Summary: AICSA welcomes two new funded initiatives in the State Budget while seeking and receiving further information regarding funding announcements and the delivery of A Place to Create; seeks an appraisal of the Arts Investment Fund; and calls for the release of the Artists at Work Taskforce report and recommendations. AICSA provides 5 areas for action.
Welcome announcements
The South Australian Government released the 2025-2026 State Budget on 5 June 2025. The Budget confirmed the Government’s new investments for the next financial year and beyond with two new measures announced:
$13 million over four years from 2025-26 to 2028-29 to deliver on the government’s arts and cultural policy A Place to Create
$3.9 million over three years to Country Arts SA, commenced from 2024-25, for essential upgrades to regional arts centres in Whyalla, Port Pirie, Mount Gambier and Renmark.
The Arts Industry Council of South Australia very much welcomes these two announcements.
Implementing A Place to Create through funding to “enhance access to arts and cultural experiences for all South Australians, support artists and creatives, and ensure the sustainability of arts organisations and cultural institutions” will commence through its 2025-2027 Delivery Plan, with $6.8million allocated; followed by $6.2million across 2027-2029 for a future Delivery Plan.
Investment funding for upgrades to Country Arts SA’s regional arts centres between this year and mid-2027 is sorely needed and important for maintaining regional cultural infrastructure and access to arts and culture for South Australians.
Clarification on investment numbers
On 31 March this year the Malinauskas Labor Government launched A Place to Create, South Australia’s landmark ten-year cultural policy.
At the launch of A Place to Create, an overall investment of over $80 million was announced but as commented on by our members, the figures were only provided for specific highlights, which did not add up to the overall $80 million figure.
AICSA had eagerly anticipated that more detail of this investment would be included as new budget initiatives in the State Budget because of the lack of clarity with the original announcement.
However, the State Budget did not provide further details on this and therefore the AICSA Committee has been engaging directly with the Minister’s office to provide our members with further details of the government investment, which we are now able to share.
A spokesperson for the Minister has confirmed the following distribution of funds, representing a mix of previously announced funding and new measures.
The over $80 million is allocated to:
- $13 million to the delivery of the A Place to Create (Budget 2025-26).
- $21 million to the Arts Investment Fund (Budget 2024-25).
- $15 million to the Art Gallery of South Australia to deliver world-class programs and attract new audiences including through a new Winter Art Series. This is not a new budget measure and likely an allocation from an existing budget for Major Events.
- $19 million to new fit-for-purpose accommodation for the State Theatre Company, State Opera and Country Arts SA (Budget 2024-25).
- $10 million to the ABC SAFC content pipeline (Budget 2024-25).
- $3 million to build the international profile of South Australia’s arts, culture and creative industries through showcasing our creative capabilities to the world. This is not a new budget measure and likely an allocation from an existing government program.
Notably in the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s agency statement for CreateSA (formerly Arts South Australia) there is a significant increase in grant expenditure for the 2024-25 financial year (over $156 million) compared to the coming 2025-26 budget (just under $140million).
This could be accounted for by the $21million Arts Investment Fund, announced in last year’s budget to “drive targeted investment in strategic initiatives across South Australia’s arts, culture and creative industries”.
The Arts Industry Council will be engaging with the government to get further clarity on the operation of the Arts Investment Fund. It was opened last year for applications by invitation only, from statutory authorities and major organisations. Unlike most other CreateSA funding programs, the grant allocations have not yet been announced publicly.
In addition, the Committee is looking forward to understanding the opportunities for our members and the sector in relation to the $3 million allocated for building the sector’s international profile.
AICSA notes that the funding for the Winter Art Series and the allocation for building the sector’s international profile seem to stem from existing departmental or project budgets. AICSA is delighted to see that the Government is investing in arts and culture through a range of portfolios and will engage with the Government to ensure the sector has a full picture of expenditure as it relates to the arts, culture and the creative industries.
First two-year delivery plan investment for A Place to Create
This year’s State Budget provides an allocation of $6.8 million for the first Delivery Plan. AICSA Committee has been engaging with CreateSA and the Minister’s office for details on how the $6.8 million will be allocated across the Delivery Plan initiatives. A spokesperson for the Minister has confirmed that the $6.8 million will be in part allocated to:
- $1 million increase to CreateSA’s Arts and Culture Grants program.
- $1 million increase to CreateSA’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Grants program.
- $610,000 to Country Arts SA.
- $500,000 to Carclew.
- $1.5 million to the Music Development Office.
We expect further announcements on how the balance of funds, $2 million, will be allocated over the next two years.
Tarrkarri
We note that the future of Tarrkarri – Centre for First Nations Culture – remains in doubt and unresolved, having now completely dropped out of any mention in the new State Budget. First Nations people and indeed all South Australians should be informed of its future. If Tarrkarri is not proceeding, the Arts Industry Council calls for an urgent conversation about how First Nations artists and cultures will be ambitiously prioritised and supported over the next decade.
Artists at Work Taskforce
The South Australian Government’s Artists at Work Taskforce was a 2022 State Election commitment. It was established in March 2024 to provide high level independent advice to the Minister for the Arts on issues related to work insecurity and income inequality experienced by South Australian artists and creatives.
The Taskforce provided its report including 18 high priority recommendations to Minister Michaels in September 2024.
CreateSA has commenced a partnership with Creative Australia’s Creative Workplace unit to deliver a website, “a new, free resource to support fair and safe workplaces”. While AICSA welcomes this partnership, we eagerly await the public release and government response to the recommendations of the Artists at Work Taskforce report.
AICSA Committee has been in regular contact with both the Minister’s office and CreateSA to understand how the work on the response is progressing. The Committee was advised this week that while there is no confirmed date, the report is progressing towards publication.
Indexation and the NFP Sector
Some members will know that AICSA has consistently advocated for fair indexation for the arts and cultural sector as part of the whole Not-For-Profit sector. In past years, when the Government has applied an NFP supplementation for non-profit community organisations, a small handful of arts organisations received this while most did not.
In the 2025-26, no indexation policy has been released. However along with our colleagues, the South Australian Council of Social Service and others, AICSA is participating in work around indexation, funding for NFPs and procurement policy/fair contracting.
As SACOSS noted in their response to the State Budget “There was no promise on the indexation formula, but the government response to the review of PC044 NFP funding principles agreed to a review of indexation. Treasury is currently funding SACOSS to undertake sector consultation on indexation.”
AICSA is a partner in the Civil Society Roundtable, which brings together five peak NFP bodies working for a just and fair South Australia. At the last Civil Society Roundtable in August 2024, Premier Malinauskas committed to serious consideration of the Artists at Work Taskforce recommendations and releasing the recommendations publicly.
AICSA recommendations
Now that the State Budget has been released, AICSA calls for:
- A continued, open and transparent dialogue with the SA Government on decisions, projects, funding and initiatives that impact our members and the broader arts, cultural and creative sector.
- AICSA would welcome an opportunity to discuss innovative ways to tighten collaboration and communication across our shared ambition for the sector. One opportunity could be to institute an annual arts and culture statement to Parliament, which could be included in and add purpose to the proposed legislation to enshrine how the arts and culture are valued and led in South Australia.
- Greater transparency about the Arts Investment Fund, including the release of the approved Arts Investment Fund grants, and a review of eligibility criteria to include more applicants.
- Provision of more detailed information about the implementation of the first two-year Delivery Plan of A Place to Create, including any artform and/or artist initiatives.
- Publishing and responding to the recommendations of the Artists at Work Taskforce as soon as possible within this term of Government.