Ausdance National welcomes $250m arts, entertainment and screen industry package

Ausdance National welcomes the $250m arts, entertainment and screen industry package announced by the Prime Minister last week.

Of this, $110m of seed and sustainability funding will be available to the arts, including dance, visual arts, First Nations arts, music, literature and theatre ‘for important and successful companies, large and small’.

However, Ausdance National has major concerns about the significant number of casual, freelance dance workers who are still without any safety net.

Ausdance National President, Paul Summers said: ‘Ausdance consultations reveal that there are hundreds of casual freelance dance professionals employed on short term PAYG contracts who are not supported through the current Government support measures. Without urgent direct assistance they face losing their livelihoods, and without creators, the tradies mentioned by the Prime Minister have no work in the arts.’

Ausdance National Vice-President and independent dance professional, Lizzie Vilmanis, said: ‘Freelance casuals, as well as micro dance businesses, need to be included with direct and relevant access to investment from support packages. Their business activities fulfil integral roles that currently- classified ‘sector significant organisations’ are not positioned to undertake.’

Ausdance National requests:

  • The expansion of JobKeeper eligibility criteria to include casual freelance dance professionals employed on short-term PAYG contracts who have multiple employers.
  • The extension of JobKeeper beyond September to support sole traders facing sustainability disruption due to COVID-19.

Ausdance National believes these measures would maximise the return on taxpayer-funded investment and improve the ability of a highly-skilled dance workforce to help facilitate rebooting Australia’s creative economy.

Email Ausdance National President Paul Summers or call on 0417 925 292 for further comment.