Creative Canberra: The ACT Creative Industries Report is a first phase environmental scan of the ACT creative industries by the University of Canberra. It aims to present the current state of the creative economy and its unique competitive advantages, and identify the connections, possibilities and opportunities that can be leveraged to ensure the creative industries grow and prosper for the benefit of these industries and for the benefit of the ACT as a whole.
Key Findings
- In 2021, the ACT creative industries contributed nearly $2.9 billion to the ACT, the largest proportionate contribution to Gross State Product (GSP) of all states and territories in Australia.
- ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specialist creatives have notably higher levels of full-time work (91%) than the Australian average (59%) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creative specialists, and than all other ACT specialist creatives (67%).
- ACT creatives working in creative occupations other than the arts (eg communications, design and cultural and natural heritage) in the ACT have higher average weekly incomes ($1,634) than the Australian creatives average weekly income ($1,228). However, there is greater economic insecurity for the arts workforce than for other creative workforces and industries with artists and arts workers employed in arts industries in the ACT experience higher levels of part-time work and lower average weekly incomes.
- The ACT has the largest proportion of creative workforce of all states and territories in Australia. 25,000 people or 11 per cent of the ACT workforce are employed in the creative economy. This is 2.3 per cent higher than all other jurisdictions.
- The ACT has the highest levels of creative intensity of all states and territories in Australia - that is, the proportion of total employment in creative occupations across all industries.
- The ACT also has the largest proportion of embedded creative workforce - people who work in creative occupations in any industry that is not a creative industry (eg an architect working in a government department) - of all states and territories in Australia.