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After five weeks of consultations and despite a staff protest on the steps of Parliament House, the Art Gallery of NSW is proceeding with plans to axe 45 jobs to repair a $7.5 million budget black hole.
Some six positions – believed to be mainly mid-level administrative roles – have been saved out of 51 positions originally targeted under a controversial restructure to repair its budget.
Protesters gather outside Parliament House on September 16.Credit: James Brickwood
Some 31.8 full-time non-executive positions will be cut from a workforce of 382, and a further 13 vacant positions will not be filled, representing a loss of 44.8 equivalent positions or an 11.7 per cent reduction in roles, and bringing the workforce to 337, the gallery said.
Public Service Association assistant general secretary Troy Wright said he was disappointed that the cuts were not abandoned entirely and savings found by reducing the use of external consultants.
“After promising that there would be genuine consultation on the initial proposal, today we have learnt that the total number of employees to be sacked has been reduced from 51 to only 44,” he said.
“Further, our demands that the cuts be concentrated on the executive and managerial level of the organisation, and that savings be instead identified in the engagement of consultants, have seemingly fallen on deaf ears.
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“It is impossible to guarantee that these cuts, which represent approximately 15 per cent of the workforce, will not have a significant impact on the gallery’s operations, whether in terms of visitor service, curation of the collection or operating hours.
“This government has endless cash to spare for football stadiums and fish markets, but not the relative loose change that was required to keep the Art Gallery of NSW operating at the successful level it has been delivering for the past few years.”
The painful organisational restructure had fallen to Maud Page, who was named the institution’s first female director, replacing Michael Brand in March.
The deputy position she previously occupied, split with collections management, has been left unfilled. The gallery’s director of program delivery has also been formally removed, reducing the executive team by one.
Affected staff at the flagship museum were progressively told about the status of their positions on Tuesday and Wednesday, ahead of an all-staff meeting on Thursday morning.
The gallery has not been able to rule out further job cuts and is reviewing its membership program, ticket sales, venue hire and even considering pausing certain types of in-depth exhibitions in light of the cutbacks.
Some staff members have complained they were initially alerted by a “blunt and insensitive” email. The gallery said staff had been offered counselling, that the wellbeing of staff was its top priority, and the executive team remained dedicated to supporting all teams throughout the process.
The cutbacks come after a NSW Treasury review in 2024 found the opening of the gallery’s landmark new home for contemporary art in December 2022, the $344 million Naala Badu, failed to deliver a predicted boost in income from commercial revenue – including from ticketed shows – to cover its greater operational costs.
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NSW Treasury suggested 315 full-time staff was a “reasonable” number, given staffing levels at comparable institutions, including the National Gallery of Victoria.
The Public Service Association has questioned why the institution, ranked as the 26th most visited museum in the world in 2024, attracting 2,369,339 visitors, should be penalised for its success while funding was at record levels for the $915 million Powerhouse Museum, set to open on the banks of the Parramatta River late next year.
The final structure was announced to all staff on Thursday morning. Some roles, the gallery said, would be managed through an expression of interest process that would take place this month. Once determined, the new structure would be implemented on November 10.
“The organisational changes have been carefully calibrated across all levels of the Art Gallery, beginning at the executive level, and ensure we can sustainably operate within our budget for financial year 2025-26.
“The structure was determined by the Art Gallery director and executive team following a thorough review of the feedback received from staff, and key changes were made based on those submissions. [It] reflects our operational needs, future programming and our vision for the Art Gallery, its collections and its audiences.”
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