The proposal has 9 components that would support the Australian arts and creative sector.

Component 1 would double the funding given to the Australia Council for their grants programs.

Component 2 would place artists in residence at every registered school and public library in Australia. Artists in residence would be paid at the JobKeeper level for up to two days a school term for up to one year.

Component 3 would allocate $10 million a year to establish a ‘Creativity Commission’ that would provide oversight, advice and structural support to the creative sector and beyond.

Component 4 would allocate $1 billion over the forward estimates to an Australian content fund named the ‘Australian Stories Fund’ to kick start Australia’s screen industry (film, TV and documentaries).

Component 5 would allocate $1 billion over the forward estimates to a new fund named the ‘Live Performance Fund’ to inject money into Australia’s festival, music and live performance sector.

Component 6 would allocate $100 million to a new ‘Games Investment and Enterprise Fund’.

Component 7 would provide a $400 million grant to establish a multi-disciplinary arts school in South Australia.

Component 8 would establish a fund to underwrite insurance for the live performance industry. Under this fund, live events that are cancelled due to Covid-19 will be eligible to have their costs covered.

Component 9 would create a pilot program for a payment, called The Artists Wage, which would provide a $772.60 per week payment to established and emerging artists and arts workers. The program would be made available up to 10,000 individuals for a full calendar year. Payments received from this program would be treated as taxable income.

• The term artist would be used broadly to include visual artists, musicians, comedians, dancers, writers/authors, filmers/photographers/directors, composers, actors, and workers involved in the associated industries such as events managers or venue bookers.
• To be eligible for the payment, a recipient of The Artist’s Wage payment would be required to satisfy all of the following criteria. They would be required to:
  • be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or have a valid working visa
  • be over the age of 18 years
  • be a practising artists or artist engaged in new work
  •  prove that they have been working professionally the Australian arts or music industry for the previous three years
  • have an average income below $80,000 per year
  • have an ABN
  • provide names and details of two professional referees.

For components that specify capped funding amounts, related departmental expenses would be drawn from the capped amount.

Components 1 to 8 of this proposal would have effect from 1 July 2022. Component 9 would have effect from 1 January 2023.