The following suggestions are meant to help inspire you to think creatively about getting your ideas and career moving forward...

Join an industry group such as:
Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA)
Australian Director's Guild (ADG)
Australian Writers' Guild (AWG)
The Network at Metro Screen
Women in Film & Television NSW (WIFT)
Special Interest Group in Computer Graphics & Interactive Techniques
Visual Effects Society (VES) Contact Trish Graham at Fuel International for information about the Sydney chapter
Australia Cinematographer Society
Australian Guild of Screen Composers

Volunteer for a film festival:
Festivals are always in need of extra help, and it's a great way to meet people in the industry. Film Festival World is a good resource for international festivals and it also has information about some of the Australian festivals. Film Festival World

Attend events hosted by Popcorn Taxi

Check out the FREE Friday On My Mind events at AFTRS

Check the guidelines for funding at these organisations:
Screen NSW
Screen Australia
Metro Screen
Information & Cultural Exchange
Documentary Australia
Regional Arts NSW
Arts NSW

Approach a corporation for sponsorship:
Screen NSW does not endorse any specific companies. However, the following are a few possible ideas and just a starting point to get you thinking. You will need to do your own research to determine if a company's sponsorship guidelines are appropriate for your purposes.
Panasonic Australia
Price Waterhouse Coopers
Sony Australia
Coca-Cola Australia Foundation
Kodak Australia - Education OR Kodak Australia - Sponsorship
Fosters Australia

Approach a local business for sponsorship:
In exchange for providing a sponsorship toward a portion of the expenses for the film, you could offer to somehow include a local business in the film and also add their name/logo to the credits.

Most businesses would be happy to have a film crew at their location, as long as you don't get in the way, as cameras usually draw the attention of prospective customers. It might be a café, or a clothing store, or a car dealership, or a pub. There is an endless list of possibilities... just look in the phone book or have a walk around your neighbourhood for some ideas.

Approach a community organization or local council for a grant or matched funding:
City of Sydney
Directory of NSW local councils
NSW community organisations

Product placement:
Brandchannel Check out this website! It may give you some ideas about companies you could approach for funding in exchange for product placement. You can search through the top box office films by year, and also by the products that were featured in the film. As noted on the website, "Brandchannel records all brand mentions and appearances deliberate or coincidental."

Create a webpage/video teaser/blog for your project and post it online to generate interest.
Here are a couple of different approaches to promoting your film(s) while they are in development:
Porchlight Films
Indywood Movie Project

Have a look at the Fearfreefilmfundraising Blog Spot
Lots of interesting information here for independent filmmakers.

Hold a fundraising party for your project.

The AFTRS Laboratory for Advanced Media Production (LAMP) has a wealth of information. The vodcasts are particularly helpful, such as the one posted on 15 July 2009 titled Innovations in Multi-Platform Content

Helpful information about using social media to extend a story and generate a conversation around your work can be found at Trulyfree film As noted by Ted Hope on this website, "The whole industry is still learning and there is no perfect campaign, so experimenting is the key."

A list of Australian cross platform developers can be found on this website Christy's Corner of the Universe

Film Victoria also has a list in their industry directory.

Regional film offices
Filming in regional NSW (booklet)
Metroscreen Mobile Unit
Regional Arts NSW network