Recognise Art as Work

The FWC has invited proposals for a revised classification structure and changes to the award’s title and terminology, with submissions due by 7 March 2025. Following this, responses to these proposals will remain open until 28 March 2025, with a case management hearing scheduled for 3 April 2025 and a Full Bench hearing set for 29-30 April 2025.

Underpaid and undervalued: Artists and arts workers play an essential role in our community, supporting social cohesion, connection and wellbeing. 97% of Australians engage with the arts through attendance at exhibitions, visual arts festivals or fairs, encounters with public street art, or in the creation of art itself. 

Despite their importance in our community, more and more artists and arts workers are living precariously, balancing production costs and living expenses with income from artist activity, often supplemented by part-time work.

61% of visual artists make less than $10,000 per year from their creative work and their incomes are declining. They have little job security, often taking on multiple jobs to sustain their artistic careers. Many miss out on superannuation, leave and other entitlements.

Non-enforceable standards: Some employers refer to or adapt existing Awards and Enterprise Agreements that apply across a fraction of the section. Others use the recommended payment standards in NAVA’s Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft, and Design (the Code), make up the numbers or rely on volunteers to do the work of what should be paid staff. 

Released in September 2022, the sixth edition of the Code includes a full revision to the Payment Standards section, which was informed and agreed upon through consultations with thousands of artists, arts workers, and employer groups.

Although the Australian Government endorsed NAVA’s Code in the new National Cultural Policy, its recommended payment standards remain voluntary.

Awards (modern awards) are legal documents that set minimum employment standards in a specific industry or sector. This includes minimum pay rates, work hours, leave entitlements, penalty rates, and allowances. 

More than 100 industry or occupation awards cover the majority of people who work in Australia, including live performance artists and arts workers under the Live Performance Award. 

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) gives the Commission the power to create a new modern award. It also confers authority to vary the terms of an existing award in circumstances where an amendment would better ensure protection for a particular industry.

Establishing visual arts award coverage is a significant opportunity to enhance remuneration and structures to reflect the proper value of work, improve career pathways, and address the attraction and retention crisis for professional working artists and arts workers.

NAVA’s Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design (the Code) provides important pay guidelines for employers of artists. Developed through extensive consultation with artists, arts workers, sector networks and advisors, the Code offers a helpful starting point for developing a legally enforceable award.

After that, NAVA recommends the Government undergo further consultation with the sector and engage appropriate legal and industrial expertise. The Live Performance Award provides an excellent example of the depth that must be included.

NAVA's advocacy is only possible with the support of our Members, who understand that we are stronger when we come together to organise, take action and win. Show your support and build our capacity by becoming a NAVA Member.