NAAE submission to Higher Education Support Amendment (Reverse Job-Ready Graduates Fee Hikes ...) inquiry

NAAE has made a submission to the Inquiry into the Higher Education Support Amendment (Reverse Job-Ready Graduates Fee Hikes and End 50k Arts Degrees) Bill 2025, an extremely concerning issue for people studying for Arts degrees in Australia.

You can read the full submission here, but in summary the NAAE offers the following ways forward:

NAAE seeks to work productively with the Government. To assist with the development of a pathway forward, with or without a return to previous fee structures for courses delivered by higher education providers, we offer some suggestions to make university education equitable and accessible.

1. Rebuilding Australia’s arts and creative training pathways requires more than fee reduction — it demands a coordinated, whole-of-system strategy that restores value, access, and viability across education, industry, and public life. Central to this is a cultural and policy shift that explicitly recognises the arts as essential to national identity, economic contribution, and social wellbeing. Government must move beyond a narrow productivity narrative and actively promote the arts with the same visibility and strategic intent historically afforded to STEM and sport.

2. At the education level, this means mandating high-quality, curriculum-aligned arts education in both primary and secondary schools, supported by sustained investment in specialist teachers across dance, drama, media, music, and visual arts. Equity must be prioritised, ensuring consistent access across states and territories, including in regional areas, and addressing systemic barriers such as ATAR scaling and career guidance biases that currently discourage arts pathways. Strengthening vocational routes is equally critical: TAFE and diploma-level programs should be revitalised as accessible, well-funded entry points that articulate clearly into university study, rather than functioning as lesser alternatives.

3. To bridge the gap between training and employment, government intervention is needed to create viable early-career pathways. This includes expanding paid internships, residencies, traineeships, and mentorships, alongside stronger partnerships between universities, TAFEs, and cultural institutions such as galleries, museums, performing arts centres, and artist-run spaces. Importantly, these opportunities must be fairly remunerated to address the sector’s reliance on unpaid labour and to enable broader participation. Establishing minimum standards for pay and working conditions would help retain talent and support sustainablecareer progression.

4. Beyond education and workforce development, targeted investment in arts organisations— across small, medium, and large scales—is essential to rebuild the sector’s capacity and reach. This should be complemented by national research initiatives to identify effective strategies for sector renewal, as well as public-facing campaigns to elevate the profile of the arts, including increased media coverage and career awareness programs.

5. Rebuilding the pipeline requires an integrated approach that aligns education, funding, workforce policy, and public messaging. Without this, efforts to reduce costs alone will fall short, and the sector will continue to struggle with declining participation, limited diversity, and an unsustainable arts and creative workforce.

The committee is required to report by 25 June 2026 and its report will be published on the inquiry website at that time. You can sign up to receive emails when new information about the inquiry is published by clicking "track inquiry" on the inquiry webpage.