NAAE advocates for declining creative arts courses

We continue to see creative arts courses being cut across Australian universities and serious revision of arts curricula in some State education departments.

Earlier this month, Southern Cross University announced it would discontinue its courses in art and design, digital media and contemporary music. These cuts affect not only the arts, cultural and creative industries but also the education sector, as they reduce pathways for those aspiring to become secondary arts teachers.

QUT (Queensland University of Technology) has also announced that it is 'pausing' intake to the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Dance) program in 2025 while it conducts a review of the course. We have written to the leadership of both universities, expressing our concerns and requesting they reconsider these decisions.

We are raising these concerns with the Commonwealth Minister for Education, Jason Clare and Commonwealth Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke MP. The Job Ready Graduates scheme, introduced by the previous federal government, urgently needs review, as it continues to disadvantage students in the creative arts and humanities and appears to be directly contributing to declining enrolments in these disciplines.

At the same time, we have written to express our concerns regarding the proposed changes to the Stage 6 Drama, Dance and Music curriculum and assessment by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA), as presented in the recent draft syllabuses. Our letter to Mr Paul Martin, Chief Executive Officer, (NESA) is here.