Australia is facing a serious decline in creative arts education. New research shows that over 40 creative arts courses have been cut in less than ten years. Many students in high school and university are choosing to study fewer creative arts subjects. The trend is linked to the job-ready graduate scheme started in 2021. This policy made arts and creative courses more expensive while making STEM courses cheaper. Under this scheme, creative arts degrees became 19% more expensive, and arts, society, and culture degrees soared by 116%. By 2026, a maths student will pay $4,738 annually, while a performing or visual arts student will pay over double that at $9,537. Humanities, media, and curatorial students face an even higher fee of $17,399 per year. Professor Sandra Gattenhof, co-author of the study, said, "There’s a disincentive for students to go into these areas and it’s not like they are big money making areas." She warned, "We’re heading into, within the next five years, a real reduction in the capacities to sustain a creative and cultural workforce... There will be an enormous decline in the amount of creative and artistic activity in Australia." Luke Sheehy, chief executive of Universities Australia, called reform of the scheme "urgent" and said, "It’s hurting students with higher fees and pushing some young Australians away from study altogether." The research found that from 2018 to 2025, 48 creative arts degrees were discontinued, wiping out entire programs in some states. Top universities like ANU, UTS, and Macquarie have also cut creative departments. At high school level, arts subject enrolments fell by 21% over eight years. Drama dropped by 39%, dance by 38%, media by 25%, music by 16%, and visual arts by 14%. Despite Australia investing $75.6 million in STEM education, there has been no major government effort to support arts education. Co-author Dr John Nicholas Saunders warned, "If the trend continues, we risk limiting who has access to arts learning... We risk becoming an artless country." Gattenhof added, "We really do need someone in government to take up the passion to recognise that we are in a crisis, and provide the leadership that STEM has had for arts, culture and creativity." The education minister Jason Clare and arts minister Tony Burke were contacted for comments.