Announced in September 2023, the Australian Government asked the Fair Work Commission to initiate a targeted review of modern awards coverage and minimum standards in the arts and culture sector.

The discussion paper seeks to identify the industries and occupations that may fall within the arts and culture sector, whether existing modern awards cover those identified industries and occupations and if there are any potential gaps in that coverage. The discussion paper also sets out the legislative framework concerning coverage of modern awards as well as the Commission’s powers to make a modern award or to vary the coverage of existing modern awards. The discussion paper then concludes with an exploration of minimum entitlements in modern awards and sets out a sample of current minimum entitlements in the sector.