An Award for Artists: Send a message to your Arts Ministers

Dear Minister Burke and Minister Templeman,

I am writing to urge you to honour your commitment to recognising artists as workers by establishing an award for the Visual Arts, Craft and Design sector and boosting arts funding in the new National Cultural Policy. 

Without an award rate for the visual arts, craft and design sector, most artists and arts workers will miss out on any increases to fees and wages gained through changes under the ‘Secure Jobs, Better Pay’ Bill.

Legislating a minimum wage for visual artists and arts workers will help me to meet the rising cost of living and continue my work and practice.

I support NAVA’s priorities for inclusion in new National Cultural Policy: 

• Establish an Award for the visual arts, craft and design sector that mandates the adequate payment of artists and arts workers for their work and includes standard entitlements as recognised under the national workplace relations system.
• Extend the small claims jurisdiction in the Fair Work Division of the Court to assist artists to resolve disputes without recourse to costly legal proceedings.
• Introduce or trial a basic income scheme for artists and arts workers to address the financial instability caused by intermittent, periodic and project-based nature of working in the arts.
• Ensure Centrelink recognises the professional work of artists and arts workers as employment-seeking activities.
• Amend the Superannuation Guarantee Act to include visual artists, craft and design practitioners.
• Increase funding through both the Australia Council for the Arts and the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) program for artists, galleries and organisations.

Thank you,