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Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers 2025/26 budget has continued the rebuilding of Australia’s media and arts sectors while also providing further cost of living relief for creative workers who are frequently on low incomes and in insecure employment.

The Budget provided extra investment in the arts and public interest journalism and also maintains funding for the ABC and SBS.

Key initiatives for the cultural sector announced last night were an additional $22 million investment in Creative Australia, which will increase funding for Music Australia as it enters its third year of operation along with $8.6 million to renew the Revive Live program, supporting live music venues, tours and festivals, and $11 million to continue the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Partnership Program.

The budget also includes $10 million to support independent multicultural media outlets.

This spending comes on top of the announcement in December last year of $135 million through the News Media Assistance Program, including $33 million for Australian Associated Press.

It also proposes a ban on non-compete clauses in employment contracts. This will allow workers across the media and creative industries to change jobs more easily.

The lowering of the bottom marginal tax rate, is likely to have a material impact on the living standards of many workers in the arts, where a 2024 Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) survey found that the average practising professional artist across all disciplines earn a gross annual income of just $23,200 - half the minimum wage - from their creative work.

Backing the budget announcements, Dean Ormston, Chief Executive of licensing body, APRA AMCOS said the Government has demonstrated a clear vision with these ongoing and targeted commitments to the music industry.

Ormiston advised "this is a welcome and timely budget that recognises the growing role music plays in our national identity, economy and global reach,” Dean Ormston said.

“Music Australia has already made a powerful impact in its first two years by supporting emerging and established artists, strengthening our national industry infrastructure, and building new international pathways for Australian music.

“The increased investment in the Budget means Music Australia can move into its next phase with confidence, and so can our creators and industry.”

MEAA Chief Executive, Erin Madeley also stated "overall, this is a steady as it goes Budget for the media and arts industries, building on the major reinvestment in these sectors since 2022, including through the national cultural policy, Revive.

“Over the past three years we have seen the restoration of funding to the arts, the ABC and SBS; an increase in funding to Screen Australia and a rise in the Location Offsets incentive; recognition of the $250 minimum payment for musicians in government grant and funding guidelines; and significant improvements to workers’ rights through changes to industrial relations laws including multi-employer bargaining, right to disconnect and closing the loopholes, along with the largest increases in wages for years.

“But the work is far from finished.

“With the imminent announcement of the federal election, MEAA members will be calling on political parties to meaningfully building on the five pillars of Revive.

“The next government must commit to taking on the big monopolies in the recorded and live performance sectors, mandating local content quotas for streaming services, and investing in public interest journalism.

“Political parties must also commit to regulating Artificial Intelligence to ensure control, compensation and consent for creative and media workers.”
Ormston said that while the budget sets a strong foundation, key long-term reforms must now become the focus of government after the election.

He added “Australia now has a once in a generation opportunity to finish the job.

“We need a Triple Lock Guarantee to secure the future of Australian music. This begins with all parties committing to it as part of their election platforms.”

The three ‘locks’ outlined by APRA AMCOS are:

1. Increased investment in Music Australia, delivered in this Budget and ready to be built upon;
2. A new Australian music quota across digital platforms, to ensure Australians can hear Australian stories, no matter where or how they listen;
3. A live music tax rebate, to incentivise venues, festivals and artists to keep live music on stage and audiences coming back.

Ormston stressed that a tax rebate for live music - the third lock - remains a vital reform to restore performance opportunities and rebuild the economic foundation of Australia’s live music scene.

He concluded “a live music tax rebate would be a game-changer.

“Just like film and television, our live sector deserves structural support that reflects its cultural and economic impact. It’s about keeping venues open, tours on the road, and jobs in the industry.”

Credit: Main image courtesy of Pexels/Mark Angelo Sampan, lower image, Dean Ormston of APRA AMCOS.

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