The arts, culture and creativity system in Australia: How it ticks

This report explains the system that delivers arts and cultural experiences in Australia, from broad and grassroots through to specialised and elite. 

Applying the new UNESCO Cultural Value-Generation Model to an Australian context, the report demonstrates how the arts and culture system is organised, governed and developed, to help system leaders understand their role, and how to leverage resources for the benefit of the Australian community.

The arts, culture and creativity system has clear structures for creation and production, dissemination and consumption, and preservation and transmission. The report also highlights how cultural literacy and creative skills building occur across the population through education, training and practice. 

Using systems thinking, it considers the complex policy problems Australia is grappling with across arts and culture to help identify system levers, where small changes can make big differences. 

Summary of findings

Finding 1

Examining how the parts of the arts, culture and creativity system connect – rather than how the parts act separately – can enrich cultural policy and research in Australia.

A systems approach highlights the interdependencies that underlie complex policy problems in arts, culture and creativity and provides opportunities to achieve better outcomes (e.g. value capture, skills-building and governance).

Finding 2

Systems thinking offers principles to interrogate 12 leverage points – places where small changes could make a real difference to Australia securing its place as a cultural powerhouse.

Mindsets around what culture and creativity are and what they can achieve are the key leverage points for bringing about change. Other high-reward leverage points are: 1) system-level goals; 2) information flows in the operating environment; 3) buffers that stabilise this system against volatility; and 4) the self-organising parts of this system.

Finding 3

Cultural literacy and creative skill-building in the arts, culture and creativity system occurs through a range of pathways, including education, training and hands-on practice, starting with a broad base of opportunities.

Everyday settings, such as schools, the home and online, are crucial entry points for people to develop cultural and creative skills in Australia. An extended network of other formal and informal settings also helps to build and develop these skills.

Finding 4

Understanding the arts, culture and creativity system structures and processes helps us see and explain how diverse activities converge to generate goods, services and experiences, measurable socioeconomic value and other impacts.

New UNESCO modelling, together with ANA’s modelling of governance for this system, provides a valid basis for a contemporary, joined-up conversation about the system. The two models can help different people and entities understand how they are part of a whole.

Summary of opportunities

Opportunity 1

Arts and culture system stewards should grasp the key levers for change that are identified in this report to tackle policy problems and to design solutions, structures and processes of the future.

Stewards within government, industry/non-government entities and civil society can all apply the 12 levers provided in this report. We recommend a strong focus on the levers of developing a unifying goal and challenging mindsets of what culture and creativity are and what they can achieve.

Opportunity 2

Stewards can trial the policy approach of prioritising cultural and creative engagement in  specific settings, such as schools and the community, as seen in the leverage approach set out in the National Sport Strategy.

Other practical actions to trial are: allocating funding on evidence-based grounds (as modelled in international research for sport participation) and continuing to build an ‘activity-agnostic’ approach to government activity vouchers (which can support children’s access to recreation, regardless of whether that activity is sport or culture based).

Opportunity 3

An opportunity and challenge of future regulatory, industry and investment practices will be  managing the expanding complexity and interconnections of the arts, culture and creativity system with other systems.

It will be crucial for different leaders to work closely together in community and industry settings where this system most clearly connects – for example, cultural governance and  management, cultural education and cultural tourism. This will also require a focus on coordination and agreement-building with stakeholders in unexpected fields (e.g. the digital economy, transport infrastructure, education/training and the natural environment).

As a foundation for this work, Australia would benefit from all stewards using the three key  models presented within this research. Additionally, a document that spells out roles and  responsibilities of the different government agencies would also assist in managing complexity (as has been recommended for Australia’s tourism system).

This report is the 16th in ANA’s Insight series. Our Insight Reports provide a deep dive into research and analysis of a particular arts and cultural policy topic or other areas of interest.

© A New Approach (ANA) 2025. This work is copyright. All material published or otherwise created by A New Approach is licenced under a Creative Commons – Attribution – Non-Commercial 4.0 International Licence.