Review of NSW Arts and Cultural Sector Service Needs: Final Report and Recommendations

The Create NSW Review of Arts & Cultural Sector Service Needs was an important element of the reform of the Arts and Cultural Funding Program, commenced in 2019. The Service Needs Review, conducted during 2020, aimed to establish the existing service needs of the NSW arts and cultural sector, identify any gaps in services currently being offered and inform streamlined, future support for services to the arts and cultural sector across NSW.

The review involved extensive consultation with a broad cross-section of artists and arts organisations including a sector-wide needs survey, with over 700 responses, and in-depth conversations with the service organisations funded by Create NSW.

The review confirmed that not only do service organisations provide highly valued benefits to the arts and cultural sector, audiences and Create NSW, service organisations are also essential to the NSW Government’s aims to support the sector to thrive and to increase participation in arts and culture across our diverse community.

The Final Report and Recommendations acknowledge the strengths, skills and expertise of service organisations and the significant benefits they deliver. Service organisations are an important part of the arts and cultural eco-system, as they provide business and professional development, capacity-building, advice, advocacy and networking services that help individual artists and arts organisations to perform well, grow and thrive.

The Review Report also provides insights on what the sector says are its most pressing service needs and where they believe these are not being adequately met. The Review Report recommends six areas for action including:

• Digital Resources – development of more high-quality web-based digital resource material and services
• Practical Facilitation – increasing capacity to assist artists and arts organisations to manage, produce and market their work
• Careers Development – enhancing connections to promote collaboration on career development pathways, mentoring, entrepreneurship and business development for NSW artists and arts organisations.
• First Nations Engagement – better engagement with First Nations artists, arts organisations and communities.
• NSW Priority Areas – more targeted support for and engagement with artists, arts organisations and communities from the NSW Government’s other priority populations.
• Spaces for Art – assisting the sector to find affordable space to make and present work

The NSW Government has set aside additional strategic funding of $300,000 to address some of the needs that have been identified through the Review process. Information about this new fund will be released shortly.

Download the Final Report and Recommendations

For further information, please email:

Dr Rebecca Dean, Senior Manager, Create Policy & Partnerships at rebecca.dean@create.nsw.gov.au or Ken Dray, Policy Lead, Create Policy & Partnerships at ken.dray@create.nsw.gov.au