Australian Museums are Set to Receive an AUD 535 Million Funding Package from the Government

The Australian Government will secure the future of Australia’s most cherished cultural and historical institutions in this year’s Federal Budget – restoring them as a source of national pride and reversing a decade of decline under the Liberals and Nationals. The Government will invest $535.3 million towards the nine National Collecting Institutions over four years – addressing the decade of chronic underfunding. This investment will guarantee ongoing, indexed funding into the future and ensure that vital repairs and urgent safety improvements can finally be made. It means staff will finally have ongoing certainty about their jobs. It means our institutions will be able to meet their financial obligations and invest for the future.

The Government will also establish clear line of sight over future capital works and improvements to ensure the institutions never again fall into the state of disrepair they did over the last decade. This funding will ensure Australia has a strong cultural infrastructure - which is a key pillar of Revive, the Government’s new National Cultural Policy.

The funding will be provided to the Australian National Maritime Museum, Bundanon Trust, Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House), National Archives of Australia, National Film and Sound Archive, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, National Museum of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. The Government is also acting to secure the future of the National Library’s digital archive Trove.

These institutions house a majority of Australia’s most valuable collections. They also play an important role in truth-telling for First Nations people and in fostering international cultural exchange.