of the event organiser.
Applications open on 9 April 2026 and close on 12 June 2026.
After the close date:
- Applications are checked for completeness and eligibility
- Eligible EOIs are assessed against the published assessment considerations
- Applications are prioritised within available funding
When assessing EOIs, BESydney will consider a range of factors such as:
- Economic contribution to Western Sydney
- Alignment with NSW Government priorities
- Potential to attract future events
- Additional benefits to the State (e.g. touring, business linkages)
Final funding decisions are made by BESydney and are at BESydney’s full discretion.
Applicants will be notified in the week commencing 29 June 2026.
High level feedback may be provided to unsuccessful applicants on request, where appropriate.
Applicants must be able to confirm Western Sydney as the host destination on or before 31 December 2026, otherwise BESydney's funding offer will lapse.
Still have questions?
If you have questions about eligibility or the application process, please contact BESydney via the details provided on the program page.