Putting music education on the national cultural agenda
Image courtesy of The Australian Children’s Music Foundation.
On 12 November, we brought together more than 50 passionate partners and collaborators for our third national stakeholder briefing of the year – our second focused on the upcoming review of the Revive National Cultural Policy.
The session buzzed with ideas, reflections on progress, and lively discussions about how to supercharge music education across Australia, including deeper collaboration between state and federal governments and shaping a united sector-wide ask.
Attendees explored Music Education: Right from the Start’s draft Federal Position Paper, which sets out recommendations for the Federal Government to consider in future policy development, including the promised review of Revive, announced by the ALP during the May 2025 elections.
A recommendation of the 2024 Joint Select Committee Inquiry into Arts and Music Education and Training in NSW.
We also updated stakeholders on the Victorian Department of Education’s new Music Education Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting on 18 September following a Joint Music Round Table on 6 August, led by Deputy Secretary Schools and Regional Services David Howes.
The Working Group will reconvene in Term 1, 2026, to continue advising the Government on strengthening and expanding music education across Victoria, as part of the state-wide agenda driven by Parliamentary Secretary for Creative Industries Katie Hall MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll, and Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks.
With music education now firmly on the agenda in SA, VIC, and NSW, big shifts and changes are underway.
On 15 May, The Hon John Graham MLC, NSW Minister for the Arts, Music and the Night-time Economy, confirmed the government’s commitment to developing a 10-year Music Education Plan for the state at the launch of our ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey on Music Education in NSW.
We were grateful to be joined by Martin Graham, Deputy Secretary, Teaching, Learning and Student Wellbeing at the NSW Department of Education, who generously shared the Department's perspectives on the path forward for NSW’s first 10-year Music Education Plan, set to begin with a roundtable in Sydney on 19 November. Stakeholders were pleased to hear Mr Graham share his steadfast belief in the power of music, with him noting, “It is an entitlement in its own right” in the curriculum: “There’s no question that it’s a healthy school if you hear music [happening there],” he said.
It was energising to bring so many voices together to advance our shared mission of ensuring a quality music education for all Australian primary school students. The session underscored that creating system-wide change requires collective effort.
To read our federal position paper or to soundboard around state or federal opportunities (or simply have a chat), you can contact us by email at musiceducation@alberts.co.
