NAAE responds to proposed changes to the Aotearoa NZ Years 0–10 Arts Curriculum
29 October 2025
Australia’s National Advocates for Arts Education Responds to proposed changes to the
Aotearoa New Zealand Years 0–10 Arts Curriculum
The National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE), representing the peak national bodies for Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts education in Australia, stands in solidarity with our colleagues in Aotearoa New Zealand regarding the proposed changes to the Years 0–10 Arts Curriculum.
Aotearoa New Zealand has long been recognised as a global leader in arts education, representing the highest standards of quality in teaching, learning and curriculum design. The New Zealand Arts Curriculum has been internationally lauded for its integration of Indigenous knowledge and for embedding rich, creative and inclusive arts practices across the years of schooling.
Australia has historically looked to Aotearoa New Zealand as a model of excellence, particularly for its primary years arts curriculum and its meaningful inclusion of Indigenous knowledges and understandings related to art, culture, and creativity.
The proposed curriculum represents a retrograde step that reflects the 1950s rather than the 21st century. New Zealand was recently ranked fifth globally in the 2022 PISA Creative Thinking assessment, underscoring the strength of its existing arts curriculum in fostering creativity, collaboration and innovation, which are skills essential for the future economy. The jobs of tomorrow will depend on creative thinking. These capabilities are deeply embedded within a high-quality arts curriculum and are fundamental to each of the five arts subjects.
The proposed changes devalue the role of the arts and creativity in learning, and risk setting New Zealand back decades culturally, creatively, socially and economically. We are particularly concerned by indications that the Ministry of Education is looking to education systems such as the United Kingdom for guidance, systems that have demonstrably failed to maintain robust arts education, rather than to New Zealand’s own innovative and community-informed practices.
Of particular concern is the proposed amalgamation of Dance and Drama. Internationally, these are recognised as distinct disciplines, each with unique bodies of knowledge, skills, understandings and pedagogical practices. Merging them would significantly undermine the integrity and richness of both subjects.
We strongly urge the Ministry of Education to review best-practice models of arts curriculum design, both within New Zealand and internationally, and to ensure that any reform reflects sound educational theory and contemporary research. The proposed curriculum does not align with international best practice, nor is it informed by any recognised theoretical framework for arts learning.
We are deeply saddened for the students and teachers of New Zealand and call on the Ministry and Minister to engage meaningfully with educators, professional associations and academics to ensure the New Zealand Arts Curriculum remains a world leader that continues to celebrate creativity, culture and community.
About NAAE
The National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE) represents Australia’s peak professional arts and arts education associations, with a collective membership of over 10,000 educators, artists and cultural workers. NAAE advocates for equitable access to quality arts education in all five art forms — Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts — to ensure every Australian student can learn, create and thrive.
For further information, please contact:
Dr John Nicholas Saunders
Chair, National Advocates for Arts Education
Email: john.nicholas.saunders@gmail.com | contact@naae.org.au
Website: www.naae.org.au
National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE) members:
Art Education Australia
Australian Dance Council – Ausdance
Australian Society for Music Education
Australian Teachers of Media
Drama Australia
National Association for the Visual Arts