Mental health and wellbeing in the creative industries Australia 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted Australia's creative industries, leading to widespread job losses, venue closures, and a sharp decline in arts funding and cultural output. Unsurprisingly, this has had major impacts on workers mental health.
Building on insights from a 2022 project that explored the mental health of people working in music and performing arts following the COVID-19 lockdowns, this report examines key issues affecting workers across the broader creative industries in 2024 and the impacts of these issues on people's mental health and wellbeing.
Prepared by CSI Swinburne for Support Act , this report:
- Provides evidence on the wellbeing of Australia's creative workers
- Uncovers what people working in creative industries have found helpful for their mental health and wellbeing
- Identifies what creative workers themselves feel is needed to better support their work and mental health, and
- What changes they would like to see in future
KEY FINDINGS
1500+ people responded to the online survey which found that:
Key issues and challenges
- Despite some recovery, many creative workers still find earning a liveable income from their creative work challenging
- Key challenges include limited job opportunities, difficulty in finding decent employment conditions, and securing adequate income, especially with rising costs of living and doing business
Mental health and wellbeing
- Distress levels have slightly improved in 2024 from the 2022 survey, yet remain significantly higher than the general population
- There remains a strong demand for accessible, affordable mental health services tailored to the specific needs of creative workers
Systemic change
- Creative workers continue to value creativity and community, but seek broader cultural and economic shifts that better support the arts
- Workers are calling for systemic changes, including greater financial support and fair remuneration, to promote positive mental health, highlighting the need for continued advocacy.
- Overall, findings show a clear need for both systemic reforms and improved mental health services that are widely accessible and responsive to creative workers' unique challenges
“While our research found some evidence of industry recovery and lower distress than 2022, creative workers are clear further changes are needed to support creative work” – Dr Aurora Elmes, CSI Swinburne
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was commissioned by Support Act and conducted by the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne.
The survey was developed with input from /Craft, AccessEAP, APRA AMCOS, ARIA PPCA, Arts Wellbeing Collective, Australian Society of Authors, Association of Artist Managers, Creative Workplaces, CrewCare, Entertainment Assist, MEAA, Music NSW, Music SA, Music Victoria, National Association of Visual Artists, QMusic, Screen Australia, Screen Well and Theatre Network Australia. We thank everyone for sharing their insights and feedback.
We would also like to acknowledge and thank the survey participants who generously contributed their time and perspectives – this research would not have been possible without you.