National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries 2.0

The National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries is focused on key areas of activity common to organisations that care for collections and provide collection, exhibition and program-based services to the community. The National Standards aim to support Australian museums, galleries and collecting organisations to achieve their objectives, from high-level policy, planning and stakeholder liaison, to practical everyday activities.

The National Standards are managed and developed by the National Standards Taskforce, a voluntary committee comprised of representatives from state-based peak professional bodies for the sector, which represent multiple Standards and Accreditation programs.

In 2021, the Taskforce received funding from The Ian Potter Foundation to undertake a significant update of the National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries. This project recognises that while there are key aspects of caring for collections and providing collection, exhibition and program-based services to the community that remain unchanged, much about the way in which museum and gallery work is done has evolved in the seven years since the National Standards were last updated.

The most significant update has been working to embed First Peoples engagement throughout the National Standards in line with the AMaGA and Terri Janke and Company publication, First Peoples: A Roadmap for Enhancing Indigenous Representation in Museums and Galleries. Consultants, Donna Biles Fernando, a woman of the Muruari and Ngemba people, with Debbie Abraham, were commissioned by the National Standards Taskforce to undertake a national consultative project, (re)Mapping National Standards Pathways. The consultative process included literature analysis, formation of a First Peoples Focus Group, a national survey completed by 211 organisations (representing a cross section of the gallery and museum sector), one-on-one conversations with cultural centres and Keeping Places and a review of survey findings and recommendations by the Focus Group. Further information about the consultative process and Focus Group is available in the (re)Mapping National Standards Pathways project report.

The new edition also includes updated content in areas such as copyright, digitisation, environmental sustainability, inclusive practice and online engagement, and a refreshed glossary and resources.