The meetings focused on enabling employment opportunities in the arts.

Theatre performers in a human pyramid with two people looking on from a distance.
Story image of Macro Mountain courtesy of Hamish McIntosh.

Yesterday the Minister for the Arts, the Hon Tony Burke MP, hosted two roundtables to discuss ways to strengthen employment opportunities for Australian artists, including First Nations artists.

The Arts and Employment roundtable and the First Nations Arts and Employment roundtable were held at Parliament House in Canberra where invited representatives across the arts and entertainment sector discussed some of the pressing skills challenges for the sector.

At the roundtables we listened to the experiences and perspectives from Australia's cultural sector, including the challenges of creative careers, skills shortages and safe workplaces.

These discussions will help inform the Government's Jobs and Skills Summit on 1–2 September, which will focus on building a bigger, better-trained and more productive workforce, boosting incomes and living standards and creating more job opportunities for Australians.

The discussions from yesterday's roundtables will also inform the development of the new National Cultural Policy. The policy will shape the future of Australia's cultural sector, to ensure a diverse, vibrant and sustainable arts, entertainment and cultural sector for the next decade.