Project Discover: Cultural Collections and Research Centre

^{The following information is for consultation purposes.}

The proposed Cultural Collections and Research Centre (CCRC) will be a world-leading collections facility to house the Australian Museum's cultural collections, providing unprecedented access and engagement with one of the largest First Nations and Pasifika Collections in the world.

Collections to be re-located to the CCRC include:

• 800,000 Archaeological Collection items
• 67,000 Pasifika Collection items
• 22,850 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections items
• 2,700 Restricted Objects (including Ancestors)

It is envisioned as a Centre of Excellence designed to support the revitalisation of First Nations language and cultural practices, connect Community to culture, and create educational and employment pathways for Australia’s $122.3 billion creative industry.

This project will secure a long-term and sustainable future for a globally-significant cultural collection by investing in fit-for-purpose cultural infrastructure. The CCRC will foster the next generation of industry professionals, act as a hub for cultural activity and research in Western Sydney and improve community access to cultural collections.

Programs offered through the Centre will expand on the AM’s successful Pasifika and First Nations projects, which engage young First Nations and Pasifika people, professionals and educators, and community knowledge holders in truth telling, healing and interpretation work.

The CCRC includes:

• a 400 sqm public gallery
• 4 education, programming, and industry training spaces
• Established outdoor spaces for ceremony and engagement
• 3 storeys of fit-for-purpose collections housing facilities, conservation labs, and engagement spaces

The new CCRC will be situated on Dharawal land in Campbelltown within the Greater Macarthur Growth Area.

The CCRC will enable the AM to bring collections that are currently dispersed across three locations together onto one site in South West Sydney, bringing them geographically closer to some of the largest First Nations and Pasifika communities in Australia.

The facility will be located at the TAFE Campbelltown campus. This site is 40 minutes from the Australian Museum Sydney CBD site and establishes the CCRC within the major transport corridors connecting Sydney to Canberra and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.

Site Neighbours:

• TAFE Campbelltown;
• Western Sydney University;
• Macarthur Square;
• Campbelltown Arts Centre;
• Campbelltown Hospital;
• Australian Botanic Gardens, Mt Annan;
• Campbelltown CBD.

The CCRC delivers for NSW and National Cultural Strategies:

• Contributes to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap via Priority Reforms 3 and 4 and Core Outcomes 14, 15, and 16.
• Fulfils all 5 Core Principles of the NSW Government’s Creative Communities Policy.
• Delivers all 6 Strategic Priorities for the NSW Government’s Plan for Western Sydney Arts Culture and Creative Industries: 2025-2028
  • Directly addresses Action 2.6: The Australian Museum will establish new cultural engagement pathways in Western Sydney that prioritise First Nations and Pasifika voices through educational partnerships and community programs that advance truth-telling, healing, and Closing the Gap objectives, while supporting emerging practitioners from the region’s diverse communities. This work will also lay the groundwork for a future Cultural Collections and Research Centre for the AM’s First Nations and Pasifika Collections in Western Sydney, enabling deeper regional engagement and long-term social and economic benefit.
• Advances all 4 Focus Areas and all 3 Community Outcomes of the Campbelltown City Council’s Creative Campbelltown Cultural Strategy 2024-2030.
• Reflects all 10 Principles and all 5 Interconnected Pillars of the Australian Government’s Revive: The National Cultural Policy.