As well as promising a $600 million surplus and more money for health, education and cost-of-living measures, the Victorian Government has committed more than half a billion dollars to the state’s creative sector in the 2025–26 Budget.

Totalling $552.2 million, the investment will be delivered predominantly over the next four years and supports a range of initiatives spanning major cultural institutions, screen production, regional arts, First Peoples organisations and heritage conservation.

Geelong Arts Centre. Photo © Peter Foster

The centrepiece of the budget’s creative industries package is a $475.3 million allocation over five years to sustain the operations of Victoria’s leading public cultural institutions. Arts Centre Melbourne, Museums Victoria, the National Gallery of Victoria, State Library Victoria, the Melbourne Recital Centre, Geelong Arts Centre and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image will benefit from increased base funding, giving them financial certainty and long-term planning capability.

In the last financial year, the institutions listed above welcomed more than 11.2 million visitors from across the state, country and internationally – up from 10.8 million the previous year.

Victoria’s booming screen industry is another major winner, receiving $50.2 million over two years. This includes support...