All students are given an email account on enrolment. The NITA Macintosh Laboratories are the main teaching laboratories at the Institute and play a central role in the teaching of digital arts. Their facilities are shared by the School of Art, the School of Music and the Australian Centre for the Arts and Technology. All computer equipment is networked, allowing students to communicate with the international community and to carry out research using the resources available on the Internet. Once students are familiar with the labs, they are granted access to the facilities to pursue projects independently, though formal classes take priority on the timetable.
Software includes Netscape and other programs for Internet access and electronic mail.
The labs are used for a range of activities, including interactive multimedia production, digital image manipulation, 3D modelling, Web page production, graphic design, desktop publishing, audio file editing, desktop video and computer programming for music and visual art. This diversity reflects the wide scope of the art and music study programs offered by the National Institute of the Arts. Technical support and administration is carried out by an Academic Computer Support Officer. One lab is fitted with 16 Desktop G4 Macintoshes, a digital video deck, and FireWire DV interface capability. The other lab has 16 iMacs, which run all the same software except for QuarkXPress.