Economic Growth Statement - our progress
What is the Economic Growth Statement?
The Economic Growth Statement makes it easier and faster to do business here in Victoria.
Released in December 2024, the statement is focused on addressing challenges and opportunities for businesses, and will support investment, create jobs, boost priority sectors and drive exports.
The statement identifies 5 priority sectors. It includes:
- advanced manufacturing and defence
- health technologies and medical research
- circular economy
- digital technologies
- agribusiness.
These sectors align with the statement’s 4 key actions to help unlock economic opportunity.
The key actions are:
- Open doors: Backing business to invest, expand and innovate
- Cut red tape: Making it simpler to do business in Victoria
- Build new skills: Ensuring a workforce that’s ready to go
- Reach every community: A strong Victoria underpinned by a strong regional Victoria.
Why do we need the Economic Growth Statement?
Victoria is part of an interconnected global economy.
And like economies across Australia and around the world, we’re experiencing the challenges of:
- slowing productivity
- inflation
- elevated interest rates.
We also know that as a state we can do better when it comes to doing business with business.
The statement is squarely addressing these challenges – and enabling both government and business to build a strong economy and future.
Our role
Our department is delivering 22 initiatives in the Economic Growth Statement.
This means we play a key role in helping to build a strong economy for all Victorians.
We work to grow Victoria’s economy and create more opportunities by supporting businesses and industries to invest and expand, and by helping workers build the skills they need for the jobs they want.
Our progress
Select each action below to view the related initiatives:
As a state, we have so much to offer. It’s why we’re opening the door and rolling out the welcome mat – giving businesses certainty that ours is a state where they can invest, expand and innovate.
| Name and link | Description |
|---|---|
| Investment Front Door | Provides a streamlined, single-entry point for business to invest in Victoria. |
| Acts as an escalation point to ensure agencies, regulators and statutory authorities meet all required approvals | |
| Boosting Victorian Exports Package | Helps more small and medium-sized businesses:
|
| Victorian Industry Policy | Our framework to drive industry competitiveness, productivity and economic resilience. |
| Supporting businesses with high growth potential | Drives investment in priority sectors and delivers grants to business and industry, including in regional Victoria. |
| Yes to International Students Fund | Supports public Victorian universities and TAFEs to establish global partnerships and deliver education in Victoria and with overseas partners. |
| Boosting Business Skills Mentoring | Free mentoring to help small businesses navigate challenges, build capacity and achieve measurable success. |
| Clinical Trials | Builds on Victoria’s biotech capabilities. It enables industry sponsored clinical trials via specialised networks and delivers a new statewide fellowship program to support participation, awareness and capability building in clinical trials across health services. |
| Defence Supply Chain | Makes Victoria the natural choice for defence-related contracts with investment and trade facilitation activities, supporting:
|
| Breakthrough Victoria investment in Venture Capital funds | Boosts investment in Venture Capital funds to crowd in more private capital to the state to turbocharge investment in Victoria. |
By removing unnecessary red tape and simplifying government processes, we are enabling businesses to focus on what they do best: creating jobs, fostering innovation, and driving economic growth.
| Name and link | Description |
|---|---|
| Fast-track Priority Project Assessments | Provides dedicated support for high-value, high-complexity projects in the form of priority assessment teams. |
By investing in education, training, and upskilling, we will help create a pipeline of skilled workers – making sure industry have the talent they need now and for the future.
| Name and link | Description |
|---|---|
| Digital Jobs | Offers training in cutting-edge, in-demand, digital skills that are critical for innovation and technology adoption in construction and advanced manufacturing. |
| Skills Solutions Partnerships | Partners industry with TAFEs and dual-sector universities to design and pilot new short courses and on-the-job training. |
| AI for Recognition of Prior Learning | Assists employers and training providers to more rapidly and accurately assess a worker’s prior learning, helping workers avoid unnecessary training and fast-tracking their learning. |
| First Peoples Leadership Academy | The Academy was proposed by the Koori Caucus of the Yuma Yirramboi Council and will deliver culturally safe and self-determined opportunities for First Peoples to develop leadership and governance skills and capabilities, training our next generation of First Peoples leaders. |
| Future of Housing Construction Centre of Excellence | Run by Melbourne Polytechnic, the centre is helping to create a new generation of workers with skills in modern methods of construction. |
| Supporting Aboriginal Businesses | Initiatives to support Aboriginal businesses to become trade ready in domestic and international markets. This includes hosting the World Indigenous Business Forum in 2025 and supporting Kinaway Chamber of Commerce and Ngarrimili to help more Aboriginal businesses. |
A strong Victoria relies on a strong regional Victoria. It’s why as we grow our economy, we need to make sure that success is shared – with every corner of our state.
| Name and link | Description |
|---|---|
| RNA for Agriculture | Leverages Victoria’s position as a leader in mRNA technology. Melbourne is the only city in the world to host both BioNTech and Moderna facilities. RNA technology could:
|
| Destination Marketing (Visit Victoria) | Focusing on international, intrastate and interstate audiences, this investment will boost visitation and Victoria’s tourism sector. |
| Regional Economic Opportunities Portal (Investment Front Door) | Highlights business investment opportunities in regional Victoria for overseas and domestic businesses. |
| Regional Launching Pads | Offers new shared collaboration spaces, enabling regional businesses, entrepreneurs and investors to meet, work and collaborate. |
| Trunk Infrastructure in Regional Victoria | Invests in trunk infrastructure – things like water supply, sewerage, roads and electricity – to open up more industrial land across regional Victoria. |
What's next?
The Economic Growth Statement is our roadmap for a stronger Victorian economy.
Stay up to date with the progress on these initiatives through our news and articles.
Need more information?
For more information, read the full Economic Growth Statement or contact us.
Page last updated: 12 June 2026