A new submission to the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s creative and cultural industries argues that the Event Industry must be formally recognised as one of the nation’s core creative sectors.
Prepared by long-time event producer and advocate Simon Thewlis, the paper claims Australia cannot claim to have a genuine creative industries framework while events remain excluded.
“Events are not logistics or administration,” Thewlis writes. “They are live creative productions — driven by design, storytelling and innovation.”
The submission highlights that events combine more creative disciplines than almost any other field, acting as ‘living laboratories’ where new ideas and technologies are tested at scale before influencing theatre, film, and design. Business events also drive innovation across industries by connecting people, launching ideas, and inspiring change.
Despite this, event companies remain buried in the Australian Bureau of Statistics under the outdated code ‘Other Administrative Services’, effectively rendering their contribution invisible. Thewlis calls for a new classification — ‘Event Organisers and Event Services’ — and urges the government to develop a dedicated Creative Industries Policy alongside a distinct Arts Policy.
He says both are needed to properly support the arts while also harnessing the broader creative economy.
The submission can be read here