Creative industries

Victoria's creative economy contributed $41.1 billion to the state's economy in 2023-24 and make up 8.4% of the Victorian economy. The sector employs more than 340,000 Victorians.

Victoria’s creative industries include a diverse range of fields including arts and culture, design, games and screen. The creative industries are significant to Victoria's culture, economy and society and central to its future.

Driving Victoria’s exports and cultural tourism

The creative industries offer both export and cultural tourism opportunities for investors, generating around $1.4 billion in exports and attracting cultural tourism worth $1 billion.

Overall, in 2026 the creative industries employ approximately 343,623 people state-wide and have wide-ranging social and cultural impacts that resonate across our communities.

Creative industries are an evolving mix of sectors spanning arts and culture, screen and design. They cover disciplines as diverse as game development and graphic design, fashion and film making, media and music, comedy and craft; and include activities that are both commercially-driven and community-based, experimental and export-intense.

Our creative industries are important to our prosperity. They will drive new approaches to job creation and industry innovation. As our economy transitions and the new jobs of the future emerge, creative industries will be increasingly important to the economic future of the next generation.

Find out more about some of these opportunities below. You can also visit the Creative Victoria website for more information.

Games

Representing close to half of Australia’s digital games industry, Victoria is home to 170 game development studios, animation houses and games industry service providers – ranging from leading global companies to smaller boutique developers. Work produced in Victoria makes an impact on a global stage.

Design

More than 195,000 people in Victoria are employed in design-related roles – in everything from graphic design, branding and communications design, architecture, industrial and digital design, interior design and landscape design, user experience design, fashion design, urban design and more.

This represents a significant part of the Victorian economy (around A$7 billion annually) and generates more than A$200 million in design related exports.

Screen

Victoria is one of Australia’s premier destinations for film and TV – it’s Australia’s home of television drama, has one of Australia’s major film studios (Docklands Studios Melbourne) and runs one of the oldest film festivals in the world, the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Our film and television sector contributes around $3 billion to the Victorian economy each year and employs more than 10,000 people.

Find out more about Melbourne’s creative industries at Creative Victoria – Our strategy.

Victoria's strengths

Victoria is the national leader in visual and performing arts
The state is home to leading libraries, galleries and museums
Host to a myriad of festivals and dynamic literary and live music scenes

Victoria hosts at least 50,000 live music concerts each year and stages three times more live music performances than the national average. It is also home to more songwriters than anywhere else in Australia.
Our literary and publishing sector has been recognised internationally with the designation as a UNESCO City of Literature.

Useful websites

Business and investment

Industry associations

Please note: The information, services and views expressed that may appear on any linked websites are not necessarily endorsed by the Skilled and Business Migration Program and the Victorian Government. It is recommended that you make your own enquiries as to the appropriateness and suitability of the information on this site for your particular circumstances.