Music Victoria has welcomed a fresh batch of Victorian government live music commitments while flagging one big ask still outstanding.
Announced on 23 September, the measures include a permanent Live Music Desk, reform of EPA noise regulations, funding for all-ages events and a rule requiring Victorian government advertising to feature local music. The government has also flagged plans to gazette live music precincts and reverse the burden of proof for noise complaints, so venues inside a designated zone would no longer have to argue their right to exist. Music Victoria says most of these draw directly from Vote Victorian Music, the platform it built for the state election.
That campaign went public on 13 August, when more than 150 artists, venue operators, workers and industry figures gathered for the Victorian Music Assembly at Melbourne Town Hall. The platform is built around four priorities: locking in permanent funding, supporting sustainable careers, strengthening venues and infrastructure, and growing audiences and Victoria’s international standing.
Vote Victorian Music
- A permanent Live Music Desk
- EPA noise regulation reform
- Funding for all-ages events
- Gazetted live music precincts
- Reversing the burden of proof for noise complaints
- Mandatory Victorian music in state government advertising
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The noise pledge
The noise pledge slots into work already under way. The government announced reviews of the live music precinct system and the noise rules operating inside those zones back in October 2025, covering how councils set up precincts and how amplified music is managed once they’re designated.
The advertising commitment, meanwhile, would mean any government-produced ad campaign has to carry music made in the state. Both pledges follow a separate funding package revealed on 21 September, aimed at regional touring, festivals and local venue activation.
The centrepiece
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Still on the table is the campaign’s centrepiece: a legislated 1 per cent levy on major live music ticket sales, feeding a permanent Victorian Music Trust. Under the proposal, grassroots venues, smaller operators, low-cost gigs and all-ages shows would be exempt from paying in while remaining eligible to benefit, and the fund would be governed independently so it sits outside the rhythm of election-cycle grant rounds. Music Victoria’s position is that grant programs and planning tweaks, useful as they are, don’t fix the sector’s structural pressures on their own.
The body values Victoria’s contemporary music sector at $3.55 billion. As a not-for-profit, it says it will keep pressing every party ahead of the 28 November poll to commit to long-term, structural backing for grassroots music.
“There is more to be done”
“We welcome today’s announcement from the current Victorian Government which has backed our Vote Victorian Music policy platform — it’s a promise to action our calls for a Live Music Desk, EPA noise reform and mandated local music in advertising are direct wins for the collective advocacy by our entire sector, but there is more to be done,” Music Victoria CEO Fiona Duncan said.
“This commitment is a crucial milestone, but government grant rounds and planning reforms alone cannot fix structural industry pressures. The next crucial leap is establishing a legislated 1% stadium ticket levy to power a permanent Victorian Music Trust that’s free from the vulnerability of election cycles. When international superstars fill our stadiums, a fraction of that revenue needs to be directed back into Victorian venues, artists, and the grassroots ecosystem that supports them.”
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