Tax Reform Advocacy Toolkit

In 2025, NAVA made a detailed submission to the NSW Government’s Art of Tax Reform consultation, outlining practical reforms to support the visual arts. The submission identifies structural issues that keep artists in precarity and proposes solutions to ease financial pressures on artists and the sector.

• Artists’ incomes are among the lowest in Australia. Most visual artists earn under $23,600 per year, well below the poverty line.
• Current tax rules can actively discourage artists from building sustainable careers. A one-off success like a grant or prize can trigger years of debt.
• We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for tax settings that reflect the irregularity of how artists work and earn.
• Artists aren’t paid like most workers. They don’t get a regular wage, and they don’t have an employer handling tax or super. Most are sole traders, earning well below the poverty line, managing their own income, expenses, and compliance. Their income is irregular, inconsistent, and often unpredictable, yet they’re taxed under the same rules as workers with steady, salaried jobs.
• Tax settings should be fair for all kinds of workers, and that means recognising when the system doesn’t fit.
• Tax reform won’t fix everything, but it can remove some of the financial setbacks that follow success, let artists reinvest in their practice and earn a living wage.

Art prizes and grants

• Prizes, fellowships, and grants are career-defining and rare – but most are taxed as ordinary income.
• In a recent NAVA survey, artists have reported losing 20–50% of a grant or prize to tax. Some had to pay back tens of thousands.
• Give detail about grants or prize money received and how much of that you lost in tax and GST, and what the impact of that experience was or is on you and your practice.
• There is precedent for tax-free prizes, in the PM’s Literary Awards and Sidney Myer Fellowships.

Non-Commercial Loss (NCL) rules

• The NCL rules disadvantage artists who rely on other income sources like teaching or other work to support their practice. These rules often prevent artists from claiming legitimate deductions.
• The $40,000 income cap hasn’t changed since 2000. It's time to raise the cap.
• Arbitrary thresholds like a $20,000 earnings floor or a three-in-five-year profit test do not reflect the seasonal, project-based, and often low-paid nature of visual arts practice. 
• Artists who meet the ATO’s “in business” test should be exempt from NCL provisions. This would let artists claim legitimate business expenses, even when income is irregular.

GST on income spikes and studio rent

• Most artists earn below the $75K GST threshold, but a one-off commission or grant can force GST registration.
• Give details about your experience, such as receiving an ATO bill after a good sales year, including GST and full HECS repayment, and having to go on a payment plan.
• Let artists opt into GST only when they consistently earn above the threshold over five years. This would align with existing income averaging offsets.
• Exempt studio leases from GST for artists under the threshold. Studio rent is one of artists biggest fixed costs.

HECS/HELP

• One-off income spikes from prizes and grants can push artists into higher HECS repayment brackets.
• Artists may experience a single high-income year followed by a return to low or precarious income, but are still left with large repayment obligations based on that temporary spike.
• HECS should be calculated based on average income across two consecutive years for artists with irregular earnings.

Income averaging

• Artists can average income over five years, but most don’t know about it.
• 67% of surveyed artists to NAVA they’d never heard of income averaging.
• We’re asking for plain-language resources, prompts in MyTax, and targeted outreach to artists and accountants.

Deductions and residencies

• Artists should be able to claim living costs for long-term residencies, just like R&D (Research and development) in other industries.
• First Nations artists should be able to claim ICIP-related costs, like travel to Country or time spent with Elders, as legitimate tax deductions.

These changes are fiscally modest but transformative. With the right policy settings, artists can build viable careers, contribute more sustainably to the creative economy, and ensure future generations can access and participate equitably in the arts.

Write to your local MP: Use the Australian Electoral Commission’s Find My Electorate 

What are their values and motivations? Watch or read their First Speeches in Parliament

What about my state’s senators? Look them up and read their First Speeches 

How do I talk up our local arts scene? Use Creative Australia’s Electorate Profiles

What to know, what to ask, what to do afterwards

A face-to-face meeting with your MP is one of the most effective ways to advocate for better tax settings for artists. Politicians listen closely when issues are raised by people from their own communities, especially when it’s backed by clear examples and respectful conversations.

Whether you meet at their office, invite them to your studio, or speak at your exhibition opening, this section helps you prepare.

Before the meeting

Find your MP

• Use the AEC “Find My Electorate” tool to locate your local MP and check their contact details.

Learn a little about them

• Read or watch their First Speech in Parliament (often gives insight into their values)
• Check how they’ve voted on relevant issues (They Vote For You)
• Look at Creative Australia’s Electorate Profiles to see how many people in their area are artists or involved in the arts.

Request a meeting

Call or email their electorate office. Introduce yourself, state your suburb and why you’re getting in touch. Let them know you’d like to speak about how current tax rules are affecting artists in their electorate, and propose a few times. You can also invite them to your exhibition or studio for a tour and informal discussion.

Plan what you’ll say

• Use the talking points in this toolkit
• Share your own story or experience with tax settings
• Practice being clear and concise (aim for 15–20 minutes max)
• Prepare one or two specific actions you’d like them to take (e.g. “Can you write to the Treasurer about this?” or “Will you raise this with your party’s arts spokesperson?”)

During the meeting

Be respectful and stay on message

• Start by thanking them for their time
• Introduce yourself and your practice. Briefly explain your connection to the community and arts sector
• Use plain language. Assume they’re not familiar with the arts sector or how tax rules impact artists
• Focus on the real-world impact (e.g. “A $20K grant cost me $6K in tax”)
• Emphasise that parts of the current system treats irregular incomes the same as salaried jobs, and that’s the problem

Ask for something specific

Examples:

• Will you raise this with the Treasurer/Minister for the Arts?
• Will you support these reforms if they’re debated in Parliament?
• Will you write to your party’s finance spokesperson about this?
• Will you talk to other artists or arts organisations to learn more?

Take notes if needed. You’re allowed to say, “I’ll follow up with more information on that.”

After the meeting

Send a thank-you note or email

• Thank them again for their time
• Restate what you discussed and what actions they agreed to consider
• Attach a short summary or link to NAVA’s tax reform webpage if helpful

Let NAVA know how it went

Sharing feedback helps us track who’s been contacted and where momentum is building. Email us at nava@visualarts.net.au 

Stay in touch

If the MP was supportive, keep them updated with exhibitions, media stories, or developments. If they are unsure, follow up with new data or examples in a few months.

(Adapt this to your voice, practice, and experience.)

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

[Your Email]

[Your Phone Number]

[Date]

[Name of MP or Senator]

[Electorate or Office Name]

[Parliament House or Electorate Office Address]

Subject: Tax reform for artists – support needed

Dear [Name of MP],

I’m writing to you as one of your constituents and as a practicing [artist / arts worker / arts educator] based in [your suburb or town]. I’m part of a vibrant local creative community and a Member of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), Australia’s peak body for the visual arts, craft and design sector.

Like many artists, I manage my practice as a small business and work independently. I don’t have an employer taking care of tax or super, I manage everything myself. The problem is that the current tax system wasn’t designed for this kind of work. It treats my income as if it were regular and predictable, when in reality it’s the opposite: my income is highly irregular, and often based on one-off opportunities like exhibitions, grants, and commissions.

These tax settings often turn success into stress. A grant, prize, or big sale can push me into higher tax or HECS repayment brackets, or force me to register for GST, even when my income falls again the next year. Like many others, I’ve [insert personal example if you have one, e.g., lost thousands in tax on a grant, had to go on a payment plan with the ATO, or stopped applying for funding because of tax complications].

We’re not asking for special treatment, just a system that better recognises the uniqueness and irregularity of artists incomes. Artists are some of the lowest-paid workers in the country, and the tax system should not make it harder to keep going.

That’s why I’m asking for your support for a set of practical reforms proposed by NAVA and supported across the arts sector:

• Make grants, fellowships, and art prizes tax-free
• Exempt artists from Non-Commercial Loss rules if they meet the ATO’s “in business” test
• Allow artists to opt into GST only if their income exceeds the threshold over 5 years
• Reform how one-off income spikes affect HECS repayments
• Exempt GST on studio leases for artists under the threshold
• Allow deductions for living costs during residencies and ICIP-related expenses for First Nations artists

These reforms are modest in cost, but would be transformative in their impact.

I’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you about this further and share what it’s like to work as an artist in your electorate. If you’re available, I’d be happy to meet at your office, or even invite you to my studio or upcoming exhibition to see first hand what this work involves.

Thank you for your time and for the work you do representing our community. I hope you’ll consider supporting these important reforms.

Best regards,

[Your Name]