Tony Burke Retains Role As Australia's Minister For The Arts

Australia’s Minister For The Arts will remain unchanged, with Tony Burke being reappointed to the role.

In the wake of the 2025 Australian federal election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed Burke’s retention of the role, alongside his work as Leader Of The House and Minister for Home Affairs. Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, is also set to retain her role as Special Envoy For The Arts.

Burke has held the title of Australia's Minister For The Arts since the Albanese Government's 2022 election win. He previously held the same title between March and September of 2013, serving under both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. Templeman, meanwhile, is the inaugural minister to hold down the role.

In a statement, Live Performance Australia’s Chief Executive Eric Lassen said that Burke brings significant experience into the position, couple with a deep passion for both Australian culture and creativity.

“Having led the way on the development of the National Cultural Policy, Revive, we look forward to working with the Minister on the future evolution of the policy,” Lassen said.

“This includes the opportunity to further build and strengthen the capabilities and potential of our arts and cultural organisations to contribute to our economic, social and cultural vibrancy including through measures such as live performance production incentives.”

“Minister Burke has been instrumental in delivering a comprehensive national cultural policy and in establishing Music Australia, a major institutional reform that provides long-term support for the Australian music industry," echoed APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston.

“We look forward to continuing our collaboration on the next phase of the national cultural policy, Revive, including the development and implementation of the Vote Music 2025 blueprint. This includes the introduction of strengthened local content obligations and a national tax rebate to help ensure the long-term sustainability of live music across Australia.”

Lassen also expressed a positive reaction to Templeman’s continued appointment, noting that the Albanese' Government’s continued recognition of the importance of art and culture is vital to Australian life.

With such a strong national cabinet, and with a prominent love of music from Albanese himself, both Lassen and the wider musical community, have expressed a sense of optimism toward the future of the arts in Australia – especially given that more Australians see a live performance than all of our major sporting codes combined.

“Although audiences have returned to live arts and entertainment since the pandemic, we’re operating in a very challenging business environment with significantly higher costs for production and touring; skills shortages; shifts in audience behaviours; and, cost of living pressures really squeezing discretionary spending by consumers,” Lassen explained.

“The Albanese Government’s return represents a tremendous opportunity to build on the strong foundations put in place by the National Cultural Policy and deliver great outcomes for our artists, companies and organisations, and audiences.”