In Australia and internationally, there is strong interest in the role of ‘cultural’ and ‘creative’ activity in the economy, such as highlighted recently by Australia’s National Cultural Policy, Creative Australia. These terms are often used to describe activities connected with the arts, media, heritage, design, fashion and information technology.

This is a first step towards an improvement in the overall quality and comparability of key data collected by Australia's cultural heritage sector, which encompasses museums, libraries, art museums and archives.