The Federal Government is developing a new National Cultural Policy and is encouraging anyone interested in our nation’s arts, entertainment and cultural sector is encouraged to have their say.

Many peak bodies and networks, including TNA, are making submissions on behalf of the sector, but we encourage you to make your own submission which speaks to the unique experiences, challenges and opportunities of you and/or your organisation. This is an opportunity to shape arts and culture in our country in the years to come – we encourage you to think creatively about solutions to the problems we face and include these in your submission.

TNA’s Submission can be downloaded here: TNA Final national-cultural-policy-submission_Aug_22

The Government has provided a template asking people to respond to just a few questions framed around five already identified key pillars of the policy:

• First Nations: recognising and respecting the crucial place of these stories at the centre of our arts and culture.
• A place for every story: reflecting the diversity of our stories and the contribution of all Australians as the creators of culture.
• The centrality of the artist: supporting the artist as worker and celebrating their role as the creators of culture.
• Strong institutions: providing support across the spectrum of institutions which sustain our arts and culture.
• Reaching the audience: ensuring our stories reach the right people at home and abroad.

You can download the template and upload your submission here by August 22nd. You don’t have to use the template, just send in a letter!

There are also many town halls happening across the country where you can attend in person to hear more about the policy and share your thoughts. The final sessions are open for registration: keep an eye on this page for more info.

The Australia Council for the Arts have also released a framing submission which gives suggestions around the kind of things that a policy could include and the things you could think about and include in your submission. If you don’t have time to read it all, just have a look at the ‘Focus Areas’ under each of the five pillars – this is the most useful part!