Australia’s diverse population has traditionally been under-represented on screen but a new report reveals significant progress is being made.
The Screen Australia study found the representation of Indigenous characters in local TV shows increased from 4.8 percent to 7.2 percent from 2016 to 2021, while non-European representation more than doubled to 16 percent across the same period.
Disabled and LGBTQI communities also experienced big jumps in representation, up 83 percent and 64 percent respectively.
Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke said it was important the diversity of modern Australia was reflected in its media.
“Australian drama on screen is compelling and powerful,” Burke said.
“It’s a cornerstone of how Australians see themselves, learn about each other and how the world comes to know us.”
Despite the progress, several communities remain under-represented on screen compared to their real-world populations.
Disabled people, who make up 18 percent of the Australian population, are most severely under-represented on screen, with just 6.6 percent of main characters disabled.
Meanwhile, Anglo-Celtic characters are over-represented, comprising 71 percent of main characters but only 53 percent of the population.
Representation of European characters dropped from 5.7 to 4.7 percent, despite making up 18 percent of the population.
“We know that the screen industry is becoming more aware of the cultural and commercial value of creating diverse content,” Screen Australia chief executive Graeme Mason said.
“It’s great to see improvements since 2016 however these results show that the overall pace of progress is slow and there is a long way to go to reach genuine representation of Australia’s diverse communities on screen.”
