The centre is funded mainly by Commonwealth, state and local government sources, but also by private sponsors and organisations, and generates its own income.

It has partnered with the Sydney Biennale twice, as well as other organisations such as the Campbelltown Arts Centre to mount major exhibitions and events.

[9] However, at the same time, the influence of both Indigenous Australian art and that of Australia's migrants was being felt and discussed at conferences, in writing and in artistic circles.

[19] In March 2014 Edmund Capon OBE AM was appointed chair of the board,[20] a position he retained until his death in 2019.

[22] In April 2021, the Copyright Agency's cultural fund announced the launch of a Copyright Agency Partnerships three-year artistic commission series, in partnership with 4A, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne, and the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane.

[1] 4A is supported by government, cultural and commercial partners, in order to present exhibitions, performance art, projects and programs relating to artists at all levels of their careers; run residency programs for emerging artists to help develop their careers; consult with the community; and engage in advocacy.

[27] Fiona McGregor wrote in 2015 that, 20 years after its inception, 4A "remains a vanguard, a much needed touchstone of the land we live on, its regional location and the specifics of art from those places".

[32][33][34] The role of Director had been previously held by Mikala Tai for five years, before she was appointed Head of Visual Arts at the Australia Council.

[1] Edge of Elsewhere was a three-year collaboration with the Campbelltown Arts Centre which commissioned artists from Australia, Asia and the Pacific region to create new works, produced for the Sydney Festival from 2010 to 2012.

[39][28][29] The five-month project was put on at 4A's galleries and several off-site locations, and also included site-specific projects and film screenings,[40] supported with Commonwealth Government funding by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia-China Council of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as the City of Sydney and the Chinese Garden of Friendship at Darling Harbour.

[44] In 2021, an exhibition entitled I am a heart beating in the world: Diaspora Pavilion 2 was presented by the Campbelltown Arts Centre in collaboration with 4A and the International Curators Forum (ICF), featuring the work of six artists, including Australians Abdul-Rahman Abdullah and Lindy Lee.

The first of a series of ICF's Diaspora Pavilion events run in collaboration with 4A, it afterwards moves to London and Venice for the second edition.