Australian Festival Association

The AFA co-hosted the Music Festivals Forum in Melbourne with Victoria Police, bringing together industry leaders and regulatory agencies to address key issues impacting festival safety and operations. We welcomed Adrian Coombs as our international guest speaker. A renowned major events consultant from the UK with over 30 years in policing and as Security and Operations Director at Glastonbury Festival, which hosts 200,000 attendees—Adrian shared valuable insights on crime reduction and festival management. His presentation highlighted how effective self-regulation, paired with cooperative planning with police, can ensure safe, well-run events, even at massive scales. The forum also covered live topics such as Victoria’s Drug Checking Implementation Trial, The Dept of Planning’s upcoming review Place of Public Entertainment (POPE) permit processes, updates on recent changes to user pays police fees and charges, and liquor licensing regulation. Now in its fifth iteration, the Forum reinforces our commitment to working closely with government and regulatory partners to drive positive outcomes and relationships for festival organisers. Our thanks to Commander Sharon McKinnon APM GAICD of Victoria Police's Western Region for co-hosting and supporting this important dialogue on festival safety and operations.

The Music Festivals Act has officially passed in NSW Parliament and was signed into law yesterday! After years of tireless advocacy, we’ve succeeded in securing critical changes to the Act, delivering a fairer and more balanced regulatory environment for festivals across NSW. These reforms are a significant win for festival organisers, removing unfair restrictions and giving festivals the chance to thrive. From the removal of the “Subject Festival” label to the right to appeal unreasonable fees, these changes reflect a major step forward for our industry. That said, the Act remains unique to NSW, continuing to impose restrictions not seen anywhere else in Australia. While we’ve made progress, the fight to remove these burdens is far from over. We’ll continue to keep our members updated as more information becomes available. Thank you to our members for your unwavering support—you helped make this possible, and together we’ll keep pushing for a stronger, more sustainable festival landscape. Click through to read about the challenges and wins: https://lnkd.in/gAJrXUwZ

NSW festivals had a win last week and per Mitch Wilson, it's going to be a game changer 🎉 Thanks to the tireless work of the Australian Festival Association, the NSW government fully accepted the proposed reforms resulting in $500,000 in grants and a simpler set of rules. The festival landscape has undoubtedly had a rough run in the last few years however, our latest ticketing report showed that there's a sense of optimism across live events in general, and that we’re in somewhat of a regenerative moment in festival land 🌱 You can read up on the changes in Lars Brandle's piece in The Music Network here: https://lnkd.in/gs2E7qKB While there's more work to be done, for now we celebrate this win on behalf of the festivals we know and love. For more insights into the current live events landscape, check out our 2024 Ticketing State of Play Report - link is in the comments 🔗 #australia #livemusic #festival

The Australian Festival Association (AFA) is proud to announce a major milestone for the festival industry in NSW. 🎉 After years of relentless advocacy, we welcome the newly announced $500,000 grants and significant reforms to the NSW Music Festivals Act, introduced by the Minns Labor Government. These changes will vastly improve conditions for festivals across New South Wales. Pictured below: Mitch Wilson, Managing Director of AFA, and Adelle Robinson, AFA Chair, standing proudly in front of NSW Parliament, where these historic reforms were achieved. Mitch Wilson (they/them), Managing Director of the Australian Festival Association, said: “This is a total gamechanger. We extend our deepest thanks to Minister for Music, John Graham, Head of Sound NSW, Emily Collins, and their teams for their ongoing engagement, support, and relentless drive to deliver this support package for festivals across New South Wales.” “This funding and the changes to the Act represent a turning point in the relationship between festival organisers and the NSW Government. This package will enable festivals in NSW to thrive in the face of challenging economic conditions.” “We could never have a strong, vibrant, and successful festival industry that platforms Australian musicians while facing a punitive and hostile approach to festival organisers. The previous framework had national implications and acted as a handbrake on our industry. We wholeheartedly welcome this new approach.” We also commend the ongoing role of the NSW Health in supporting festival organisers with a national best-practice approach to health and safety, without unnecessary operational hurdles. Since our founding in 2018, AFA’s continuous advocacy for a fairer, more collaborative partnership between festivals and government has led to this major win for our members. We remain focused on ensuring a brighter, more sustainable future for festivals in NSW. However, challenges remain. Transparency and consistency in setting User-Pays Police numbers is still a concern, and we will continue our work through the NSW Music Festivals Roundtable to push for more equitable solutions. Join the AFA! Whether you’re a festival organiser, event supplier, or a business with an interest in the festival industry, your involvement helps shape the future. The more diverse our membership, the stronger and more impactful our collective voice will be. 💪 NSW Government statement here: https://lnkd.in/gMFPKABn Sound NSW Music Festival Viability Fund: https://lnkd.in/ga4WAns5

The Australian Festival Association (AFA) is proud to announce a major milestone for the festival industry in NSW. 🎉 After years of relentless advocacy, we welcome the newly announced $500,000 grants and significant reforms to the NSW Music Festivals Act, introduced by the Minns Labor Government. These changes will vastly improve conditions for festivals across New South Wales. Pictured below: Mitch Wilson, Managing Director of AFA, and Adelle Robinson, AFA Chair, standing proudly in front of NSW Parliament, where these historic reforms were achieved. Mitch Wilson (they/them), Managing Director of the Australian Festival Association, said: “This is a total gamechanger. We extend our deepest thanks to Minister for Music, John Graham, Head of Sound NSW, Emily Collins, and their teams for their ongoing engagement, support, and relentless drive to deliver this support package for festivals across New South Wales.” “This funding and the changes to the Act represent a turning point in the relationship between festival organisers and the NSW Government. This package will enable festivals in NSW to thrive in the face of challenging economic conditions.” “We could never have a strong, vibrant, and successful festival industry that platforms Australian musicians while facing a punitive and hostile approach to festival organisers. The previous framework had national implications and acted as a handbrake on our industry. We wholeheartedly welcome this new approach.” We also commend the ongoing role of the NSW Health in supporting festival organisers with a national best-practice approach to health and safety, without unnecessary operational hurdles. Since our founding in 2018, AFA’s continuous advocacy for a fairer, more collaborative partnership between festivals and government has led to this major win for our members. We remain focused on ensuring a brighter, more sustainable future for festivals in NSW. However, challenges remain. Transparency and consistency in setting User-Pays Police numbers is still a concern, and we will continue our work through the NSW Music Festivals Roundtable to push for more equitable solutions. Join the AFA! Whether you’re a festival organiser, event supplier, or a business with an interest in the festival industry, your involvement helps shape the future. The more diverse our membership, the stronger and more impactful our collective voice will be. 💪 NSW Government statement here: https://lnkd.in/gMFPKABn Sound NSW Music Festival Viability Fund: https://lnkd.in/ga4WAns5

Festivals play a critical role in the NSW music sector and many communities across the state. MusicNSW welcomes the NSW Government’s announcement today regarding highly anticipated amendments to the Music Festivals Act. These changes intend to support music festivals by reducing restrictions and costs and streamlining compliance requirements. Emergency financial support will also be available to promoters of festivals with a 15,000+ capacity for the next two festival seasons, until June 2026. MusicNSW extends its congratulations to Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy The Hon. John Graham MLC, acknowledges advocacy undertaken by the Australian Festival Association in support of these changes, and commits to continued support for NSW music festivals. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gNAp4w8X Find out more about the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund via Sound NSW.

Another live event has been cancelled due to the burdens of the NSW Music Festivals Act. House of Mince’s October event at White Bay Power Station was classified as “high-risk,” resulting in massive police and ambulance fees. This mirrors the challenges faced by many events in NSW, where costly regulations are making it increasingly difficult to host live events. The Australian Festival Association continues to push for much-needed reform to reduce these costs and ensure the viability of live events across the state. Full article here: https://lnkd.in/gdxCN2Tf

We are excited to welcome Bluesfest as the newest member of the Australian Festival Association! As one of Australia’s most iconic music festivals, Bluesfest’s membership strengthens our collective voice and advocacy efforts for the festival industry. In these challenging times for live events, with rising costs and shifting audience behaviors, joining forces is more important than ever. Together, we can work towards reducing regulatory burdens, securing government support, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of our beloved festivals. We look forward to collaborating with Bluesfest and all our members to keep the festival scene thriving! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gS5e8HmJ

Creative Australia has today published 'Soundcheck 2: Analysis of Australian music festival models and operations'. A follow up to the baseline insights covered in 'Soundcheck' (April 2024), the report provides further insights into the complex and diverse challenges facing music festival organisers. The report identifies and examines five different 'types' of music festivals: 1. large commercial 2. small commercial 3. touring 4. large not-for-profit and, 5. small not-for-profit festivals. Key findings include the need for measures to address rising insurance and policing costs, and that changes in ticket-buying behaviour are creating additional costs and risks. With this in mind, Creative Australia and Music Australia are supporting an industry-led study that will look further into the drivers of increasing liability costs in the music festival industry. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gEBY-32p

Support the Future of Music Festivals in NSW! We need your help to encourage the NSW Government to release the long-awaited review of the Music Festivals Act. Your voice can make a significant impact on the future of your favourite festivals. Email Minister John Graham and Minister Yasmin Catley today. We’ve made it easy! Access our email template to the ministers here: https://lnkd.in/gsNrUGGC Together, we can protect the future of live music in NSW.