Intro
Executive Summary
The report provides estimates of cultural and creative activity value add and gross state product (GSP) for all of Western Australia (WA) and for 14 creative domains. It first details the need to deal with different approaches to formulating a satellite account for cultural and creative activity. While we follow methods developed by the Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research (BCARR) in its 2024 refresh of the cultural and creative satellite accounts originally developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), we also include results for Computer Systems Design in order to capture the full extent of the value of creative work in WA.
Some caution should be used in interpreting the statistics in this report. These are estimates calculated by our University of Canberra (UC) research team, based on estimates calculated by the FootPrintLab and the ABS. The trends and relative comparisons presented here are highly informative and are the most important findings, but we recommend avoiding any emphasis of standalone numbers taken out of the context of trend and comparative analysis.
In 2024, cultural and creative activity (excluding computer system design) contributed $6.2 billion to the WA economy in GSP, or $10.5 billion including computer system design.1 This followed six years of consistent growth. Between 2018 and 2024, cultural and creative GSP increased by an annual average of 6.8% per annum, excluding computer systems design (a total increase of $1.9 billion or 45%). Including computer systems design, cultural and creative GSP increased by an annual average of 7.4% per annum (a total increase of $3.6 billion or 53%).
The value of cultural and creative activity as a share of total GSP decreased over the study period (between 2018 and 2024). This is because of the dominance of mining and resources in WA, and its growth rate, which outstrips rates of growth in the rest of the economy. For this reason, the report features cultural and creative activity as a proportion of total GSP excluding mining. This shows that the value of cultural and creative activity (excluding computer systems design) as a share of non-mining activity in WA was steady, at approximately 2.40% between 2018 and 2024. When computer systems design is included, the value of cultural and creative activity as a share of non-mining activity in WA increased, from 3.85% in 2018 to 4.06% in 2024.
In 2024 WA generated 9.2% of the value of all creative and cultural activity across Australia (excluding computer system design), an increase of 0.6 percentage points since 2018. This suggests that while WA’s cultural and creative sector is growing at a faster rate than that of the rest of Australia, it is still smaller relative to the rest of its economy than across the rest of Australia; proportionally, WA’s gross state product is 17.2% of Australian gross domestic product (GDP).
The creative domains contributing the most to the WA economy in 2024 were:
Between 2018 and 2024, five out of these six top domains experienced growth exceeding that of non-mining GSP (6.7% per annum). Those creative domains with average growth above non-mining GSP were:
And the creative domains with growth behind non-mining economic growth were:
Three quarters of the value of cultural and creative products and services are generated within the creative industries themselves, while one quarter are generated in other industries. This aligns with our analysis of 2021 Census data for WA:
A notable difference in the creative products and services found within and outside the creative industries are advertising and promotion activities. The value that advertising and promotion activities contributed to the WA economy through industries other than the cultural and creative industries is far greater than they contributed to the cultural and creative industries themselves – $861.6 million compared with $337.0 million. Advertising and promotion is a critical enabling activity, utilised across the economy with businesses employing these creative skills directly, holding and developing them in-house rather than relying on contracting them from specialist providers. Other domains where their economic contribution is greater outside the cultural and creative industries in WA are libraries and archives ($203.8 million vs $116.0 million) and music production and distribution ($74.0 million vs $6.0 million).
Other domains also made significant contributions to GSP outside the cultural and creative industries, including Computer systems design ($315.1 million) and Print media and publishing (excl. internet) ($230.1 million).
The first satellite accounts for the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) were developed by the ABS in 2013. They drew on Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT)'s (now UC’s – hereafter QUT/UC) Creative Trident and CCI definition, and estimated value add over the entirety of the CCIs for Australia with four components:
Following the ABS’s publication of its original cultural and creative satellite accounts, BCARR regularly updated the estimates by indexing the first and second components using annual national accounts multipliers. Then, between 2022 and 2024, BCARR conducted a review, releasing an updated methodology and revised estimates in December 2024. BCARR’s new approach includes three major changes: introducing a consistent production boundary, narrowing the scope of the cultural and creative activity captured by the satellite accounts and using the product-industry matrix of the input-output tables of the national accounts to estimate value.
BCARR modified the ABS’s first and second components of the satellite account to mirror the distinctions characterised by the QUT-UC Creative Trident:
Figure 1: Updated framework and boundary
Our approach here is to maintain this framework across the different cultural and creative domains and for all cultural and creative activity as a whole, so that aggregated results for WA can be compared with BCARR’s total for all of Australia.
BCARR modified the focus of the original satellite accounts, excluding wholesaling and retail components from creative activity value chains, and removing computer system design. This does two things:
Note that while the QUT-UC definition of the CCIs includes computer system design, it does not include wholesaling and retail. This is because the QUT-UC definition was developed to identify employment that is involved with the creation of new knowledge or intellectual property. This is different to the aim of satellite accounts, which is to identify the value contributed to the economy by a particular set of industries or activities.
Our approach here is to (wherever it is reasonable) match the BCARR scope. Therefore we have also excluded wholesaling and retailing related to creative activities. However, we have included in this report an activity domain for computer system design, to provide a better and more accurate estimate of the value contributed to the WA economy by creative activities. Lists of relevant cultural and creative products and industries, and the domains to which they are allocated, are included in the appendix.
BCARR uses the input-output tables from the ABS’s national accounts to estimate the value of cultural and creative products produced by cultural and creative industries (specialised activity), the value of other products produced by cultural and creative industries (support activity) and the value of cultural and creative products produced by other industries (embedded activity). The ABS only publishes input-output tables for Australia as a whole, not by state.
For this study, input-output tables for WA have been supplied by an economic research team at the FootprintLab, developed in collaboration with the University of Sydney and UNSW. The input-output tables are used to estimate gross state product for cultural and creative activity and industry value added in WA using the following approach:
It has not been possible to exactly replicate every estimate in the BCARR report. Two variations should be noted:
Cultural and creative activity (excluding computer system design) contributed $6.2 billion to the WA economy in 2024 (Table 1a, Figure 1 and Table 2), or $10.5 billion including computer system design (Table 1b). This followed six years of growth: between 2018 and 2024, cultural and creative GSP excluding computer systems design increased by an annual average of 6.8% per annum, (a total increase of $1.9 billion or 45%), or by an annual average of 7.4% per annum including computer systems design (a total increase of $3.6 billion or 53%).
Note that the value of cultural and creative activity as a share of total GSP has decreased over the study period (second right column in Tables 1a and 1b). Since mining and resources dominates the WA to such a large extent (Figure 2), Tables 1a and 1b also include cultural and creative activity as a proportion of total GSP excluding mining (furthest right columns). This shows that the value of cultural and creative activity (excluding computer systems design) as a share of non-mining activity in WA was steady between 2018 and 2014, at approximately 2.40%. When computer systems design is excluded, the value of cultural and creative activity as a share of non-mining activity in WA increased from 3.85% in 2018 to 4.06% in 2024.
Table 1a: Cultural and creative activity value add, GSP and share of GSP, 2018 to 2024 (excluding computer system design)
Source: UC estimates, ABS 2025 Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, Table 1
Table 1b Cultural and creative activity value add, GSP and share of GSP, 2018 to 2024 (including computer system design)
Figure 1 Cultural and creative activity by domain,1 2018 to 2024, current prices
Source: UC estimates.
Table 2: Cultural and creative activity domains in WA: GSP ($ million)
Source: UC estimates
The Australian System of National accounts lists industries defined according to the ANZSIC, with 19 industry divisions. Cultural and creative activity is not defined as an industry division in the ANZSIC. Instead, it groups together industry classes that the ANZSIC places in separate industry divisions.
Figure 2 shows the size of the value of cultural and creative activity relative to that of other industries. Contributing 2.5% of industry value add, the value of cultural and creative activity (including computer system design) is comparable to administrative and support services, at 2.3%, and wholesale trade, at 2.7%. 2.5% is identical to BCARR’s national estimates.
Figure 2: Cultural and creative gross value add (GVA) and industry share of total economy value add, 2024 (including computer systems design)
Source: UC estimates, ABS 2025 Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, Table 6
To compare our estimates of the value of cultural and creative activity in WA with the contribution of cultural and creative activity to Australian GDP, this section excludes computer system design. BCARR excludes computer system design from the scope of its cultural and creative satellite accounts, and includes digital games development. While digital games development is mostly captured within computer system design, we are unable to estimate it separately here due to data and methodology limitations. Note that the economic contribution value of digital games development in WA is likely relatively small and would not make a significant difference to the aggregate results presented here.2
Table 3 shows that in 2024 WA generated 9.2% of the value of all creative and cultural activity across Australia (excluding computer system design), an increase of 0.6 percentage points since 2018. This suggests that while WA’s cultural and creative sector is growing at a faster rate than that of the rest of Australia, it is still smaller relative to the rest of its economy than across the rest of Australia: proportionally, WA’s gross state product is 17.2% of Australian gross domestic product.
Table 3: Comparison of WA cultural and creative GSP and Australian cultural and creative GDP, 2018 to 2024 (excluding computer system design and digital games development)
Sources: UC estimates, BCARR 2024 Cultural and Creative Activity in Australia, 2008–09 to 2022–23 (Methodology Refresh) Statistical Working Paper, ABS 2025 Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, Table 1
Figure 3: WA creative and cultural GSP as a proportion of Australian creative and cultural GDP, 2018 to 2024, excluding computer system design
This section presents state value added and gross state product estimates for each creative domain. Domains are presented in order of the size of their contribution to the WA economy. As some creative domains are very small and mining in WA is very large with strong growth, comparative data are presented as the share of non-mining GSP for each domain rather than for the whole WA economy.
The computer systems design domain consists of:
Computer systems design was the largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $4,316.4 million, or 1.75% of the total value of WA non-mining GSP.
GSP for computer systems design increased by $1,701.8 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 8.4%. Its share of non-mining GSP increased between 2018 to 2022, from 1.54% to 1.75%, evidence that the economic contribution of computer systems design grew at a faster rate than the average for other WA industries (excluding mining).
Figure 4: Computer systems design GSP and share of GSP
Table 4: Computer systems design, 2018 to 2024
Advertising and promotion was the second-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $1,275.0 million, or 0.52% of the total value of non-mining GSP.
GSP for advertising and promotion increased by $556.1 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 10.0%. Its share of non-mining GSP increased between 2018 to 2022, from 0.42% to 0.52%. Most of this increase occurred between 2019 and 2020 with advertising and promotion growing at a similar rate to the rest of the WA economy since then.
Figure 5: Advertising and promotion GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 5: Advertising and promotion, 2018 to 2024
The architecture services domain consists of:
Architecture services was the third-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $941.2 million, or 0.38% of the value of non-mining GSP.
WA GSP for architectural services increased by $234.9 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 4.8%. The value of architecture services relative to the rest of the WA economy fell over the study period, with its share of non-mining GSP falling from 0.42% in 2018 to 0.38% in 2024. This fall substantially occurred during the first year of COVID, with growth in the value of architecture services tracking that of the rest of the WA economy since 2020.
Figure 6: Architecture services GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 6: Architecture services 2018 to 2024
The internet publishing and broadcasting domain consists of:
Internet publishing and broadcasting was the fourth-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $887.2 million, or 0.36% of non-mining GSP.
GSP for internet publishing and broadcasting increased by $234.9 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 5.5%. The value of internet publishing and broadcasting relative to non-mining GSP fell slightly from 0.38% in 2018 to 0.36% in 2020.
Figure 7: Internet publishing and broadcasting GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 7: Internet publishing and broadcasting, 2018 to 2024
The print media and publishing (excluding internet) domain consists of:
Print media and publishing (excluding internet) was the fifth-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $733.0 million, or 0.30% of non-mining GSP.
WA GSP for print media and publishing (excluding internet) increased by $263.2 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 8.9%. While its contribution to non-mining GSP fell from 0.28% to 0.30% between 2018 and 2019, it has increased slightly since then to 0.27%.
Figure 8: Print media and publishing (excluding internet) GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 8: Print media and publishing (excluding internet), 2018 to 2024
The visual arts and crafts domain consists of:
Visual arts and crafts was the sixth-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $660.9 million, or 0.268% of non-mining GSP.
Visual arts and crafts GSP for increased by $327.6 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 12.1%. As a proportion of non-mining GSP, the contribution of visual arts and crafts has been steady since 2020 at around 0.265%.
Figure 9: Visual arts and crafts GSP and as a share of GD
Table 9: Visual arts and crafts GSP and as a share of GDP
The film and television activities domain3 consists of:
Film and television activities was the seventh-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $404.3 million, or 0.16% of non-mining GSP. WA GSP for film and television activities increased by $4.9 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 1.2%.4 As a share of the WA economy, the contribution of film and television activities decreased, from 0.23% in 2018 to 0.16% in 2024.
This drop in share of GSP aligns with national figures: BCARR has reported that the share of national GDP declined from 0.48% to 0.27% between 2014-15 and 2023-24.5 The turn towards online content which has led to a decline in broadcasting activities is key to this drop.
Figure 10: Film and television activities GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 10: Film and television activities 2018 to 2024
The design and fashion domain consists of:
Design and fashion was the eighth-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $439.4 million, or 0.178% of non-mining GSP.
GSP for design and fashion increased by $143.7 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 6.7%. Growth for design and fashion tracked that of the WA economy over the study period, with its share of non-mining GSP steady at around 0.175%.
Figure 11: Design and fashion GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 11: Design and fashion, 2018 to 2024
The libraries and archives domain consists of:
Libraries and archives was the ninth-largest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $319.8 million, or 0.129% of non-mining GSP.
WA GSP for libraries and archives increased by $68.4 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 4.4%. Growth for the libraries and archives domains was lower than that of the WA economy, with its share of non-mining GSP falling from 0.148% in 2018 to 0.129% in 2024.
Figure 12: Libraries and archives GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 12: Libraries and archives, 2018 to 2024
The literature creative and performing arts domain consists of:
Literature, creative and performing arts was the fifth-smallest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $339.7 million or 0.138% of non-mining GSP.
Literature, creative and performing arts GSP increased by $181.2 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 13.3%. Between 2018 and 2020, it grew faster than non-mining GSP, before settling to grow as a similar rate contributing around 0.135% of non-mining GSP to 2024.
Figure 13: Literature, creative and performing arts GSP as a share of GDP
Table 13: Literature, creative and performing arts, 2018 to 2024
The arts education domain consists of:
Arts education was the fourth-smallest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $144.7 million, or 0.059% of non-mining WA GSP.
WA GSP for arts education increased by $181.2 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 13.3%. This growth exceeded that of non-mining GSP up to 2021, with art education’s share of non-mining GSP increasing to 0.061% in 2020 and 2021 before falling slightly to 0.059% by 2024.
Figure 14: Arts education, GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 14: Arts education, 2018 to 2024
Source: UC estimates, BCARR 2024 Cultural and Creative Activity in Australia, 2008–09 to 2022–23 (Methodology Refresh) Statistical Working Paper
The radio broadcasting domain6 consists of:
Radio broadcasting was the third-smallest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $100.4 million, or 0.041% of the total value of WA GSP.
GSP for radio broadcasting decreased by $61.3 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 6.5%. The contribution of radio broadcasting to non-mining GSP fell from 0.095% in 2018 to 0.042% in 2020 where it has remained since.
Figure 15: Radio broadcasting GSP and as a share of total GSP
Table 15: Radio broadcasting, 2018 to 2024
The music production and distribution domain consists of:
Music production and distribution was the second-smallest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $79.9 million, or 0.032% of the total value of WA GSP.
Music production and distribution GSP increased by $14.9 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 3.2%. The fall in GSP in 2020 reflects a transfer of music-related activity out of the music industry to other sectors during COVID. As a proportion of non-mining GSP, the contribution of music production and distribution fell from 0.038% of WA GSP in 2018 to 0.32% during the COVID years of 2020 and 2021, where it has remained since.
Figure 16: Music production and distribution GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 16: Music production and distribution, 2018 to 2024
The museums and galleries domain consists of:
Museums and galleries was the smallest cultural and creative domain in WA in 2024, contributing $71.4 million, or 0.029% of the total value of WA GSP.
GSP for museums and galleries increased by $27.7 million between 2018 and 2024, at an average annual rate of 8.6%. This growth exceeded that of non-mining GSP, with its share increasing over the study period from 0.026% in 2018 to 0.029% ion 2024.
Figure 17: Museums and galleries GSP and as a share of GDP
Table 17: Museums and galleries, 2018 to 2024
This section examines the distribution of cultural and creative GSP across the creative industries and other parts of the economy.
Three quarters of the value of cultural and creative products and services are generated within the creative industries themselves, with one quarter generated in other industries. This aligns with our analysis of 2021 Census data for WA:
A notable difference in the creative products and services found within and outside the creative industries is advertising and promotion activities. The value of advertising and promotion activities contributed to the WA economy in industries other than the cultural and creative industries is greater that the cultural and creative industries themselves - $861.6 million compared with $413.5.0 million in 2024. Advertising and promotion is a critical enabling activity, utilised across the economy. Businesses employ these creative skills directly, holding and developing them in-house rather than relying on contracting them from specialist providers.
Other domains where their economic contribution is greater outside the cultural and creative industries in WA are libraries and archives ($203.8 million vs $116.0 million in 2024) and music production and distribution ($74.0 million vs $6.0 million in 2024). For libraries and archives, value is generated within the firms and organisations that directly use these services, similar to advertising. The dynamic for music production and distribution is likely quite different, with the technology sector providing digital music distribution services not classified here as creative industries.
Figure 18: The contribution of cultural and creative activity within creative industries to GSP
Table 18: Cultural and creative activity within the creative industries by domain: GSP ($ million)
Figure 19: The contribution of embedded cultural and creative activity to GSP
Table 19: Cultural and creative activity domains in other industries: GSP ($ million)
1. In 2024, the Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research (BCARR) narrowed the scope of the cultural and creative activity captured by the satellite accounts, excluding wholesaling and retail components from creative activity value chains, and removing computer system design. Computer systems design has been included here to provide a more holistic picture of creative activity.
2. According to the ABS’s 2023 survey of film, television and games producers, in 2021-22 there were 10 digital games production companies in WA, employing 41 people and generating total income of $5.3 million. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology-and-innovation/film-television-and-digital-games-australia/2021-22-financial-year
3. To align with the BCARR definition, this domain includes distribution and exhibition activities. Note, these parts of the film and television value chain are not included in the QUT-UC definition of the creative industries, which only captures those occupations and industries involved with the creation of new knowledge and intellectual property.
4. In 2024, the WA Government released the Western Australian Screen Industry Strategy which includes a goal to increase the annual measured economic contribution of screen industry Qualified Western Australian Expenditure (QWAE) across all formats and platforms. Major screen investment programs opened in WA in 2024, as part of the Screen Industry Strategy implementation. The findings in this report do not reflect this increase in investment and activity in the WA screen industry due to the lag in data reporting.
5. For more information see Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research “Cultural and creative activity in Australia 2014-15 to 2023-24: Visual summary” (September 2025), https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/visual-summary-cultural-and-creative-activity-in-australia-2014-15-to-2023-24-17september2025.pdf
6. Note that BCARR’s definition of the radio broadcasting domain excludes the value of radio advertising services.