Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Bill
Introduction and First Reading
S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:53): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to recognise the importance of the arts, culture and creative industries in South Australia, to provide for a State Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy, to ensure that all South Australians benefit from and can participate in the arts, culture and creativity of South Australia, and for other purposes. Read a first time.
Second Reading
S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:54): I move:
That this bill be now read a second time.
Today I introduce the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Bill 2026. In the Malinauskas Labor government's arts policy ahead of the 2022 election, we committed to develop and introduce legislation to enshrine how the arts are valued and led in South Australia. This bill gives effect to that commitment. The bill will enshrine how the arts are valued and led in South Australia. Importantly, it will also ensure governments continue to commit to the sector into the future.
There are few things in life that can connect people across borders, languages and cultures: art is one of those things. South Australia is synonymous with the arts. They are part of who we are and we have a long history as a leader in cultural and creative industries. Our state is home to an incredibly diverse arts scene ranging from world-class First Nations arts to cutting-edge digital creation. We have long-standing and much-loved institutions as well as many smaller organisations that contribute to a vibrant arts sector. We also have a huge depth of energy, talent and commitment in this state.
The state government is proud to support the sector. When we invest in our artists we are investing in the very heart of South Australia's social and cultural identity. Last year, the government launched A Place to Create, a 10-year policy that aims to ensure all South Australians have access to arts, cultural and creative experiences across their lifetimes, and that artists, creatives and cultural organisations thrive. The policy sets out our ambitions for the sector. This bill helps ensure those ambitions endure.
It does this by establishing an ongoing framework for future governments to continue recognising and supporting the sector, because governments can change but the value of our arts, culture and creativity to South Australia does not.
The bill is built upon a set of principles recognised and acknowledged by the South Australian government. The first of these is that Aboriginal people are South Australia's first people and nations and the traditional owners and occupants of land and waters of South Australia, and that their culture, arts and creativity represent the longest continuous cultural tradition in the world.
Other important principles include that all South Australians have the right to participate in the cultural life of the community and to experience, participate in and benefit from artistic, cultural and creative expression and that fostering that creativity and talent of our children and young people is critical to the future strength of our state.
To ensure the community had a say in the development of the bill, the state government arts agency, CreateSA, carried out public consultation. The message we received from this was clear. South Australians deeply value the arts and want a cultural future that reflects who we are. We heard that our cultural and heritage collections are central to understanding our histories, cultures and environments, and contribute to the sharing of knowledge across generations. We also heard that South Australians want our state's diversity and the contribution of people living in regional communities to be recognised. This consultation strengthened the legislation and I thank everyone who participated. I will now turn to the specific provisions of the bill.
Part 2 of the bill outlines the principles that were developed through our consultation, as well as the objects of the bill. Part 3 sets out the functions of the minister, particularly to prepare and maintain the State Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy, as well as to more generally promote and support the South Australian arts sector. Part 4 of the bill requires the minister to prepare and maintain a State Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy, and sets out a range of requirements for what that policy must include.
Members may recall that a similar bill was introduced to the house in November but did not pass prior to the state election earlier this year. Following the election, the Deputy Premier from the other place was sworn in as Minister for Arts and I took on the role of Assistant Minister for Arts. The Deputy Premier asked that I undertake a process of reviewing the bill, a process which has led to some improvements being made to strengthen the bill's provisions. These amendments include:
more specific requirements for what the state policy needs to include;
a requirement for the state policy to have a fixed period of operation, not exceeding 10 years; and
a requirement for the minister responsible for the act to make a public statement at least once every four years on progress in implementing the policy.
These amendments aim to ensure the state policy remains a current and relevant document, while also enabling the policy to adapt to the needs of the state and the arts sector over time.
This bill seeks to do two things. First, it recognises in law something fundamental about South Australia: that arts and culture are at the core of our identity. It sends the message to artists, creatives, cultural organisations and communities across South Australia that their contribution is valued and that their place in the life of this state is recognised in law. Secondly, it enshrines the role of the state government and the Minister for Arts in supporting the arts, culture and creative industry sector in a practical way. When we talk about arts and culture, we are talking about us, our stories, our ideas, our different perspectives—the way we express our truer selves.
South Australia has a long and proud history of creative leadership, a history shaped by people with a big vision and bold ideas. One of those people was Don Dunstan, whose love for the arts helped reshape this state. He understood that creativity is not a luxury: it is essential to a healthy, democratic society. His government invested heavily in the arts in the 1970s and established cultural icons like the Adelaide Festival Centre, the State Theatre Company and the South Australian Film Corporation. His legacy continues to inspire the creative energy we see in South Australia today, and what a sector it is.
Our creative community is diverse, interconnected and full of life. It includes major cultural institutions and collections, presenting companies, youth theatres, our world-famous festivals, community and emerging artists, long-established practitioners, creative startups, small businesses, venues, and large-scale commercial enterprises.
But like all important things, it faces challenges. To keep the arts strong, we need a modern framework that supports growth, encourages collaboration, builds resilience and ensures people across the state have access to creativity in all its forms. South Australia is the proud home of the Adelaide Festival, one of Australia's oldest international arts festivals, and the Adelaide Fringe, now the second largest annual arts festival in the world. Many artists, musicians, performers, writers, game developers, filmmakers and producers have launched extraordinary careers from right here.
Creativity is not something that happens around the edges in South Australia: it is at the centre of who we are, and South Australians show that every day. Ninety-six per cent of us engage with or attend the arts each year. That is remarkable, and it proves how much we love and value creativity.
At its core this bill celebrates our past, strengthens our present and builds our creative future. It honours South Australia's proud legacy as a leader in the arts and ensures that creativity continues to flourish on our stages, in our schools, in our studios, in our regions, online, in our businesses and in our homes. The arts help us share our stories. They help us hear each other. They help us grow. They help make our communities stronger, kinder, and more connected, and they remind us of what is possible when imagination leads the way.
I would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of the former Minister for Arts, the Hon. Andrea Michaels, in developing this important legislation. I would also like to thank the many artists, industry groups and creative organisations that engaged with the state government's consultation on this bill and the staff at CreateSA for leading those consultations. I commend the bill to members and seek leave to have the explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.
