Noosa Cultural Plan 2025-2030 Adoption · Report

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING                                       9 SEPTEMBER 2025


the increasing complexity and scope of Council’s cultural activities, this new Plan will be delivered
as part of a broader suite of cultural planning documents, including a dedicated Libraries Plan and
Heritage Plan.

A Cultural Plan is essential for Noosa because it provides a strategic framework to guide Council’s
investment, support, and development of the arts, culture, and heritage sectors. It ensures that
cultural activity is not ad hoc, but aligned with broader community goals, including sustainability,
liveability, economic prosperity, and social cohesion. The Plan helps preserve Noosa’s unique
identity—rooted in its natural beauty, rich heritage, and creative spirit—while also responding to
contemporary challenges such as cost-of-living pressures, changes in audience participation, the
digital explosion and the need for inclusive access to cultural experiences.

It also positions Noosa to leverage partnerships and funding opportunities particularly in the lead up
to the Brisbane Olympics 2032. By setting clear themes, actions, and evaluation measures, the Plan
enables Council to support a thriving, resilient, and inclusive cultural ecosystem that benefits both
residents and visitors.

The Cultural Plan 2025–2030 is structured around five key themes:

1. Valuing our history and heritage – Preserving and promoting Noosa’s history and heritage,
including First Nations heritage, through respectful engagement, education, and conservation.
2. Enabling inclusion and access – Ensuring equitable participation in arts and culture for people
of all backgrounds, abilities, and ages.
3. Championing our creative community – Supporting the professional development and
sustainability of local artists and creative industries through grants, mentoring, and showcasing
opportunities.
4. Activating our places and spaces – Enhancing cultural infrastructure and integrating creative
practice into public spaces to reflect Noosa’s identity and environmental values.
5. Engaging our community and visitors – Increasing participation in arts and culture through
improved promotion, diverse programming, and strategic event planning.

The Plan has been shaped by extensive sector engagement across two phases, including a
dedicated research project led by CRED Consulting in late 2024 and Council-led consultation in early
2025. Council extends its sincere thanks to Noosa’s diverse landscape of artists, arts organisations,
collectives, and cultural communities for their time, insights, and commitment to shaping a Plan that
reflects their aspirations. Relevant feedback gathered through other Council community engagement
processes such as the Pomona Place Plan and Liveability have also been incorporated.

The Cultural Plan is strategically aligned with Noosa Council’s Corporate Plan 2023–2028, ensuring
that arts and cultural development contributes meaningfully to the broader goals of environmental
sustainability, liveability, economic prosperity, innovation, and organisational excellence.
Importantly, the Cultural Plan aligns with national and state cultural frameworks such as the
Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy – Revive and the Queensland Government’s
Creative Together 2020–2030 and Queensland’s Time to Shine: 2025–2035, positioning Noosa to
leverage partnerships and funding opportunities while delivering locally relevant outcomes.

The Cultural Plan outlines the themes, aims, and actions that will guide Council’s support for a
thriving, inclusive, and sustainable cultural sector. This includes reducing barriers to creative
production and presentation, providing resources and spaces for cultural activity, and fostering
stronger connections between creatives, audiences, and economic markets.

With no tertiary arts education institutions in the region, Noosa Council recognises its role in
facilitating professional development and upskilling opportunities to ensure the long-term viability of
the local creative sector. Supporting artists to live and work in Noosa requires Council to champion
new pathways and strengthen links between the arts and other sectors.