In April 2026, NAVA hosted three online workshops with artists, arts workers and organisations from across the visual arts, craft and design sector to inform submissions to the Federal Government’s consultation on the next National Cultural Policy, which is open until 24 May 2026.
Artbank collection storage facility in Sydney NSW.
This session, First Nations First, focused on the conditions required to support First Nations artists, arts workers and communities across the visual arts sector. Discussion centred on self-determination, cultural authority, workforce development, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protections, cultural safety, disability access, AI and the structural barriers affecting First Nations participation and leadership within the arts.
The workshop was facilitated by Georgia Mokak, NAVA’s First Nations Outreach Coordinator, with an introduction by Luke Briscoe, NAVA’s Development Officer. NAVA acknowledges and pays respects to the rightful custodians of the many First Nations Lands upon which this online event was streamed and received.
These notes are intended to support artists, arts workers and organisations preparing submissions to the National Cultural Policy consultation. They bring together recurring themes, concerns and policy recommendations raised throughout the discussion. They do not represent a consensus position from every participant, but reflect shared issues identified across multiple breakout groups.
First Nations people remain underrepresented in senior decision-making positions across the visual arts sector, despite the increasing visibility and significance of First Nations arts and cultural practice.
While identified positions exist across many organisations, participants described these roles as frequently isolated, junior and under-resourced, with responsibility for cultural guidance, consultation and community engagement placed on individuals without corresponding authority, staffing support or decision-making power. In many cases, a single First Nations staff member is expected to carry organisational cultural responsibilities across entire institutions.
Participants noted significant gaps in pathways into mid-career, technical, curatorial and leadership positions, limiting progression into senior roles and reinforcing reliance on a small number of First Nations practitioners to provide sector-wide leadership, mentorship and cultural governance.
There was strong support for long-term investment in First Nations-led workforce development, including mentorship, professional development, intergenerational knowledge exchange and more sustainable staffing structures within publicly funded organisations.
Discussion also raised the need for stronger coordinated First Nations advocacy and governance structures across the visual arts sector, including better support for Elders groups, community-led decision-making and collaboration between existing First Nations organisations, peak bodies and service organisations.
Participants described a lack of coherent, nationally supported pathways for First Nations artists and arts workers to enter, sustain and progress within the visual arts sector. Existing education and training opportunities were seen as sporadic, short-term and often disconnected from workplaces and practice.
Many participants identified the need for culturally safer training pathways covering practical industry skills such as arts management, contracts, tax, governance and business development, alongside mentorship and intergenerational knowledge exchange.
There was strong support for embedding First Nations leadership and cultural authority throughout arts education, including greater involvement of First Nations people in teaching, curriculum design and cultural learning within schools, tertiary institutions and public programs.
Participants noted that First Nations staff are frequently isolated as the sole identified employee within organisations, carrying significant cultural and emotional labour without adequate support, authority or peer networks. Mid-career and leadership pathways were identified as a major gap across the sector.
Participants noted the absence of a nationally coordinated First Nations advocacy and governance structure operating across the breadth of the visual arts sector, comparable to organisations such as Desart or Aboriginal Art Centre Hub Western Australia (AACHWA).
Participants raised concern that funding structures fail to reach the people they are intended to support. Funding flowing through large or non-Indigenous organisations was often described as failing to return meaningful financial benefit, authority or long-term support to artists and communities themselves.
Dedicated First Nations funding streams were also described as becoming extractive or transactional, particularly where organisations seek First Nations involvement primarily to secure funding outcomes. Participants noted that artists are frequently asked to provide cultural labour, consultation and leadership without adequate remuneration or ongoing support.
Regional and remote artists continue to face disadvantage due to shrinking infrastructure, reduced regional arts networks and limited access to meaningful funding opportunities. Participants also identified significant gaps in support for urban First Nations artists working independently outside art centre structures, notably across the South-East, but also across the continent.
There were calls for greater transparency around where arts funding goes, who benefits from it, and how much reaches First Nations artists directly.
First Nations arts workers described workplace conditions characterised by isolation, invisible and uncompensated labour, inadequate management support and structural power imbalances.
Participants discussed the ongoing burden of cultural load, including community liaison, ceremony, mentoring, advocacy and education work extending beyond contracted responsibilities and normal working hours. This labour is often unrecognised within position descriptions, budgets or staffing structures.
Concerns were also raised about organisations relying on a single First Nations staff member to carry institutional cultural responsibility, often while occupying junior or under-resourced positions without meaningful decision-making authority.
Participants identified the importance of culturally safer HR processes, workplace flexibility, mentorship, organisational accountability and shared responsibility for cultural competency across institutions, rather than placing the burden of education solely on First Nations staff.
Publicly funded arts organisations must embed recognition and remuneration of cultural load in position descriptions and employment contracts for First Nations staff.
Discussion raised need for recognising and remunerating cultural load within employment structures, funding dedicated cultural liaison and advisory roles, strengthening accountability mechanisms, and ensuring First Nations workers can safely raise concerns without risk of retaliation or further harm.
Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protections were identified as a critical priority.
First Nations artists frequently experience limited control over how their work is used, priced and contextualised. Participants described situations where non-Indigenous coordinators, managers and commissioners override community authority structures, direct cultural outcomes, or retain disproportionate control over projects involving First Nations cultural material.
Independent artists outside art centre networks were identified as being particularly under-supported, with many lacking access to legal advice, advocacy, contracts, business support and clear information about rights and protections.
Forthcoming ICIP legislation will be ineffective without substantial accompanying infrastructure.
Participants stressed that forthcoming ICIP legislation must include meaningful enforcement mechanisms and consequences for breaches, without requiring artists and communities to undertake expensive or inaccessible legal action themselves.
There was also strong support for increased investment in plain-language resources, community education, advocacy and sector-wide training to ensure both First Nations and non-Indigenous arts workers understand their responsibilities and rights.
The importance of expanding support for organisations already undertaking this work was noted, including the Indigenous Art Code, Arts Law Centre of Australia and other sector advocacy and advisory services including NAVA.
AI was identified across multiple groups as an urgent and growing threat to ICIP, with First Nations cultural material at risk of being ingested, reproduced and commercialised without consent or benefit to communities.
Participants raised concerns about AI systems reproducing First Nations artistic styles, cultural material and knowledge systems without appropriate safeguards, accountability or consent processes. Existing legal and policy frameworks were seen as inadequate to address these risks.
There were calls for stronger protections governing the scraping, training and reproduction of First Nations cultural material, alongside greater transparency and regulation around AI systems.
Participants also identified the need for community education around AI, culturally appropriate archiving systems, and stronger protections preventing First Nations cultural material from being used in AI training datasets without consent.
A significant proportion of First Nations people experience some form of disability, and participants noted that the intersection of disability and cultural participation is poorly addressed in both arts policy and disability support frameworks.
NDIS means-testing was identified as particularly problematic for artists with fluctuating and irregular income patterns, creating barriers to sustaining arts practice and cultural participation.
Concerns were also raised about physical accessibility barriers across arts venues, transport systems and cultural events, alongside the lack of recognition of flexible timelines and working conditions required by many disabled artists and arts workers.
There was strong support for more flexible, culturally informed disability support systems that enable First Nations people to participate in ceremony, cultural activity and arts practice on their own terms, including recognition of Crip Time within funding, employment and program delivery structures.
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