Creative arts enrolments crater as policies begin to bite

New research has highlighted a shrinking future for Australia’s creative industries, with more than 40 courses and degrees cut in less than a decade as students increasingly turn to STEM subjects.

Published last week in the Australian Journal of Education, the study, The Polycrisis for Arts and Creative Education in Australia, shows that enrolments in schools, TAFEs, and universities have steadily declined since 2018, with pathways into creative arts, including photography, being particularly affected.

The decline accelerated after the introduction of the federal Job-Ready Graduates policy in 2021, which increased fees for arts and creative degrees while lowering costs for many STEM programs.

Higher costs have coincided with course closures and some programs being placed under review, raising concerns that opportunities for creatives across the breadth of the industry are narrowing ever further.

National data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority show that Year 12 arts enrolments fell sharply between 2012 and 2022. Male participation dropped from 22.2 per cent to 15.8 per cent, while female enrolments fell from 37.6 per cent to 26.9 per cent. Across states and territories, all except ACT saw declines in ATAR arts enrolments. 

Drama and Dance saw the largest declines nationally, followed by Media, Music, and Visual Arts, with photography courses among those impacted.

Interestingly, the trend runs counter to the government’s National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place, which aims to support creative career pathways for Australia’s 3.2 million young people aged 15–24.

At the same time, it is thought creative industries in Australia continue to employ more people than mining and contribute $67.4 billion to the economy, some 2.5 per cent of GDP.

The most recent national arts participation report commissioned by Creative Australia (2023) indicates that 97% of Australians engage with the arts, and that 74% of Australians surveyed agreed that the arts should be an important part of education, underlining the sector’s ongoing importance.