Grants and awards

As one of the world’s leading maritime museums, we maintain a leadership role within our sector and support others to connect all Australians with our maritime stories.

As part of this, the museum is dedicated to provide leadership and support to our regional colleagues through the Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS) and support further research and publications with our Biennial maritime history prizes.

A group of people standing in a museum gallery.

Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS)

The museum’s grants program offers funding to regional museums and organisations to help preserve or display objects of national and historical maritime significance.

The MMAPSS program has two streams: Funding for projects, and funding for participants to attend a week-long course. Read on for information about project funding, or see below to learn more about the Maritime Museum Administrator’s Course.

Applications for the 2025-26 round of MMAPSS funding are open until 3pm Tuesday 25 March 2025.

A Photo showing a vessel with a black bow (front) on the ground, with grass and other plants.

Cheynes IV, a whaling vessel on display at Albany's Historic Whaling Station. From 2016 to 2024, this museum received MMAPSSS funding and ANMM in-kind support to develop and deliver an enhanced exhibitions program, digitise key items in its collection, and expand its oral history collection.

Group of women looking in white boxes in a conservation lab.

Participants Maritime Museum Administrators’ Course in the museum's conservation lab with staff member Alayne.

Megan Baehnisch

The Geelong Naval and Maritime Collection. In 2023, The City of Greater Geelong received MMAPSS funding to conduct a Preservation Needs Assessment on the storage and housing of its nationally-significant maritime collections.

Museum speaker for the Maritime Museum Administrators’ Course.

Megan Baehnisch

A close-up of Old Tom, an orca whose skeleton is displayed at the Eden Killer Whale Museum. This museum has received MMAPSS funding across multiple rounds to support the conservation, rearticulation, and display of Old Tom.

A man with grey hair and his back to the camera is pointing to the right. There are other people in the background wearing hats and sunglasses.

Maritime grave to be restored

Camperdown Cemetery Trust

Boomerang yacht

Sydney Heritage Fleet

Norwegian Whaling logbook

Discovery Bay Tourism Precinct

Launch day for the restored Alma Gray, which was originally built c 1896

Merimbula-Imlay Historical Society Inc.

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Biennial maritime history prizes

Every two years, the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Australian Association for Maritime History sponsor two prizes: the Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize and the Australian Community Maritime History Prize. Both prizes reflect the wish of the sponsoring organisations to promote a broad view of maritime history that demonstrates how the sea and maritime influences have been more central in shaping Australia, its people and its culture than has commonly been believed.

Entries now open for maritime history prizes. Nominations close on 31 March 2025.

More Information

If you have any questions about these programs you can contact the museum during business hours on +61 2 9298 3777

You can also contact us by email. For MMAPSS enquires email mmapss@sea.museum and for the Maritime History prizes email publications@sea.museum

The Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme is funded by the Australian Government through the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.