By Liz Hobday

When the federal government launched Australia’s cultural policy at the start of 2023, it came with the promise of a national poet laureate.

While poets might not be known for punctuality, almost four years later no one has been appointed to the $80,000-a-year post, and an expected November announcement has been delayed.

Writers who have published at least three professional books of poetry are eligible for the post.

Nominations closed back in March.

Still, it’s perhaps not such a long wait, given Australia’s first and only poet laureate was appointed in 1810: former convict Michael Massey Robinson was paid two cows for his services.

The selection process is well under way, according to arts funding body Creative Australia, which says it is working towards announcing the laureate in early 2027.

“We recognise the importance of this inaugural appointment,” it said in a statement to AAP.

“Our focus is on establishing strong foundations for a national role that will champion Australian poetry and reach new audiences.”

A new government body, Writing Australia, was established under Creative Australia in July 2025 with a council that includes poet Sarah Holland-Batt.

The body is funded to the tune of $26 million over three years, with appointing a poet laureate one of its main jobs.

The role has great potential, but the inaugural laureate will have to carve out the scope of the job themselves, Australian Poetry journal chief executive and publisher Melinda Bufton said.

The selection process comes as authors more generally contend with the decline of traditional publishing models, an increase in political attacks on writers, and the impact of artificial intelligence.

A 2022 survey of Australian authors found the average annual income from their creative work is $18,200 – well below the poverty line.

It appears there’s no income data specifically for poets, and Bufton points out most work in the sector is unpaid.

“It does feel urgent for poets because it can be difficult for people to be able to write … to develop and maintain a career is really challenging,” she told AAP.

In terms of Creative Australia funding, literature got the least of any of the major art forms in 2024-25, receiving $8.3 million or three per cent of available funding – half that of the visual arts sector.

In its first year, Writing Australia spent more than $7 million on the sector, according to Creative Australia.

The process of appointing Australia’s poet laureate could not be a sharper contrast with finding the winners of the 2026 national poetry slam, held earlier in October.

“We throw five chocolates into the audience, and whoever gets a chocolate gets an instant PhD in poetry, and they become the second round judges,” organiser Miles Merrill said.

Newcastle poet Blake Mackenzie, 12, and Alice Springs poet Bivor were crowned champions in the national finals held at the Sydney Opera House, with poems addressing war, racism, inequality, and chatbots.

Merrill wonders whether a laureate can really represent the current moment in Australia – and he wonders who’s making the call, and why it’s taking this long.

“Are we waiting on peers? Are we waiting on Creative Australia? Are we waiting on ministers? You know, I would love to know,” he said.

Peak writers body the Australian Society of Authors said it was unable to comment on the delay and referred enquiries to Writing Australia.

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