Creative State 2028 is the Victorian Government’s latest cultural strategy, designed to strengthen the state’s creative industries and enhance the social, economic, and cultural benefits they deliver for Victorians. Its priorities strongly align with the values and objectives of Ausdance VIC and our 2026 Strategic Vision, launching in early January 2026.
Ausdance VIC Response to Creative State 2028: Strengthening Victoria’s Dance Sector
Creative State 2028 presents an aspirational vision for Victoria’s cultural future, outlining significant commitments to First Peoples First, the creative rights of children and young people, and greater equity across metropolitan, regional, and outer-suburban communities. From an Ausdance VIC perspective, these priorities strongly align with evidence emerging from community-embedded dance practice, particularly the importance of place-based approaches that acknowledge the cultural, social, and economic conditions shaping access to the arts.
First Peoples First and Cultural Leadership in Dance
Ausdance VIC welcomes the central focus on First Peoples First, including the prioritisation of First Peoples’ cultural leadership. This aligns closely with our ongoing advocacy for First Peoples-led dance and cultural programs that honour Country, relationality, and sovereignty as foundational to Victoria’s dance ecology. Recognising First Nations leadership is essential to building a culturally strong, inclusive, and future-focused dance sector.
Children and Young People: Pathways into the Dance Profession
We particularly celebrate the emphasis on children and young people, reflecting Ausdance VIC’s longstanding partnerships with youth dance companies that explore contemporary youth culture and create vital pathways into the dance profession. These initiatives demonstrate that Victoria’s dance sector is diverse in form, culture, and practice, while contributing significantly to health, wellbeing, and social cohesion for young people across the state.
Workforce Challenges Facing the Victorian Dance Sector
Creative State 2028 accurately identifies rising operating costs, skills shortages, and workforce precarity as systemic pressures affecting the arts sector. For the dance sector, these challenges disproportionately impact independent artists, small-to-medium organisations, and outer-metropolitan studios, particularly due to increasing rental, insurance, and compliance costs. While the strategy shows strong awareness of these issues, further clarity is needed regarding resourcing, funding mechanisms, and implementation timelines to support strategic planning and sector sustainability.
Translating Equity into Measurable Outcomes
A key strength of Creative State 2028 is its explicit commitment to equity. For the dance sector, however, these commitments must be translated into artistic, social, and economic pathways that deliver measurable outcomes. Ausdance VIC will continue to support skills development and address culturally specific program gaps, particularly in:
- Youth dance leadership
- First Nations dance programs
- CARM community engagement
Achieving this requires meaningful consultation, cultural knowledge, and an understanding of how dance is taught, practiced, and shared within diverse communities, alongside a sector-wide focus on research and impact measurement.
Building a Strong and Sustainable Dance Ecology
Ausdance VIC welcomes the directional clarity of Creative State 2028 and looks forward to working collaboratively with government to ensure these policy commitments translate into sustained, community-aligned, adequately funded, and measurable actions. With the right investment and implementation, Creative State 2028 has the potential to strengthen the entire Victorian dance ecology, benefiting artists, communities, and audiences across Victoria.