Government announces $6m funding for new Book Council of Australia, to come from Australia Council funding

Monday, 15 December 2014 Books+Publishing

The Federal Government will provide $6 million over three years to establish the new Book Council of Australia.

The funding, which was announced in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 15 December, ‘will be met through a reduction in funding from the Australia Council’ of $6 million over three years. The funding covers 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18. While the $2 million-per-year for the Book Council is to be taken from Australia Council funding, it is not yet confirmed what part of the Australia Council’s budget will be affected.

The new Book Council was first announced on 8 December during the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. A joint press release from the Prime Minister and the Minister for the Arts said the Book Council would ‘promote Australian writing nationally and internationally and encourage and promote reading’.

The establishment of the Book Council of Australia moves responsibility for the book industry from the Department of Industry to the Ministry for the Arts.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, the government defunded the book industry’s Get Reading! program in the 2014-15 Budget, gaining savings of $6.4 million over 40 years.

Category: Local news