A catastrophic decline in creative course enrolments is threatening to hollow out Australia’s cultural soul.

Australia is sleepwalking into a cultural dark age, with new research revealing a precipitous drop in students choosing creative arts degrees. The decline is being driven by a perfect storm of policy failures, soaring tuition costs, and the systematic dismantling of tertiary arts programs. Experts warn that without immediate intervention, the nation risks becoming an "artless country," devoid of the storytellers, designers, and artists who define its national identity.

The Cost of "Job-Ready"

The root of the crisis can be traced back to the former Morrison government’s controversial "job-ready graduate" scheme, implemented in 2021. Designed to steer students toward STEM fields by slashing their costs, the policy simultaneously engineered a punitive price hike for humanities and arts degrees. The result has been a financial barrier that has effectively priced a generation of working-class students out of the creative industries.

Under the scheme, the cost of a creative arts degree surged by 19%, while degrees in society and culture saw an eye-watering 116% increase. By 2026, a student pursuing a visual arts degree is paying nearly double the annual contribution of a mathematics student. This economic disincentive has worked exactly as intended, but at a terrible cost to the nation's cultural fabric.

• Course Carnage: Since the policy's inception, more than 40 creative arts courses and degrees have been axed across Australian universities.
• Enrollment Freefall: The "rollercoaster decline" in enrolments has left faculties underfunded and vulnerable to further cuts.
• Workforce Impact: Industry leaders predict a critical shortage of skilled creative professionals within the next five years.

A Bleak Future for the Arts

Professor Sandra Gattenhof, a co-author of the study published in the Australian Journal of Education, describes the situation as a systemic failure. "There’s a disincentive for students to go into these areas," she noted. "We are heading into a real reduction in the capacities to sustain a creative and cultural workforce." The axing of subjects is not merely an academic administrative issue; it is the erasure of pathways for future artists.

The chief executive of Universities Australia, Luke Sheehy, has called the reform of the job-ready graduate scheme "urgent." Yet, the damage may already be done. Departments that have been shuttered are difficult to reopen, and the loss of institutional knowledge is irreversible. The cultural sector, which contributes billions to the economy, is facing a talent drought that will stifle innovation and leave the country culturally impoverished.

As the cost of living crisis bites, the prospect of taking on massive debt for a career in the arts becomes increasingly untenable for young Australians. Unless the government reverses course, the "lucky country" may soon find itself with nothing new to show the world.