In 2018 and 2019, the Australia Council for the Arts travelled around the country talking to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about a national body for First Nations arts and culture, with the working title of ‘National Indigenous Arts and Cultural Authority (NIACA)’.

The discussion about a national body has been going on for a long time, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been calling for cultural rights for even longer. The idea of a national body for First Nations arts and culture is part of a continuum of First Nations-led cultural rights advocacy, and investment in First Nations arts, that stretches back five decades to the first national summit of First Nations artists in 1973 (see Timeline).

The Bringing it Forward report tells these important stories.

The Australia Council is publishing the findings of the NIACA consultation, and its history and context, so that the First Nations arts and cultural sector can continue the discussion and self-determine the next steps on this journey.

For over 50 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders have brought a guiding voice to the Australia Council – and to the nation – on matters relating to First Nations arts and culture and the broader arts and cultural sector.

The First Nations Arts and Culture Strategy Panel advises on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and cultural matters and ensures the Australia Council delivers its First Nations Arts and Culture Strategy.

To strategically support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture, the Strategy Panel takes a holistic and systemic view privileging Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. This view embraces global conversations of social justice, climate justice and decolonisation.

First published in 2002 and revised in 2007, this protocol guide endorses the rights of First Nations people to their cultural heritage and supports First Nations creative practice. This protocol guide encourages self-determination and helps build a strong and diverse First Nations arts sector. These are key goals and priority areas of the Australia Council for the Arts.

Creative practitioners who work with First Nations artists or engage with First Nations cultural heritage in projects, and are funded by Australia Council for the Arts grant assessment panels are required to comply with this protocol guide as a condition of funding.

Over the years, the principles and protocols contained in this protocol guide have also been applied nationally and internationally – educating readers and users on First Nations Australian cultural heritage, and encouraging meaningful collaborations with First Nations artists and creators.