The Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport (CITS) has collaborated with The Department of Treasury and Finance and consultants Simetrica-Jacobs to produce a Discussion Paper and plain language step-by step Guidelines to determine the non-market value of WA cultural Infrastructure.
In 2019 an Infrastructure Australia audit found that “investment in cultural infrastructure is often not prioritised because true costs and benefits are not well integrated into government decision making”.
Responding to this comment, in 2021, in collaboration with Treasury, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) and CITS commissioned leading UK consultants Simetrica-Jacobs, with special input from WA First Nations-led Moodjar Consulting Group to establish a methodology to determine the non-market value of WA cultural infrastructure. A pilot study to apply the non-market valuation methods to 8 sites within the Perth Cultural Centre, including the Cultural Statutory Authorities, was undertaken in 2022.
The outcomes of this report have been outlined in the Discussion Paper: Valuing Cultural Infrastructure in Western Australia. The resulting guidelines will assist cultural infrastructure business cases to become more competitive, by including this additional non-market value within Cost Benefit Analysis calculations
Discussion paper: February 2026
Providing direction for project teams and consultants undertaking cost benefit analyses on cultural infrastructure projects in Western Australia.