Australia at risk of becoming an artless country as creative enrolments fall

New research in the Australian Journal of Education finds fewer high school and university students choosing creative arts, and more than 40 courses and degrees have been cut in less than a decade. The authors warn the trend could leave Australia with a diminished creative and cultural workforce.

The study links the decline to the 2021 job-ready graduate scheme, which significantly raised student contributions for arts subjects—creative arts up 19% and arts, society and culture up 116%—making those degrees more expensive than many STEM options. In 2026 a student in a commonwealth supported mathematics place would pay $4,738 a year, compared with $9,537 for performing or visual arts and $17,399 for humanities, media and curatorial students.

Undergraduate enrolments in creative arts fell at 30 of the 46 institutions studied, with some providers seeing drops of more than 50%. Forty-eight creative arts degrees were discontinued between 2018 and 2025, and creative departments have been cut in university restructures.

Australia

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