Tim Hecker presented by The Substation and Room 40, 2023
Creative Australia is for artists. Creative Australia is for us all.
We invest in creative people and organisations and help build audiences and markets for Australian creative work, both in Australia and internationally. Our establishing legislation, the Creative Australia Act 2023, requires us to uphold and promote freedom of expression in the arts and to support Australian arts practice that reflects the diversity of Australia. As a result, we invest in artists and organisations that represent a range of voices, perspectives and stories.
Importantly, our decision-making occurs at arm’s-length from the Australian Government minister responsible for the arts. This means that decisions on funding of artists and organisations are made independently from government.
Empowering the arts and cultural sector
Creative Australia focuses on developing skills and workforce capability, promoting equitable careers and workplaces, and building partnerships to support a sustainable and thriving creative sector. We advocate for the value of arts and culture and for the outcomes and priorities identified by artists and creative workers from across the creative and cultural industries.
First Nations arts and culture
Creative Australia is dedicated to empowering and celebrating First Nations arts and culture in Australia and internationally.
Our values
Our history
We were founded as the Australia Council for the Arts in 1968 and established by the Australia Council Act 1975. In 2012 there was a review of our governance, which resulted in the Australia Council Act 2013. In 2023 as part of the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy – Revive, we became Creative Australia with an expanded remit to deliver strategic investment for a thriving, modern creative sector.
First Nations thought leadership has been integral to the Australia Council since the first national gathering of First Nations artists in 1973 and the formation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board. In 2024, building on this long history, the First Nations Board was established within Creative Australia to oversee investment in First Nations arts and culture.
The Australia Council for the Arts:
37,000
artists supported
25,000
organisations invested
62,000
investments made
$4.83 billion
value
A place for every story, a story for every place
In January 2023 the Australian Government launched a new National Cultural Policy – Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place. The centrepiece of Revive was the establishment of Creative Australia, an expanded and modernised Australia Council for the Arts, with increased investment and additional functions. This transformational step for the organisation ensures it remains relevant to a modern Australian creative sector and can continue to provide strategic direction and leadership for the arts and cultural sector.
The Creative Australia Act 2023 replaced the Australia Council Act 2013.
