Your voice is a national voice: NAVA Members speak up

NAVA will be submitting responses to these upcoming consultations and encourages you to add your voice to help ensure that arts and cultural policy is well informed and effective in developing ambitious and fair working conditions.

Image: Miranda Samuels participating in pvi collective's "How To Create Policy Change" at Future/Forward, photo by Zan Wimberley.

Tips for writing submissions

  • clearly address some or all of the questions in the provided discussion paper (you do not need to address each one)
  • expressing where and why you agree or disagree are equally important, as are your views and ideas for alternative initiatives
  • make it relevant and highlight your own perspective
  • be concise, generally no longer than four to five pages
  • begin with a short introduction about yourself or the organisation you represent
  • emphasise your key points so that they are clear
  • only include information you would be happy to see published online (unless you request that your submission is kept private)

National Indigenous Arts and Cultural Authority

Deadline extended to 28 February 2019

For decades, the idea of a National Indigenous Arts and Cultural Authority (NIACA) has emerged and re-emerged in recognition of the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts as the world’s premier continuous cultural tradition. A NIACA could provide a much needed central peak body for the Indigenous arts and cultural sector, providing First Nations artists and cultural organisations with a national voice across all areas of practice.

This national consultation is currently open to inform the value, role, scope and form of a NIACA. Submissions are invited from all people and organisations with an interest in the Indigenous arts and cultural sector. 


Questions:

  • Do you think a NIACA should exist? Why or why not?
  • What do you think are the most important needs and priorities a NIACA should address – for the short, medium and long term?
  • What activities are the most relevant to you, your community, your region or your organisation?
  • What cultural material should be covered by the NIACA model? Arts? Cultural expression including languages?Potential to cover traditional knowledge more broadly including biodiversity knowledge?
  • What groups should a NIACA represent – through its membership, steering committee, decision-making structure and board? What art and cultural forms should be represented?
  • How should the NIACA model include local and regional decision-making structures?
  • What are the required skills, attributes and experiences of the NIACA steering committee and board?
  • How should the board members be selected and how long should they serve?
  • What do you think should be the funding and revenue sources for a NIACA?
  • What do you think is the best legal model for a NIACA? Why?


How to contribute:

Fill in the quick online survey or attach your written response to the online form or email to submissions@niaca.com.au, or post to:

NIACA Consultation
c/o Australia Council for the Arts
PO Box 788
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
Australia

Status of the Teaching Profession

Deadline 21 December 2018

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training is inquiring into the status of the teaching profession. In particular, the Committee wants to look at ways to overcome current constraints to deliver the best school education model for Australia. Some of those constraints include: inflexible curriculum delivery; periodic reporting and assessment practices; a lack of evidenced-based research; an absence of readily-available class room applications; time pressures for teachers and principals; and a lack of support for school principals to develop professional autonomy.


Questions:

  • Increasing the attractiveness of the profession for teachers and principals, including workplace conditions, and career and leadership structures.
  • Provision of appropriate support platforms for teachers, including human and IT resources.
  • Identifying ways in which the burden of out-of-hours, at-home work can be reduced.
  • Investigating ways to increase retention rates for the teaching profession, and avoid 'burn out' among early-career teachers.


How to contribute:

Email your submission to ee.reps@aph.gov.au or post to 

Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training

PO Box 6021
Parliament House
CANBERRA
Canberra ACT 2600 

Creating Queensland’s Future

Deadline 18 December 2018

Plans are underway to develop a “10-Year Roadmap for the Arts” and a public consultation is now open. Called Creating Queensland’s Future, this comprehensive approach situates the arts in a broader cultural and creative sector and is also looking for contributions from business and all levels of government. The consultation explicitly references the “period of rapid change” that characterises the entire state, and recognises the pivotal role of the arts in shaping the Queensland of the future.


Questions:

  • How does the draft vision align with your vision for the sector?
  • What do you think a successful sector would look like in 10 years?
  • What further actions could the Queensland Government take to support a vibrant and sustainable sector?
  • How can the sector assist in developing and diversifying Queensland’s workforce of the future?
  • What actions can be taken to assist in building the sector’s capability?
  • What type of assistance is required to create career pathways for young people and emerging and established practitioners?
  • What actions are needed to support the sector to establish new and innovative partnerships and attract new investment?
  • What are the new markets impacting the sector and how can we connect with them?
  • What is the potential role for new technologies and entrepreneurs for the sector and how can we encourage their adoption?
  • How can cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovation between the sector and other industries be encouraged?
  • How can the value of the sector be better articulated to other industries?
  • What other challenges does the sector face and how can they be overcome?
  • What other objectives could be included to achieve the vision?
  • What do you see is your role in the new arts, cultural and creative sector Roadmap and how could you be involved?


How to contribute:

Fill in the quick online survey or send your written response to consultation@arts.qld.gov.au or post to
Creating Queensland’s future consultation
Arts Queensland
GPO Box 1436
Brisbane QLD 4001

National Arts and Disability Strategy

Deadline 3 December 2018

The goal of the National Arts and Disability Strategy is to maximise the opportunities for people with disabilities to experience full inclusion in cultural life. It aims to improve access to and participation in the arts by people with disabilities. 


What they want to know:

The Meeting of Cultural Ministers (MCM) want to hear about anything you want to share about being an artist, participating in creative and cultural activity or attending cultural activities as an audience member. Depending on who you are, you can talk about one or more of the following:
• your experience as a person with disabilities
• what you have observed or experienced as a carer and/or support person to a person with disabilities
• what your organisation or business has observed or experienced, and
• broader observations about quality, visibility and recognition of work by artists with disabilities.


How to contribute:

You can tell your story about arts and disability by completing the online survey or sending in a submission - this can be in writing, on video, audio recorded or via phone. 


Survey

There are three surveys for different groups of people. You can answer more than one survey if it is relevant to you.



Written, Video, Audio or Phone Submissions

Write

You can write your stories and ideas and upload them to the website.
You can email your submission to Arts.Disability@arts.gov.au or post it to
National Arts and Disability Strategy
GPO Box 2154
Canberra ACT 2601


Video / Audio

You can make a video or audio recording and send it to them via WeTransfer.

Phone

Call the Department of Communications and the Arts on 1800 185 693 to tell your stories and ideas over the phone. You can use the National Relay Service to call.

NSW School Curriculum

Deadline 30 November 2018

This is the first comprehensive review of the whole NSW curriculum since 1989. The Review is conducted in a context of a high performing NSW Education system, which strives to meet the needs of a wide range of students, including those who are Aboriginal, or from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, or living with disabilities.


Questions:

  • What should the purpose of schooling be in the 21st century?
  • What knowledge, skills and attributes should every student develop at school?
  • How could the curriculum better support every student’s learning?
  • What else needs to change?


How to contribute:

You can fill in a quick online survey, or write your detailed feedback to the review via the online form or by posting to:

Professor Geoff Masters
Review Lead 
NSW Curriculum Review Taskforce
GPO Box 5300
SYDNEY NSW 2001