Arts to be recognised in federal modern award in historic Fair Work proposal

NAVA welcomes a provisional decision by the Fair Work Commission that would see the arts explicitly recognised in a federal modern award and visual arts work more clearly reflected in its classifications.

Released on Friday 14 August, the decision seeks to rename the Amusement, Events and Recreation Award 2020 as the Amusement, Recreation, Events and Arts Award (AREA) 2020. It follows more than three years of advocacy through the Fair Work Commission's review.

NAVA Executive Director Penelope Benton said the decision was an important moment in a much longer history of advocacy to improve working conditions in the visual arts.

“For decades, the visual arts sector has been trying to address the confusion and inconsistency that comes from fitting arts work into awards that weren't designed for it. These problems were identified in the Myer Inquiry more than 20 years ago and NAVA's advocacy for fair pay and conditions goes back even further.

“Having the arts named in a federal modern award, with visual arts workers and workplaces more clearly recognised, is a significant achievement. It gives arts workers and employers greater clarity about minimum pay and conditions, and provides a stronger legal safety net for people working across the sector.”

Friday’s decision includes provisional views on adding arts-specific duties and visual arts workplaces into the classification structure, and recognising that knowledge and expertise in the arts can come through cultural and broader experience as well as formal training.

The Fair Work Commission noted NAVA's detailed submissions on the duties performed by arts workers, which provided the foundation for the joint submission made with the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA). NAVA thanks the many Members and colleagues across the sector who generously shared their knowledge and experience throughout this process, helping to inform NAVA’s submissions. 

“While these changes would provide an enforceable minimum safety net of pay and conditions, minimum Award rates remain too low for much of the skilled and specialised work undertaken across our sector. NAVA will continue to advocate for higher wages and better conditions, and maintain the Payment Standards in the Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design as the industry standard.”

NAVA is working through the decision and draft determination and will respond to the provisional views of the Commission by 4 September 2026.