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Museums are defined by the International Council of Museums as institutions, generally housed in one or more buildings, primarily engaged in the collection, acquisition, conservation and exhibition of the material evidence of people, their culture and environment, for the purpose of education and enjoyment by the general public and/or specialists. Conceptually, museums include art museums and historical theme parks, such as Sovereign Hill, but exclude commercial art galleries as they are regarded as retail outlets. However, in the discussion below and in tables 12.4 and 12.5, museums and art museums have been treated as separate entities.

In many cases, State museums and art museums were established many years before their national counterparts. As a result, a number of notable national collections are housed in museums operated by or through State Governments, rather than in the national institutions. The main national museums, art museums and cultural institutions are the National Museum of Australia, the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Australian War Memorial, the National Science and Technology Centre (Questacon), and the National Portrait Gallery. There are over 1,700 museums and art museums operating in Australia.

An on-line national access program, Australian Museums On Line (AMOL), has a database of information on over 1,000 museums. The site aims to offer access to information about every item held in museums in Australia. AMOL is an initiative of the Heritage Collections Council, which coordinates national approaches to caring for, and promoting access to, Australia's heritage collections. More detailed information on AMOL is shown in the section Multimedia.

Museums Australia, the peak industry association, has a membership base comprising those who work and contribute to Australia's museums and public galleries. The association's primary role is to advocate for the industry and provide a range of professional services to its members. The services are offered at a national, State and interest group level, and include professional development and training opportunities, newsletters, advocacy and representation.


Museum and art museum attendance

The 1999 Survey of Attendance at Selected Culture/Leisure Venues revealed that 3.0 million people, or 19.9% of the Australian population aged 15 and over, had visited a museum at least once in the previous 12 months. A total of 3.2 million people (21.2% of the Australian population aged 15 and over) had visited an art museum (table 12.4).