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:
State and
territory government websites
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.