Victorian Government providing additional $32 million to creative agencies and initiatives

The Victorian Government is backing Victorian sport, tourism and creative industries, with $150 million to save jobs and ensure our best experiences are available on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Experience Economy Survival Package unveiled today will support sporting clubs and competitions across the state – from grassroots to elite – as well as major tourist attractions, galleries and museums, and the racing industry. Together, these sectors contribute nearly $70 billion to the Victorian economy and support hundreds of thousands of jobs, but they have been hit hard by measures to slow the spread of the virus and save lives. The investment announced today will help these industries ride out the impacts of the pandemic and reboot, rebound and recover.

The package includes $40 million for community sport and recreation bodies including state sporting associations, leagues and clubs – to help them return strongly after the pandemic. A further $16 million will go to national sporting organisations, and $5.3 million will support the State Sport Centres Trust and the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust. The Government will also invest $44 million in the state’s racing industry, to help secure jobs and bolster racing clubs across the state.

More than $32 million will support creative agencies and initiatives, including funding for the Geelong Arts Centre, Museums Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne and Melbourne Recital Centre and $6 million for live music industry workers and to bolster the oversubscribed Sustaining Creative Workers initiative.

These funds are in addition to the $16.8 million support package recently announced for creative industries and bring the total survival package for jobs in the creative sector to more than $49 million.

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said:

Victoria has the best galleries, museums and performance venues in the country – and one of the best live music scenes anywhere in the world. They are central to life in this state and this funding is vital to safeguarding jobs in the $31 billion creative industries economy.

The package also includes $11 million for Victoria’s tourism industry, with funding for the Emerald Tourist Railway Board (Puffing Billy) and other not-for-profit and privately-owned visitor attractions, plus regional tourism boards and the Victorian Tourism Industry Council.