Australian Festival Association launched to create ‘world-leading’ standards

A group of major festival promoters have united to set up the Australian Festival Association to help “deliver safe and well-run festivals around Australia, and establishing world-leading operating standards for our industry.”

An introductory statement for the Association advises "we support our members to continually improve their operational practices through access to our extensive resources, including festival best practice guides, liquor license application troubleshooting, AFA forums and conferences, industry contacts and legal advice. Where our interests conflict with those of regulatory bodies, we strive to find rational, evidence based solutions.”

The five board members are Jessica Ducrou (Splendour in the Grass, Falls, Download); Matthew Lazarus-Hall (CMC Rocks Queensland); Rod Little (Groovin The Moo, The Plot); Adelle Robinson (Listen Out, Listen In, Field Day, Harbourlife, Curve Ball); and Danny Rogers (St Jerome’s Laneway).

Membership is open to festivals that have been operating for three years or more, are ticketed and licensed to sell alcohol, and draw 2,000 attendees or more.

Industry membership is open to festival professionals as site managers, production managers and bar operators, as well as venues and venue groups working alongside the festival industry.

For more information go to www.australianfestivalassociation.com

Festival image courtesy of Sarah Colwell.