APRA’s Nicholas Pickard Picked for Screen Australia Board

APRA AMCOS’ Nicholas Pickard will play a part in Australia’s storytelling across the big and small screens.

Pickard is the music industry stakeholder on the Screen Australia board, one of three appointments announced by Tony Burke, MP, minster for the arts.

Currently, Pickard serves as executive director of public affairs and government relations for APRA AMCOS, and as deputy chair of regional arts NSW and the chair of the Australian Society of Authors.

He brings to the board “extensive experience in the Australian and international public and corporate sector with leading expertise in creative and cultural industries,” reads a statement issued from Canberra.

With APRA AMCOS, he helped facilitated the first-ever multi-million dollar contemporary music policies from both the federal government and opposition prior to the 2019 election and played lead on campaigns for government support of the industry during the pandemic.

Tony Burke

A former journalist, theatre critic and ministerial adviser with experience in London, Canberra and Sydney, Pickard was previously director corporate affairs for the Copyright Agency, prior to joining the music business.

Pickard joins actors Marta Dusseldorp and Sacha Horler as members of the Screen Australia board, each serving for three-year terms.

These appointments will strengthen the experience and knowledge of the Screen Australia board, notes Burke, a years-long advocate for the music industry who took the arts portfolio when the Albanese government swept into power following the May federal election.

“Telling Australian stories – here at home and overseas – is essential, and Screen Australia plays a vital role in that,” Burke adds. “Making sure Screen Australia has strong and diverse leadership is essential to the prosperity of Australia’s screen sector – a key priority of our National Cultural Policy.”

These three professionals “are industry leaders in their own right, and I know their appointments will build on the important work of Screen Australia.”

In shaping the policy, the federal government hosted 14 town hall meetings around the country, taking input from musicians, creators, industry leaders and more, and accepted more than 1,200 written submissions before the Aug. 22 cut-off.

Speaking with The Guardian in July, Burke remarked, “I want to make sure that national cultural policy speaks to the particular challenges in arts industries and within this policy there needs to be assurances of a safe workplace for women,” and cited Jaguar Jonze speaking out against abusive industry professionals as one example.

Expert review panels will be called upon to identify the key issues and themes raised through the public consultation process, and help craft what “will be a comprehensive roadmap for Australia’s arts and culture sectors for the decades ahead,” reads a statement from Burke’s office.