The Federal election was called on 28 March 2025. As this website is hosted by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, the site will only be updated with material in line with the Caretaker Conventions. Please note that the content of this site relates to the Australian Government’s existing policy.

The Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research (BCARR) undertakes research and provides economic and data analysis on communications, arts, cities and regions to support evidence-based policy development and advice.

Select your area of interest below or explore our menu.

Communications

See our research and analysis of the communications and media sectors.

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Arts

View our research and analysis of the arts sector and cultural and creative parts of the economy.

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Regions and Cities

The economic and social characteristics of Australia’s regions and cities vary significantly. Our spatial research and analysis improves our understanding of these differences and enables location appropriate development.

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Data Dashboards

Our data dashboards provide an interactive way of monitoring, measuring, analysing, and generating insights from different datasets.

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Publications

Cultural and creative activity in Australia, 2008–09 to 2017–18—visual summary

This publication provides an annual update to the BCARR working paper: Cultural and creative activity in Australia, 2008–09 to 2016–17 released in October 2018. The updated estimates are presented as a visual summary. Each table and figure corresponds to those used in the BCARR working paper.

Cultural and creative activity in Australia 2008–09 to 2017–18—overview—fact sheet

This fact sheet provides responses to frequently asked questions regarding the Cultural and creative activity in Australia publications.

Measuring the digitalisation of Australia’s economy 2012–13 to 2016–17—Statistical working paper—experimental estimates

Advances in communications technologies are transforming Australia’s economy.

Measuring the digitalisation of Australia's economy 2012–13 to 2016–17—Fact sheet

Digitalised goods and services represent a significant and growing share of the Australian economy according to the latest available data.

Demand for fixed-line broadband in Australia 2018–2028—working paper

In this paper, the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research (BCAR) seeks to estimate bandwidth demand for premises in Australia based on how people use the internet. This can help to inform how Australia’s broadband infrastructure is meeting current demand and future bandwidth requirements.

Demand for fixed-line broadband in Australia 2018–2028—fact sheet

Bandwidth measures the rate of data transfer, typically in megabits per second (Mbps). It can be used to describe the capacity of a connection or how much information can be transmitted at a point in time, or the requirement of an application.

Characteristics of Employment and Business Activity in Cultural and Creative Sectors—fact sheet

Analysis that provides insights into the employment characteristics of workers in the cultural and creative sector.

Affordability of communications services for low income households

In 2017, the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research found that the affordability of communications services in Australia had improved overall. In general, consumers were getting better value as prices stayed the same or fell, while product inclusions (such as data) increased.

Creative skills for the future economy

The research paper Creative skills for the future economy analyses the skills and qualifications of people working in creative fields and how these may be used in the future.

Estimates of labour productivity trends in Australian public and private broadcasting

A background statistics paper that provides analysis of labour productivity estimates for public and private broadcasters between 2006-07 and 2016-17.