The latest findings about the trends and impact of Australia’s National Cultural Institutions have been released.

An exhibition space with a backlit wall showing a collage of images of collection items from the National Archives of Australia.

For the 12th year, we’ve worked with our National Cultural Institutions to capture data on their activities and build a picture of their impact over time. The data includes in-person and online visitation to the institutions, collection growth and accessibility, and participation of the institutions in the domestic and international arts and culture sectors.

The latest trends from 2023-24 show our National Cultural Institutions have continued to face challenges in the wake of economic uncertainty, with visitation still lower than pre-COVID levels.

However the trends also reveal there is a lot to celebrate. The number of objects in the national collection continues to grow, reaching 15.6 million objects in 2023-24, with 11.3 million of these available to the public. In addition, the digital accessibility of the national collection continues to grow, with 3.2 million items digitised in 2023-24.

The number of student and public program visits increased in 2023-24, and feedback collected from teachers on school visits and public program visitors was overwhelmingly positive.

The data reflects the significance of our National Cultural Institutions in maintaining a rich, educational and accessible national collection for all Australians to enjoy.