Government, Culture and Creativity: It’s about more than just funding.

Government and household budgets are under pressure. But Australians still want to enjoy cultural and creative experiences, and expect federal, state and territory and local governments to help make these accessible.

This report showcases practical actions governments can take, beyond direct cultural funding, to support cultural access and strengthen creative industries. These ‘pro-culture’ enablers make it easier for creators to work, creative businesses to operate, and consumers to access experiences and products. They are uniquely available to governments and in some cases may be cheaper, easier and more effective than direct funding.

The report provides examples from different parts of Australia that could be adopted more broadly, as well as ideas from overseas that Australian governments could try.

Effective use of these enablers alongside direct funding can foster a pro-culture environment to help grow cultural and creative engagement and strengthen cultural and creative industries.

Government, Culture and Creativity

Summary of findings

1. Governments at all levels take actions to enable cultural and creative activities beyond direct funding mechanisms.

2. There are eight types of pro-culture enablers available to Australian governments distinct from direct funding:

1 Fit-for-purpose and streamlining measures

‘One-stop shops’ to improve access and reduce red tape delays
Preapproved plans for events
Procurement guidelines and principles
Permits to access specific government sites/facilities for cultural purposes

2 Legislation, regulations and standards

Copyright and IP legislation and protections
Tax system legislation
Night-time economy legislation and regulation
Local content quotas and rules
Signatory to international conventions (e.g. UNESCO)
Industry codes of practice and standards

3 Measures to develop skills, career pathways and knowledge sharing

Training and advisory services (including capability building, skills development, job pathways and networking opportunities)
Collecting and publishing data on arts, culture and creative sector outcomes and widening access to research and data infrastructure
Updates of training packages or fee structures that incentivise creative learning
Inclusion of Australian texts in the curriculum

4 Measures that facilitate co-investment and collaboration

Partnerships, intermediation and harmonisation (including intergovernmental, intragovernmental, public-to-private and cross-sector)
Facilitated access to finance (e.g. blended finance, such as impact investing, and access to public loans)
Creative industries expertise to shape relevant government policies (e.g. participation on advisory groups and co-design approaches)

5 Non-commercial rates

Free or reduced cost to use/access infrastructure, assets or facilities (e.g. free parking, property rentals, community venue access and entry fees)
Access to specialist equipment
Co-working hubs

6 Indirect industry assistance

Tax concessions, including deductions, exemptions and offsets
Operating the authorising and administrative mechanisms for donations
Administering copyright and rights compensation mechanisms
Co-production agreements

7 Information, promotion and marketing

Streamlined information about arts and culture events and activities
Localised promotion and marketing campaigns
National promotion initiatives (e.g. Arts Week and National Giving Day to the Arts)
Awards programs
Convening, consensus-building and community engagement

8 Special consideration for eligibility and exemptions

Exemptions to efficiency dividends
Ensuring arts and cultural activities and institutions are eligible within existing voucher/subsidy programs where appropriate
Improving digital and telecommunications connectivity as platforms for cultural participation and access

3. Pro-culture enablers span at least three broad functions, which may overlap:

1 Facilitating financial inflows:

measures that facilitate investment, enable compensation and grow business income.

2 Facilitate operations:

measures that build capacity and capability, increase access to resources and infrastructure, and reduce business expenses.

3 Increase engagement opportunities:

measures that facilitate access, participation and inclusion opportunities.

Summary of opportunities

1. Each level of government can play to its strengths and established responsibilities when designing and expanding pro-culture enablers.

Steps to implementation:

Identifying new enablers based on other jurisdictions’ actions and experiences.
Reviewing the enabling environment of arts, culture and creativity beyond the traditional boundaries of ‘domestic cultural policy’ (i.e. drawing on other portfolio and international examples). International organisations and reports are key sources for knowledge that can inform this review.
Embedding enablers in diverse policies and through focus areas and agendas for access, infrastructure, innovation, production and protection.

2. The cultural and creative industries can leverage and work with governments to expand existing pro-culture enablers that strengthen access and foster robust industries.

Implementing this would involve:

Harnessing the options from the inventory in Part 1, where industry organisations and people are already eligible.
Discussing enabler options with government colleagues, including through ongoing advocacy for no and low-cost options and sharing evidence about drawbacks and benefits.

3. To maximise opportunities to learn, co-deliver and collaborate, the National Cabinet should establish a Ministerial Council of Cultural Ministers, including a seat for a representative of Australian local governments.

This will strengthen collaboration and knowledge sharing across jurisdictions, including about the types of enablers described in this report.

4. Government leadership can be strengthened by instating an Assistant Minister for Arts and Culture at the federal level and introducing equivalent roles for state and territory jurisdictions.

Extending this governance model, currently found in the Northern Territory and Queensland, to other jurisdictions could assist Australia in resolving any overlapping interests between ministries at the state and territory and federal levels.

5. Develop a consistent approach to evaluate pro-culture enablers. This would inform decision-making and action across jurisdictions by strengthening the evidence base.

Implementing this could involve choosing a selection of enablers that justify formal evaluation from across the eight broad enabler types identified by ANA.

6. To increase awareness of enabler prevalence and options across jurisdictions, existing data collection mechanisms can be adjusted.

One practical action is to include a survey question in the ABS’s next national data collection for the Cultural Funding by Government (CFG) survey asking jurisdictions about enablers beyond currently reported expenditure.

This report is the 15th 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.

Suggested citation

Sari Rossi, Angela Vivian, Kate Fielding. June 2025. “Government, Culture and Creativity: It’s about more than just funding.” Insight Report no. 2025-01. Produced by A New Approach (ANA). Canberra, Australia.

Acknowledgement

ANA acknowledges the cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and their continuing cultural and creative practices in this land.

This report was produced by ANA. This report was written by Dr Sari Rossi, Dr Angela Vivian and Kate Fielding from ANA. Policy input provided by ANA’s former Director of Policy Dr Alan Hui (while still employed by ANA) and current Director of Policy Sarah-Jane Bennett.

ANA thanks everyone who generously reviewed early drafts of sections of this Insight Report and its inventory of enablers for their time and excellent feedback, including: Subhadra Mistry, Arts and Culture Strategic Lead, City of Casey; Simon Booth, Director Policy, Australian Local Government Association (ALGA); Caroline Fulton, Executive Branch Manager, artsACT; Eliza Tee, Manager Partnerships and Investment, Arts Queensland; Kate Mackie, Manager Special Projects and Industry Development, Arts Tasmania; Bonnie Dalton, Director, Strategy and Insights, Creative Victoria; Marty Cunningham, Director Special Projects, Creative Industries, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (Western Australia);Dr Christen Cornell, Research Fellow and Manager, Research Partnerships, Creative Australia; Matthew Higgins, State Manager Development and Partnerships (Queensland), Creative Australia; Margaret Tillson, Manager, Strategic Policy and Insights, Screen Australia; staff at the Office for the Arts; Dr Marie-Louise Ayres FAHA, Director-General, National Library of Australia; Matthew Deaner, CEO Screen Producers Australia; Ebony Wightman and Jordan Valageorgiou, We Are Studios; Erica McCalman, Theatre Network Australia; Dr Nick Mitzevich, Director, National Gallery of Australia; Katie Russell, National Director/CEO, Australian Museums and Galleries Association; and members of ANA’s Board and Reference Group. However, any errors are our own. If you notice any errors, please get in contact.

If, through your work, you have designed or adopted a pro-culture enabler that you think might be of interest to ANA, please contact us.

Report design

Swell Design Group (@swelldesigngroup)

© 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.