AGNSW staff protest: quick links
After staging an initial staff walk-off on 27 August, AGNSW gallery workers marched off the job again on Tuesday (16 September) – this time calling directly on NSW Parliamentarians to end the gallery’s restructure, which will see 51 jobs lost after the State government cut $5.8 million from AGNSW’s budget.
Outlining staff concerns, Public Service Association (PSA) General Secretary Troy Wright highlighted the NSW Government’s continued insistence that AGNSW benchmark its staffing structure against the NGV’s model, which, when examined in raw terms, makes for a confusing comparison.
NGV staffing model criticised by union
Ahead of AGNSW staff’s latest protest action which saw around 100 gallery workers march on the steps of NSW Parliament, PSA General Secretary Troy Wright said in a statement that, ‘if the plan is to remake AGNSW in the image of the NGV [National Gallery of Victoria], let me remind you: the NGV is a cautionary tale, not a benchmark’.
He added that the union had received reports of the NGV’s ‘toxic workplace culture, burnout, and inappropriate behaviour [that] should not be ignored’.
Aside from these allegations, the hard numbers around the NGV’s current workforce do not appear to place the Victorian intuition in a fitting benchmark position for the AGNSW to follow.
According to its latest annual report, the NGV employs 482 staff, with a full time equivalent (FTE) headcount of 339.21.
Currently, AGNSW employs 382 staff (full-time equivalent unknown) – with around 310 of these positions being ongoing permanent AGNSW employees, and the remainder (approximately 72 staff) filling temporary or fixed-term positions.
After the NSW Government announced its $5.8 million budget cut to the AGNSW last month, the Gallery announced 51 roles would be cut across its organisation – equating to around 1 in 10 positions.
After these job cuts, AGNSW’s total staff headcount will decrease to 331. Yet that number is still lower than NGV’s current team of 482 people (or 339.21 FTE), making the NSW Government’s call for the Gallery to adopt a similar staffing structure to the NGV a confusing argument to follow.
AGNSW staff protest: swing to volunteer labour another key concern
Another key concern raised by AGNSW protesters on Tuesday was that the Gallery’s move towards engaging increased numbers of volunteers at the expense of paid employees.
According to a PSA union statement, the Gallery’s volunteer numbers were up from 236 volunteers in 2024, to 297 in 2025 — raising fears that paid, unionised jobs will be replaced with unpaid or contract roles.
PSA General Secretary Troy Wright said the figures indicate a ‘creeping reliance of volunteerism’, adding that, ‘it’s not about community engagement — it’s about cost-cutting by stealth’.
Wright also made it clear that AGNSW workers and the union were not against change, rather they were standing ‘against cuts that gut the Gallery while protecting privilege’.
