Griffiths announced the SheDirects initiative in Sydney on Wednesday, alongside the NSW Minister for the Arts Don Harwin and actor, writer, and director Leah Purcell.

The $100,000 will go towards up to four TV drama projects.

"It is inarguable that our film industry has had a better record than our TV culture in promoting diverse perspectives on female experience," Griffiths said.

The actress praised Screen Australia's Gender Matters plan, unveiled in 2015, which also promotes female driven projects and women working in the industry and said she had noticed a difference in how women are being represented on screen.

"It's so exciting to finally see Australian TV characters recently move beyond the typical tropes of likeable, f***able, adorable to embrace more complex depictions of female experience with Mystery Road, Wentworth, Hanging Rock, Dead Lucky, Top of the Lake and Redfern Now," she said.

Women on screens are often "underwritten and under-observed," she said and "brought into our sexual awareness precociously in pre-pubescence in order to accommodate the male libido."

"Often in television we're used by lazy writers and producers who can think of nothing more interesting this week then let's have her have sex with 'X' or have her discover she's a lesbian for an episode."

Female directors, she said, were more likely to fight for their characters

"We defend them against statements like 'Will we like her? Is she too angry? She she hot enough? Skinny enough?' Rather we'll say 'We'll make you care because I can put you, the audience, into her shoes'," she said.

Griffiths is currently working on her directorial debut on Australian film Ride Like A Girl based on the life story of jockey Michelle Payne, and starring Teresa Palmer and Sam Neil.

Applications are open until August 5 for one-hour TV dramas with a female director and at least one other female as part of the NSW-based key creative team.

Australian Associated Press