The Australia Council believes that Australia’s diversity is a great cultural asset, and leads to greater artistic vibrancy and innovation. We also believe that participation in and enjoyment of the arts should be available all Australians and not determined by social, physical, geographic or personal circumstances.

Cultural Engagement Framework

Diversity at the Australia Council

The Australia Council’s Cultural Engagement Framework (CEF) is a mechanism to ensure that the Australia Council’s vision, priorities and processes recognise and reflect diversity. The CEF guides decision-making, strategy and good practice in Council’s commitments to diversity, which are set down in The Australia Council Act 2013.

Diversity is at the heart of the Australia Council’s Strategic Plan. Our commitments are guided by the CEF, which sits the centre of our Corporate Plan, and targeted Action Plans being developed across our CEF priority areas.

CEF priority areas

The CEF identifies a number of priority areas where we currently focus our efforts, recognising the intersections between these groups. The current CEF priority areas are:

First Nations peoples
Children and young people
Cultural diversity
Older people
People with disability
Regional and remote Australia

CEF Guiding Principles

Background

Current Focus Disability

Implementation of the CEF is a responsibility shared across all Divisions and teams of the Australia Council. This process is led by the CEO and Executive, with guidance from Council’s Diversity Team – a group within Council that guides the planning and monitoring of our diversity commitments.

The Australia Council is also committed to calling upon the expertise of people within the sector, and we will undertake consultation when appropriate to measure our performance and assist us in updating our CEF strategies and action plans. We provide updates on achievements and performance on the CEF through our website and annual report.

Through our Strategic and Corporate Plans, and the Action Plans across our priority areas, the CEF delivers measurable outcomes across the following areas:

Inclusion – People from diverse backgrounds are considered and included in the development of Council’s policies and programs
Empowerment – Artists and cultural producers from diverse backgrounds and diversity-led arts organisations are appropriately supported to access the Council’s funding, programs, initiatives and services
Access and Equity – The Australia Council’s programs and processes are designed for accessibility and best use by a diverse demographic
Artistic Excellence – The Australia Council’s programs recognise diversity as a vital element of artistic excellence and pursue the cultural understanding and rigour to recognise this excellence
Leadership – Artists and cultural producers from diverse backgrounds and diversity-led arts organisations are supported as cultural leaders to create, and to empower others to create, great art and audience experiences.

For further information on the CEF contact CEF Facilitator Caitlin Vaughan on (02) 9215 9053, or c.vaughan@australiacouncil.gov.au