Australian community arts and mental health is described through its 40-year history with peaks of activity coinciding with federal labor governments and the establishment of four independent health promotion agencies from the late 1980s. The paper then takes a thematic approach to discussing the development of national approaches to supporting arts and health practice, data sources, current research and evaluation and advocacy challenges. The paper concludes by suggesting that under the current federal labor government arts and health may benefit from increasing recognition of the intrinsic benefits of arts participation and cultural rights.

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