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Ruth Forrest

Question on Notice – Funding for Creative Industries

• Ruth Forrest

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Question on Notice – Funding for Creative Industries

Legislative Council, Tuesday 11 August 2026

ASKED BY: The Hon. Bec Thomas MLC, Member for Elwick, on behalf of the Hon. Ruth Forrest MLC, Member for Murchison

ANSWERED BY: Leader for the Government in the Legislative Council, the Honourable Tania Rattray MLC

  1. With regard to the 2026/27 State Budget:
    1. is the new funding of $10 Million for Creative Industries in addition to the figures in the lines for Arts Industry Development and Screen Industry Development; and
    1. can the Government provide a complete breakdown for how the 2026/27 arts budget development line will be allocated including the amounts allocated to:
      1. Competitive Grants;
      1. Four-year funded organisations;
      1. The Premier’s Arts Prize;
      1. Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery;
      1. The Tasmanian Strategic Touring Fund;
      1. Arts Tasmania administrative expenses; and
      1. All other arts projects or initiatives that will be included in this budget line broken down by project or initiative?
  2. During budget estimates scrutiny, the Deputy Secretary, Creative Industries, Sport and Visitor Economy said that he was hopeful there will be an increase in the amount of money that will go to arts organisations.  Can the Government advise:
    1. will this increase be applied in the 2026-27 budget year, and
    1. given the apparent $450,000 reduction in the overall arts budget for 2026-27, where will this increase come from?
  3. During budget estimates scrutiny, the Deputy Secretary, Creative Industries, Sport and Visitor Economy stated there would be operational efficiencies made within the arts portfolio.  Can the Government provide a breakdown of:
    1. how these efficiencies will be achieved; and
    1. the total savings that will be made through the efficiency measures?
  4. During budget estimates scrutiny, the Deputy Secretary, Creative Industries, Sport and Visitor Economy mentioned that a new creative industry strategy is currently in development. Additionally, the Tasmanian Live Performance Exchange sector report is due shortly.  Can the Government advise:
    1. if any money has been allocated to addressing the recommendations in the Tasmanian Live Performance sector report; and
    1. whether there has been any money allocated towards future initiatives from the new creative industries strategy, and if so
      1. what amounts have been allocated, and in what budget year; and
      1. will these amounts be additional to the existing programs, or will further savings need to be made to fund these outcomes?
  5. During budget estimates scrutiny, the Director, Creative Tasmania stated the following:

That the extra $10m for creative industries announced in the State Growth budget would be allocated $5m to arts and $5m to screen.

The Director also provided the following breakdown:

  1. 2026-27 – $1m screen / $0 Arts
    1. 2027-28 – $1m screen / $1m Arts
    1. 2028-29 – $1.5m screen / $1.5m Arts
    1. 2029-30 – $1.5m screen / $2m Arts

The Director noted that the most significant increase would be applied at the beginning of the next multi-year cycle (2027-28), and that there is a plan to move more arts organisations to multi-year agreements.  Can the Government advise:

  1. How does the Government intend to support arts organisations in 2026-2027 to ensure there are no further closures before the additional funding becomes available in 2027-28?
  2. (i) Is the additional $1m for Arts in 2027-2028 allocated only to multi-year agreements; and

(ii) if not, please provide a breakdown of how this will be applied?

  • Given that the next round of multi-year funding agreements is expected to commence in 2027–28, how does the Government intend to allocate the additional funding provided in 2028–29 and 2029–30, once multi     -year funding commitments have already been established?
  • (i) Will organisations receiving multi-year funding agreements from 2027–28 receive annual CPI indexation during the life of those agreements; and

(ii) If so, will the cost of indexation be funded from the additional arts investment announced in the Budget, or from existing Arts Tasmania funding allocations?

  • The Budget papers indicate a reduction in overall Arts Tasmania funding over the Forward Estimates, while the Government has also indicated an intention to expand the number of organisations receiving multi-year funding. In this context:
    • How does the Government intend to sustain both existing and additional multi-year funding commitments beyond the four-year period covered by the announced $5 million investment; and
    • if the additional arts funding is largely committed to multi-year funding agreements from 2027–28 onwards, what measures will the Government take to ensure that opportunities remain available for new and emerging organisations to access Arts Tasmania funding in future funding rounds?

ANSWER:

  1. 2026-27 State Budget:
    1. The new funding of $10 million is incorporated into the figures in the lines for Arts Industry Development and Screen Industry Development.
    1. Breakdown of how the 2026-27 arts budget development line will be allocated including the amounts allocated to:
      1. Competitive grants: Arts and Cultural Heritage Investment will remain at $4,465,000 in 2026-27
      1. Four-year funded organisations: In 2026-27, $2,175,072 will be provided to multi-year arts organisations through existing agreements.
      1. The Premier’s Arts Prize: The Tasmanian Literary Awards will continue to receive $130,000 biennially (2026-27 and 2028-29)
      1. Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery: QVMAG will continue to receive funding, however the exact amount is not known due to its indexation against Hobart CPI as required by the Head Deed of 1999. It will be no less than $1,850,000.
      1. The Tasmanian Strategic Touring Fund: The Tasmanian Strategic Touring Fund has received $525,000 since 2022, and the department will consider any future funding request.
      1. Arts Tasmania administrative expenses: This figure is not known as Building Tasmania’s Targeted and Negotiated Voluntary Redundancy (TNVR) processes are not finalised.
      1. All other arts projects or initiatives that will be included in this budget line broken down by project or initiative: allocation not yet known. This will be subject to ministerial direction and budget saving measures and will respond to sector developments.
    1. In 2026-27 the increase of $1 million will be applied to the Screen Tasmania budget, not the Arts Tasmania budget (please refer to the detail provided in Question 5).
    1. Reduction in the allocation to the arts budget is due to the conclusion of election commitments and other savings. Amounts available to arts organisations will remain stable in 2026-27 and increase from 2027-28.
  3. Operational efficiencies in the Arts portfolio
    1. Efficiencies will be achieved through natural attrition, ongoing business improvement practices, and through a TNVR program. This program is ongoing.
    1. The total savings that will be made through the efficiency measures are not possible to quantify at this time as the TNVR process is ongoing.
  4. Tasmanian Live Performance Exchange sector report and Cultural and Creative Industries Strategy
    1. At the time of writing, the Tasmanian Live Performance Exchange sector report has not been received by Government so a position on any recommendations is not yet possible to determine.
    1. As the Cultural and Creative Industries Strategy is only in the early stages of development, no money has been allocated towards any future initiatives.
  5. Application of $10 million Creative Industries Key Initiative to the Arts Portfolio.
    1. There will be no increase to funding to the Arts portfolio in 2026-27. Applications have been submitted for Arts Organisations – Annual Programs, which will be assessed by expert peers against the criteria published on Arts Tasmania’s website in accordance with the requirements of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act 2017. The process is open and competitive.
    1. A position on allocations for the 2027-28 year has not yet been determined.
    1. A position for the allocation of additional funding for 2027-28 to 2029-30 has not yet been determined. Applications for arts organisations multi-year funding for 2027-28 onwards will open in early 2027.
    1. No, indexation will not apply to organisations receiving multi-year funding agreements
      1. No
      1. Not applicable         
  6. Overall reduction in overall Arts Tasmania funding over the Forward Estimates
    1. Reductions in the allocation to Arts Tasmania are the result of efficiencies applied to the business unit, not a decrease in the amount of financial support provided to the sector. It is our understanding that that the 2029-30 figure in the budget papers becomes the new baseline for ongoing appropriation.
    1. Programs will remain to support new, emerging and existing arts organisations with project funding.
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