16 April 2024

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Emma Vines and Philip Dearman
Social Policy

The Australian Government’s role as a funder of the arts and cultural sector dates from the early-1900s. Since then, the Australian Government’s role has expanded considerably, with the National Cultural Policy, Revive: A Place for Every Story, A Story for Every Place, released in January 2023, indicating the importance placed on developing and preserving artistic and cultural expressions:

A healthy democracy must strive to make culture available to us all, wherever we live and whoever we are and whatever our condition. An effective cultural policy recognises the whole‑of‑government consequences of its principles and priorities. Culture permeates every facet of the human activities and economies which it is government’s role to enable, manage and regulate — it doesn’t exist in silos. (p. 12)

This quick guide provides links to relevant government and non-government bodies and reports, as well as an overview of useful statistical and economic data sources. It updates The arts and culture: a quick guide to key internet links, published in 2014.

Australian Government responsibilities and bodies

Government responsibility for arts and cultural policy rests with the Minister for the Arts, and with the Office for the Arts within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts (DITRDCA). The Department oversees a variety of grants and programs, including the Cultural Gift Program, Festivals Australia, Artbank and the National Cultural Heritage Account. Funding is then also provided to several smaller bodies (many of which are discussed here) responsible for overseeing the delivery of additional grants, as well as the production, collection, and exhibition of cultural productions.

This role of the department and government as funder, rather than creator, of art and culture is expressed through Revive:

It is not the role of governments to create culture. Let’s leave that to the artists, makers and storytellers — the creative practitioners. The government’s role is to invest in our creative infrastructure. To preserve the structures and facilities that make cultural memory possible: our libraries and museums, our galleries and archives, our national broadcasters. It is also to fund the organisations, institutions, technologies, and training systems — small, medium and large; metropolitan, suburban, regional and remote — that generate new cultural representations and forms. It is committing to an education system that recognises arts and humanities, media and entertainment, as crucial and productive vocations. (pp. 11–12)

In addition to the DITRDCA, there are several bodies responsible for overseeing artistic and cultural production. These bodies are, in part, designed to ensure that funding decisions are made independently from Ministerial direction (p. 16). These bodies include:

• From 1 July 2023, Creative Australia is the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body. Creative Australia is a rebranded and expanded form of the Australia Council for the Arts, which was founded in 1968. As it develops, Creative Australia will come to include 4 smaller bodies: Music Australia (established August 2023), Creative Workplaces (established August 2023), a First Nations-led Board, and Writers Australia.  It also manages the Australian Cultural Fund and the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Creative Australia also publishes research papers regarding the arts sector.
•   Screen Australia is the Australian Government agency supporting Australian screen development, production, and promotion.
• The government funds two national broadcasters, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which contribute to the creation and funding of Australian content. Both the ABC and SBS operate largely autonomously from government and are governed by their own enabling legislation and charters.
• The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) was established to ‘develop, preserve and provide access to a national collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage’. The Australian Government has committed to developing Ngurra, a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Precinct within the Parliamentary Triangle, which will consist of a National Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Centre and a National Resting Place. This development will include the relocation of AIATSIS to larger facilities.
• The government funds the national collecting institutions, which, with one exception, operate as corporate Commonwealth entities under enabling legislation and overseen by the DITRDCA:
  • The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM), established by the Australian National Maritime Museum Act 1990.
  • The National Archives of Australia (NAA), established by the Archives Act 1983.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), established by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Act 2008.
  • The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), established under the National Gallery Act 1975.
  • The National Library of Australia (NLA), established by the National Library Act 1960.
  • The National Museum of Australia (NMA), established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980.
  • The National Portrait Gallery of Australia (NPGA), established by the National Portrait Gallery of Australia Act 2012.
  • Old Parliament House – Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD), established as a corporate Commonwealth entity under the Old Parliament House by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Establishing Old Parliament House) Rule 2016.
  • The Bundanon Trust (Bundanon). Unlike other collecting institutions, the Bundanon Trust is a Commonwealth company rather than corporate entity, with funding received and reported differently to the other institutions. The Bundanon Trust Property was included on the Commonwealth Heritage List in 2015.

Government funded training organisations

The Australian Government also funds training organisations, known as Arts8: the Australian Roundtable for Arts Training Excellence. These training organisations are:

• Australian Ballet School
• Australian Film Television and Radio School
• Australian National Academy of Music
• Australian Youth Orchestra
• Flying Fruit Fly Circus
• National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Dance College
• National Institute of Circus Arts
• National Institute of Dramatic Art.
• The Australian Government also supports 37 leading performing arts companies through the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework.

State and territory government websites

• Australian Capital Territory: artsACT
• New South Wales: Create NSW
• Northern Territory: Arts NT
• Queensland: Arts Queensland
• South Australia: Arts South Australia
• Tasmania: Arts Tasmania
• Victoria: Creative Victoria
• Western Australia: Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries

Non-government organisations

Non-government organisations, including think tanks, research institutes, peak bodies and associations, play an important role in the production of arts and culture, while also serving as promotors of the sector. These bodies include:

• A New Approach (ANA): a think tank which undertakes research, particularly on spending by Australian governments and the importance of the arts to different societal groups.
• ArtsHub: an online resource providing information on arts news and reviews, as well as jobs, grants and education for those in the industry.
• Arts Access Australia: established in 1992 as the national peak body for arts and disability.
• Australian Copyright Council: established in 1968 (the same year as the Copyright Act 1968) as an independent, not-for-profit community legal service focused on the application of copyright law to all art forms.
• Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA): the national association and peak body representing Australian museums and galleries, including for historic sites, research centres, Indigenous cultural centres and Keeping Places.
• Arts Law Centre: an independent national community legal centre providing low cost, specialised legal advice, education and resources to artists and organisations. The centre also provides targeted support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists through the Artists in the Black program.
• Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA): the peak trade body for the recorded music industry and recording artists, including producers, manufacturers and distributors.
• Copyright Agency: the agency collects licence fees for the use of text and images, distributing the royalties to its creator members. The agency is responsible to the Minister for Communications and the Arts.
• First Nations Media Australia (FNMA): the body was established in 2001 as the peak body for remote Indigenous media and communications. FNMA is now the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander not-for-profit broadcasting, media and communications.
• Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA): the industry association representing the video games industry, including developers, publishers and distributors.
• National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA): established in 1983, NAVA is involved in advocacy and education for its members and has established a Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design endorsed by the Australian Government as part of Revive.
• National Trusts: with a National Trust first established in New South Wales in 1945, National Trusts now operate in each state and territory. The organisations operate fully autonomously within their jurisdiction and are concerned with Australia’s natural and cultural heritage.
• NETS Australia: the National Exhibitions Touring Support Australia network supports exhibitions touring in remote and metropolitan communities. It is comprised of 7 state organisations and was formed in 1988 as an initiative of the Australia Council.
• Regional Arts Australia: administers the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund to support the arts in regional areas.

The Creative Economy

• Office for the Arts: Cultural Data Online is a joint initiative of Australian governments and provides survey reports on cultural funding in Australia, as well as linking to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) data sets on arts and cultural issues.
• Creative Australia: publishes research and analysis on issues related to the arts, including developments in audience engagement, the creative economy and the connection between the arts and other areas, such as health. Also available on this site are the Making Art Work reports by David Throsby and Katya Petetskaya, which provide a comprehensive, long-term overview of economic issues related to artists.
• University of Canberra: the News and Media Research Centre published a briefing paper on the creative sector in Australia, as revealed by the 2021 Census. The paper focuses on patterns of employment to unpack Australia’s creative economy.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): the report, Economic and social impact of cultural and creative sectors, was released in 2021 and shows Australia’s position in terms of arts expenditure and employment compared to other OECD countries. 
• OECD: general government spending across a variety of sectors is available, including expenditure for ‘recreation, culture and religion’. This funding can be shown in US dollars per capita, or as a percentage of GDP.
• ANA reports: provide information and factsheets on arts funding and expenditure.
• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey data: provides cultural funding by the Australian Government between 1994–95 and 2012–13. Employment and earnings statistics are also available biannually and include details on the arts and recreation services industry.

 

 

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