Delivered actions

Through Revive, the Australian Government:

  • Added additional clauses to the Simple and Standard Grant Templates to ensure government-funded artistic and cultural ventures are aware of and upholding workplace relations requirements. The clauses strengthen the grant agreements by enabling the draftee to explicitly reference compliance with legislation, policies, guidelines, codes, frameworks and industry standards, and providing a list of relevant instruments to cover minimum workplace safety standards and minimum employment standards.  
  • Implemented health and safety regulations. On 1 April 2023, amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth) commenced in the Commonwealth jurisdiction to explicitly deal with psychosocial hazards, including bullying and sexual harassment. On 2 November 2024, a Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards at work commenced in the Commonwealth jurisdiction,closely based on Safe Work Australia's (SWA's) model Code of Practice. On 20 December 2023, SWA published a model Code of Practice on sexual and gender-based harassment at work. To have effect, jurisdictions will need to implement the model Code under their own work health and safety laws.The Government provided $2 million over two financial years from 2023-24 to 2024-25 to fund the development and delivery of a 'train-the-trainer' program on workplace psychosocial hazards for Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) in the Commonwealth jurisdiction. The training will improve HSRs' psychosocial hazard literacy, and supports implementation of new regulations on managing psychosocial risks. This will also strengthen existing work health and safety laws and guidance.
  • Established Creative Workplaces, within the newly established Creative Australia, to provide advice on issues of pay, safety and welfare in the arts and entertainment sector, refer matters to the relevant authorities and develop codes of conduct and resources for the sector.
  • Supported the long-term financial sustainability of the 7 national performing arts training organisations and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School,through delivering an additional $115.2 million in funding over 4 years as part of the 2024–25 Budget and a further $36.4 million in funding that will be indexed and ongoing from 2028–29. More information is available at: Investing in our future artists and arts workers | Office for the Arts
  • Provided $2.6 million to support specialist in-school arts education programs that directly draw from cultural and creative sector expertise, focussing on areas of identified disadvantage.
  • Extended the Public and Educational Lending Right Schemes to include digital content for the first time in2023–24. Australian authors and publishers are now eligible to receive funding from June 2024 for free use of their ebooks and audiobooks as well as print books. This is the first stage of modernisation of the Schemes.More information is available at: Australian Lending Right Schemes (ELR/PLR).
  • Provided crucial mental health services to the music sector with a funding agreement of $1 million per year for up to 4 years for Support Act through Creative Workplaces.
  • Supported musicians by mandating a minimum remuneration amount for performers at Australian Government events and functions.
  • Conducted a broad and comprehensive review of Australia's copyright enforcement regime, including working with copyright owners and users through a series of Copyright Roundtables in 2023 to consider opportunities to improve Australia's copyright framework.Further information on next steps is available on the Attorney-General's Department website.
  • Endorsed the voluntary Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design through the release of Revive.
  • Developed information about the support available for artists looking for work or working in the creative arts sector, and to have this recognised as part of their mutual obligation requirements for unemployment payments. More information is available at: Workforce Australia supportscreative and freelance workers—Department of Employment and WorkplaceRelations, Australian Government (dewr.gov.au).
  • Continued support for creative practice in the classroom through the 5 arts subjects (dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts) under the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. On 1 April 2022, all elements of the revised Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 were endorsed by all state and territory education ministers.For more information, visit the Australian Curriculum website.
  • Continued promotion of the Self-Employment Assistance program to the arts community, including to First Nations peoples, encouraging new and existing arts businesses to access free business mentoring and support to develop business plans and strategies that more effectively monetise their cultural contributions to Australia. For more information, visit:
  • Implemented the Respect@Work Report by:
    • Established grants to provide $37.6 million over 4 years from 2023–24 and $8 million per year ongoing from 2027–28 to establish and fund working women's centres in every state and territory, as well as a national body to facilitate coordination and collaboration of all centres. Working women's centres provide free advice and assistance to women on workplace issues including sexual harassment and discrimination.
    • Expressly prohibiting sexual harassment in the Fair Work Act 2009. For more information, visit the New workplace sexual harassment laws website.
    • Established a new sexual harassment jurisdiction in the Fair Work Commission. Workers can now choose to make complaints about workplace sexual harassment to the Fair Work Commission or the Australian Human Rights Commission. For more information, visit the Sexual harassment | Fair Work Commission website.
    • Introduced a positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 requiring employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate certain forms of unlawful sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, as far as possible. For more information, visit the New positive duty on employers to prevent workplace sexual harassment, sex discrimination and victimisation | Respect@Work website.
  • Provided $1.8 million to enhance the Resale Royalty Scheme. This will upgrade the Resale Royalty Scheme's IT platform to enable royalty payments to visual artists, including First Nations artists, from the commercial sale of eligible works internationally. From 31 March 2024, resale royalty entitlements include 17 countries that have entered into reciprocal arrangements with Australia.
  • Released the Australian Universities Accord Panel final report on 25 February 2024. It provides recommendations to government on higher education reforms for the next decade and beyond. The government is now considering the report's recommendations and will respond in due course.
  • Wrote, through the then Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, to the President of the Fair Work Commission on 12 September 2023 expressing the government’s interest in a targeted review of modern awards. On 15 September 2023,the Fair Work Commission initiated the Modern Awards Review 2023–24, which considered,amongst other things, existing award coverage and minimum standards for the arts and culture sector, including potential coverage gaps. The review concluded on 18 July 2024 with the publication of a Final Report by the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission initiated proceedings on 25 September 2024 to consider variations to the Amusement, Events and Recreation Award 2020 to ensure it clearly and adequately establishes minimum terms and conditions of employment for arts workers,and variations to the Live Performance Award 2020 arising from stakeholder consensus during consultations.