NAVA's Payment Standards to apply indexation
The annual increase to the Payment Standards in NAVA’s Code will be implemented on 1 July 2025.
On 1 July 2025, NAVA’s Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft, and Design (the Code) will adjust its Payment Standards. These provide recommended fee and wage benchmarks for artists, arts workers, and organisations. They also include guidance on superannuation, taxation, and other allowances to ensure equitable compensation across the sector.
This year’s increase will be 2.25% effective from July. This figure sits between typical indexation rates for multi-year government contracts and the 3.5% increase to the National Minimum Wage and minimum award wages recently set by the Fair Work Commission (FWC).
NAVA will continue to review and update the Code each July, aligning with the FWC’s annual wage review. While this increase provides consistency, NAVA acknowledges it does not fully address the financial precarity experienced across the sector.
Financial pressures across the sector
Visual arts organisations and galleries are under immense strain. Public funding has flatlined or declined in real terms over the past decade, even as operational costs have risen sharply. Many organisations are being asked to deliver more with less, often at the expense of adequate artist fees.
NAVA recognises these pressures and remains committed to advocating for greater investment to both sustain organisations and secure the livelihoods of artists and arts workers.
Fair Work Commission's annual wage review
The adjustment aligns with the FWC’s annual wage review, which reassesses minimum wages in modern awards, transitional instruments, and the National Minimum Wage to ensure they reflect the current economic landscape and cost of living.
From 1 July 2025:
- The National Minimum Wage will increase to $24.95/hour or $948/week (for employees who aren’t covered by an award or enterprise agreement)
- Award-covered employees get a 3.5% minimum wage increase
Two sections of the Code’s Payment Standards, Performance Fees and Allowances, will be updated to reflect the increase in the Live Performance Award (LPA).
The primary reason for the FWC’s increase is to address the decline in real wages for low-paid workers due to the spike in inflation since 2021. The government supports this increase to ease cost-of-living pressures, with Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth calling it an “economically sustainable real wage increase.”
Upcoming superannuation changes
On 1 July 2025, the minimum super guarantee (SG) will increase from 11.5% to 12% of each employee’s ordinary time earnings (OTE). Employers must pay eligible employees the super guarantee (SG) at least 4 times a year.
NAVA’s Code recommends that contractors’ fees should account for superannuation separately, keeping it distinct from the artist’s fee as a good practice.
To understand your super obligations or entitlements, visit the ATO’s How much super to pay or contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Ensuring compliance
The Fair Work Act mandates an annual review of minimum wages, ensuring no award/agreement-free employee earns less than the National Minimum Wage (Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ss 294(2)). NAVA’s Code must comply with the National Minimum Wage set by the Fair Work Commission for employees not covered by an award or enterprise agreement.
NAVA’s advocacy for equitable pay
While the 2.25% increase is a step toward more equitable pay for visual artists and arts workers, it remains insufficient to ensure their financial sustainability.
Artists’ incomes have stagnated, and public policy and investment have failed to match the sector’s growth and diversification. Arts funding continues to lag behind inflation, with Creative Australia’s budget effectively shrunk by 11.4% since 2010. In response, NAVA continues to advocate for arts funding indexation that reflects actual costs.
Indexation for multi-year funding agreements is inconsistent. While some state funding bodies apply higher annual increases, most provide none at all. Creative Australia applied a minimum 1% indexation last year, but it is unclear what rate will be applied going forward. In this strained funding environment, NAVA continues advocating for stronger support mechanisms to ensure equitable pay and working conditions for artists and arts workers.
In 2024, NAVA’s Recognise Art as Work campaign secured a commitment from the FWC to vary the Amusement, Events and Recreation Award 2020. This laid the groundwork for stronger arts workers coverage and protections under the Fair Work system.
Throughout 2024 and early 2025, NAVA led advocacy with sustained sector consultation, including submissions, hearings, and consultations with the FWC, securing key changes, including a revised classification structure and an updated award title. The FWC’s final determinations are pending.
NAVA also addressed income barriers, engaging with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) to improve access to income support for freelance and contract-based workers, particularly around the Points-Based Activation System and mutual obligation requirements.
As we head toward the next iteration of Revive, public investment must grow in line with inflation and sector needs. Adequate funding is not just about sustaining programs, it’s about securing the future of artists, organisations, and the communities they serve.
Other upcoming changes and additions to the Code
- An update to the note on terminology in Access Rights for d/Deaf and Disabled People to align with NAVA’s Disability Action Plan.
- An update to the Gender Equity section to include the Work Health and Safety (Sexual and Gender-based Harassment) Code of Practice.
- Nine new Auslan videos for Good Practice Recommendations.
- An audio option for the Good Practice Recommendations in Principles, Ethics and Rights.
Image credit
NAVA Code of Practice training for Canada Bay Council staff, 22 May 2025. Photo by Garry Trinh.
ID: Photo of a laptop resting on someone's lap, displaying the'Payment Standards section of the NAVA Code website.
