Help and support for creative workplaces

We are working with Support Act to make wellbeing services available to the music and broader arts and culture sector.

  • The Wellbeing Helpline  is available to everyone in the arts and culture sector. Call 1800 959 500 to arrange an appointment.
  • There is also a First Nations Dedicated Support Line. Call 1800 861 085 or 1800 959 500 (option 3).
  • Support Act also provides mental health and wellbeing prevention, education and training to the music sector, and will be expanding these programs to the full arts and culture sector over time.

If you don’t know where to start, just start somewhere. All of these organisations are here to help. They’ll get you where you need to be. 

  • Lifeline: Call 13 11 14, or chat or text – 24 hours, 7 days a week
  • Beyond Blue: Call 1300 224 636 – 24 hours, 7 days a week
  • 13YARN: Call 13 92 76 to talk to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander crisis supporter
  • The Embrace Project: For people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • Headspace: For young people. Call 1800 650 890 or connect online for mental health support, tools and self-help information.

There is lots of support available for small business.  

Business.gov is a hub of information and resources from across government. 

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman can help small businesses and family enterprises to start, grow and transform.  

Lots of states have their own small business commissions with resources and information:  

In Tasmania, the Small Business Advocate can help small business resolve issues with government departments, local councils and larger business entities.  

A number of guides exist that set out recommended minimum rates and fees for independent contractors for various types of art and arts work. Independent contractors are also called independent artists, or self-employed artists and arts workers.

They have been created by organisations in the industry to support artists, arts workers and arts organisations have conversations about pay and conditions. They provide benchmarks for what might be considered fair and reasonable. The rates are a guide only and are not enforceable. 

There are also rates trackers to help you understand what your peers are being paid for similar work.  

  • Visual arts: The NAVA Payment Standards includes recommended minimums for artists, craftspeople and designers.   
  • Writers, editors and illustrators: The Australian Society of Authors Guidelines has recommended rates of pay for book illustrations, comics, freelance writing, poetry, and public and school appearances. The Institute of Professional Editors has guidance on hourly pay rates for editors. The Australian Writers Guild has industry standard rates for casual writing, theatre, television, film, documentary and corporate work. Access to these rates is for Guild members.
  • Podcasting: Both the MEAA Podcast Rates Card  and the Podcast Workers Australia Rate Card recommend minimums for a range of roles in the podcasting industry. 
  • Screen editors: The 2024 Australian Screen Editors Rates & Conditions (PDF) includes recommended minimums for film including animation, television including commercials, documentaries and corporate work. 
  • Media: The MEAA Rate Tracker tracks freelance rates being paid around the country. There are also MEAA freelance charge-out rates for a range of media-related professions.
  • Theatre and performing arts: Theatre Network Australia (TNA) publishes a Salary Survey Report that tracks average salaries in small-to-medium arts organisations, and an Independent Practice Report that benchmarks rates and fees for independent artists. The Salary Survey Report is available for free to TNA members, or can be purchased for $330 by non-members. The Independent Practice Report is free to anyone.

Have we missed any? Email workplaces@creative.gov.au if there are others we can add to this list.   

Looking for employee rates? Employee minimum rates and conditions are most commonly found in modern awards or enterprise agreements. The Fair Work Ombudsman has an A – Z list of awards and other information about minimum wages on their website.

The Australian Taxation Office can help with tax and superannuation. 

The Respect@Work website has information and resources to help you understand and deal with workplace sexual harassment.  

The Australian Human Rights Commission investigates complaints about discrimination, sexual harassment and human rights breaches.  

There are also state and territory laws that provide protection against discrimination and harassment. 

The Fair Work Commission also has processes for dealing with workplace sexual harassment. 

Many workplace health and safety issues fall under state and territory laws. Workplace health and safety is about reducing and eliminating harm including physical hazards as well as risks to mental health such as stress and bullying.  

The Fair Work Commission also has processes for dealing with bullying at work.  

The eSafety Commissioner can help with cyber abuse and cyberbullying, whether you’re at work or not. Cyber abuse is when someone sends, posts or shares severely abusive online content that is menacing, harassing or offensive with the likely intention of harming the person targeted.

If you want material removed from a platform or for the behaviour to stop:

  1. Report it to the service or platform that was used to send, post or share it. This is usually the fastest way to get the content removed and stop the bad behaviour.
  2. If the service or platform doesn’t help you, you can ask eSafety for help. If the harmful content is serious enough, they can direct the platform to remove it. They may also fine or penalise the platform and the person who cyber abused you.

For help about workplace issues such as pay, conditions, workplace dispute resolution, and starting and ending employment. Most of the information in this section is for employers and employees, but these organisations also deal with independent contractors.  

Fair Work Ombudsman: Provides education, assistance, advice and guidance on pay, leave and employment conditions. They also have information about starting and ending employment and dealing with workplace problems.

Fair Work Commission: The workplace tribunal is an option when you’re having an employment dispute. They can deal with unfair dismissal, disputes about how to apply the terms of an award or enterprise agreement, and sexual harassment and bullying at work. The Fair Work Commission is for workers who are covered by national employment laws (which is most workers).  

Some workers are covered by state laws.  

It can be tricky to figure out which laws apply to you. The Fair Work Commission website explains who the national workplace relations system covers.  

These organisations have specific creative sector knowledge that can help you deal with legal problems or issues. 

For young workers, Youth Law Australia and the Young Workers Centre offer information and help.  

Community legal centres in each state or territory give free legal help to people who meet their eligibility criteria.  

You can also look up the law institute or law society in your state or territory for a referral to a lawyer who specialises in workplace law. 

  • Arts Wellbeing Collective: Promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in the performing arts industry
  • Black Dog Institute: Australian medical research institute investigating mental health across the lifespan, with the aim of creating a mentally healthier world for everyone
  • Big Anxiety Festival: Aims to reposition mental health as a collective, cultural responsibility, rather than simply a medical issue
  • Emerging Minds: Dedicated to advancing the mental health and emotional wellbeing of Australian infants, children, adolescents and their families
  • Entertainment Assist: Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the Australian entertainment industry
  • Evermind: Dedicated to the prevention of mental ill-health and suicide, including by delivering mental health and suicide prevention programs
  • KALACC: The Kimberley region’s peak Indigenous law and culture centre
  • Lowitja Institute: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled health research institute
  • Mind Australia: Supporting people experiencing mental health and wellbeing concerns to find help, hope and purpose in their lives
  • Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA): Industrial union and industry advocate for creative professionals
  • Orygen: Aims to redefine what’s possible in global youth mental health research, policy, education and clinical care. Includes a First Nations hub
  • Reach out: An anonymous and confidential safe place for young people to openly express themselves, connect and build resilience
  • SANE Australia: For people with recurring, persistent or complex mental health issues and trauma, and for their families, friends and communities.

If you are in immediate danger or at risk of harm, call the Police by dialling 000. 

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Email the Creative Workplaces team at workplaces@creative.gov.au.

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