Australia’s cultural and creative industries contribute more than $67 billion to the economy and employ almost 600,000 people, but the Australian Academy of the Humanities is warning that the systems underpinning the nation’s cultural life are increasingly fragile.
In a new submission to the next stage of the federal government’s National Cultural Policy, the Academy argues culture should no longer be treated as a narrow arts portfolio, but recognised as essential national infrastructure tied to democracy, social cohesion and economic resilience.
The intervention comes as universities, cultural institutions and creative industries continue to grapple with the aftershocks of the pandemic, funding instability and growing concern over the future pipeline of creative and humanities graduates.
“Our cultural capability is a national capability,” Academy President Professor Stephen Garton said.
“If Australia wants to remain a creative, confident and connected society, we need policy settings that recognise culture as essential infrastructure for our democracy, economy and national future.”
The submission pushes for a broader understanding of culture that extends beyond performance and production, positioning it instead as central to how Australians understand identity, participate in civic life and imagine the country’s future.
At the centre of the Academy’s argument is a concern that governance across culture, heritage, education and industry has become fragmented, leaving major gaps between policy ambition and long-term coordination. The submission argues that while the federal government’s existing National Cultural Policy represented an important symbolic reset after years of neglect, structural problems remain unresolved.
The Academy identifies three immediate priorities, including reforming fragmented governance arrangements, addressing what it describes as a worsening creative education crisis and increasing investment in creative clusters and cultural research and development.
Particular attention is given to the impact of the former Job Ready Graduates policy, which significantly increased student contribution costs for many humanities disciplines. Universities and sector groups have repeatedly argued the policy distorted enrolment patterns and weakened pathways into creative and cultural careers at a time when Australia says it wants to grow innovation capability.
The submission also calls for stronger First Nations cultural governance through Indigenous led storytelling, co creation and shared authority models across cultural institutions and policy frameworks.
International examples are used to argue Australia is falling behind comparable nations in treating culture as a coordinated economic and strategic priority. The Academy points to the United Kingdom’s Creative Industries Clusters Program as a model where governments, universities, galleries, libraries, archives, museums and industry were brought together through targeted investment that delivered both economic and social returns.
The release of the submission adds to growing pressure on the federal government to clarify how the next phase of national cultural policy will move beyond high level commitments into structural reform, particularly as universities, arts organisations and creative industries continue to warn about workforce shortages, declining humanities participation and long term funding uncertainty.
The Academy’s full statement and submission position culture not as a discretionary sector seeking support, but as a foundational capability tied to Australia’s democratic, economic and social future.
The Academy’s statement can be seen here. The submission can be seen here.
