National standards

National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries

Are you looking for a comprehensive list of standards and resources on museum practice? The  National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries  contains links to many resources on best practice. Areas covered include: 

• Managing the museum 
• Involving people 
• Developing a significant collection 

National Standards 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 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.

For enquiries relating to how the National Standards are used by Museums & Galleries Queensland, contact our Training and Professional Development Program Team.

For enquiries relating to the National Standards more broadly and the work of the National Standards Taskforce, contact the Taskforce secretariat, Museums and Galleries New South Wales.

(re)Mapping the National Standards Pathways

Consultants, Donna Biles Fernando, a woman of the Muruari and Ngemba people, with Debbie Abraham, were commissioned by Museums & Galleries Queensland (on behalf of the National Taskforce) to undertake a national consultative project, (re)Mapping National Standards Pathways, to embed First peoples’ engagement throughout the National Standards, particularly as identified in Terri Janke and Company’s ‘First Peoples:  A Roadmap for Enhancing Indigenous Engagement in Museums and Galleries’ (commissioned by the Australian Museums and Galleries Association, 2018). The consultants acknowledge the work carried out in this purposeful and essential plan based on extensive research and consultation across the Country.

Key to (re)Mapping project consultation was to ensure First Peoples voices were integral to shaping the process and outcomes. To guarantee this, and from the outset, the Focus Group was established by contacting 30 First Peoples professional staff members from 23 key museums and galleries in all of the states and territories across the Country, to gauge their interest and availability in contributing to the process.

From this initial contact, a representative group of 14 First Peoples professional staff came together in late October 2021, and a further six joined the group in the review processes – all generously giving their time, knowledge and expertise.

During the initial consultative phase, the consultants contacted the Council of Australian Museum Directors (CAMD) and the Council of Australian Art Museum Directors (CAAMD) to canvas their support for the project, including the survey and staff Focus Group involvement. Other groups and service organisations, such as Contemporary Art Organisations Australia, were contacted by either the National Taskforce or by the consultants to ensure participation in the survey.

The consultative process included analysis of literature, Focus Group meetings, 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.

This way of working reflects the collective and genuine belief that the sector can move forward together to ensure strategies related to First Peoples engagement are firmly and practically embedded in the National Standards.

The consultants and Focus Group 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 project sought to support Australian galleries and museums to embed First people’s engagement while carrying out their day-to-day activities, meeting their responsibilities to their various stakeholders, attracting support, and achieving their other organisational objectives.

Further to this, areas particular to First Peoples culture, knowledge, moral, legal and intellectual rights, employment and cultural safety were either integrated into the National Standards or outlined as future actions, training or strategies in this report.

The (re)Mapping project, funded by the Ian Potter Foundation, reinforces the desire of First Peoples and the sector, to continue to work collaboratively towards an overall shared future, one in which our mutual histories embrace truth-telling with understanding, compassion and reverence, and one in which we look to arts and cultural organisations to lead the way openly and outwardly.

National Standards Taskforce

The National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries has been produced collaboratively by the National Standards Taskforce.  

Funding Acknowledgement