New approaches measuring Australia’s creative workforce: Beyond the Census

This project aims to develop new approaches to measuring Australia’s creative workforce to address increasingly
urgent questions, which are clearly acknowledged in Revive, the new national cultural policy, about the value of
this growing but poorly understood part of Australia’s economy and society. The research expects to generate
new knowledge by showing the extent to which workers who hold creative qualifications contribute across the
workforce and the extent of secondary and other incomes artists earn that are not captured in the Census.
Economic, social and cultural benefit should flow from understanding better the innovation contributed by
creatives working right across the economy and the value attributable to voluntary forms of creative labour, as well
as new opportunities for creative careers online. All these components of the project address key gaps or
limitations in official measurement of the creative workforce. This project should benefit creative workers, the
industry associations that represent them, and the government and municipal agencies and departments whose
job it is to support them. Expected outcomes include a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of the
creative workforce and its contribution to the wider economy. These outcomes will be used by project industry
partners and promoted to their stakeholders, and they will be communicated widely in appropriate formats
(including briefing papers, white papers, webinars, and media articles).