The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts and the Australia Council have released research reports on artists’ employment, professional practice, and tax and social security issues that I worked on in 2009.
The research explored the nature of professional artists’ working lives and trends in the Australian artist labour market as a basis for policy development.
There are four reports:
Executive summary
Executive Summary Findings on artists’ employment, professional practice, and tax and social security issues October 2009>
Literature review
A review of the academic and policy literature on key issues in the working lives of artists and on problems artists face under tax and social security systems.
Literature review: artists, taxes and social security>
Data analysis
An analysis of data from key collections to provide an empirical picture of the working lives of Australia’s artists and trends in key aspects of the artist labour market. Described here>
Information gathering exercise
A report on an informal consultation with peak national artist membership bodies on problems artists encounter under Australia’s tax and social security systems and, more generally, in generating income and developing their careers. Review of artists’ employment issues: Report on information gathering exercise>
The reports were presented to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts February 2010 meeting>
artspolicies.org Christopher Madden 
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