The national Ausdance network is calling on the federal government to recognise the vital role dance plays in the nation’s health, economy, and cultural identity by making meaningful investments in the 2025 federal budget.
Dance is one of Australia’s most popular recreational activities, with over 960,000 adults and children participating regularly. Despite its broad impact on health, education, and community wellbeing, dance continues to be underfunded at a national level.
“Australians benefit from dance in ways that go far beyond entertainment. It builds healthier communities, supports mental wellbeing, fosters social connection, and contributes to our economy. “Yet, critical gaps in funding mean dance organisations, educators, and practitioners struggle to provide the services that Australians rely on.”
Deborah Prentice, Managing Director, Ausdance VIC
Ausdance is asking for the 2025 federal budget to support:
- First Nations Dance Leadership – Direct investment in long-term workforce capacity for First Nations dance practitioners, leaders, and communities.
- Safety in Dance – Support Ausdance to introduce nationally consistent child safety regulations in dance workplaces, update best practice guidelines and provide more professional development, working towards a more regulated industry.
- Stronger Arts Education – Ensure schools are properly resourced to teach the arts curriculum and urgently reverse unfair university fee increases for arts and humanities courses.
- Fairer Pay and Workplace Protections – Address wage disparities in dance employment and invest in services and resources that support arts employers to meet their workplace health, safety and pay obligations.
- Affordable and Accessible Venues – Reassess government venue pricing to support sustainable independent dance practice and production viability.
- Dance and Wellbeing – Expand dance programs for vulnerable and ageing Australians, leveraging evidence-based research into arts and health.
- Data-Driven Investment – Support research and data collection to measure the social, cultural, and economic value of the arts.
The national Ausdance network are urging the government to reverse years of underinvestment that have left the sector struggling to meet demand. If we want to see a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable dance sector, investment must be a priority in this budget.