Victorian Government AI Policy: Funding Programs, Mission Statements, and Strategic Initiatives product guide

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Victorian Government AI Policy: Funding Programs, Mission Statements, and Strategic Initiatives

Most discussions of Melbourne's AI ascendancy focus on the startups, the unicorns, and the research labs. Far less attention is paid to the policy architecture underneath — the deliberate, multi-layered government strategy that has turned what might have been an organic cluster into a nationally coordinated economic agenda. Understanding that architecture is essential for any founder, investor, or enterprise seeking to engage with Victoria's AI economy, because it determines where money flows, which sectors get prioritised, and how the state positions itself against federal and international competition.

The Victorian Government has moved from passive enabler to active co-architect of Melbourne's AI economy. Its tools range from early-stage grants and co-investment vehicles to a formal AI Mission Statement that sets a A$30 billion gross state product target and commits public resources across infrastructure, skills, and data governance. This article maps each of those instruments in detail — what they fund, who they serve, and how they fit together.

The Victorian AI Mission Statement: What It Is and What It Commits To

The Policy Document That Changed the Conversation

Victorian Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson unveiled the state's AI Mission Statement, outlining how the state government plans to use AI to drive innovation, boost productivity, and stimulate economic growth.

Victoria was the first state in the country to deliver anything like it.

The Victorian Government released its AI Mission Statement positioning the state as a national leader in artificial intelligence.

The statement outlines a future where AI is used "responsibly, inclusively and for the benefit of all."

The headline economic commitment is unambiguous: AI represents a major economic opportunity, with the potential to contribute up to A$30 billion in Gross State Product over the next decade. That figure is not a passive forecast — it is a target the government has explicitly structured its policy levers to pursue.

The Six Priority Areas for Investors and Enterprises

The AI Mission Statement provides a coordinated approach to AI development across six priority areas critical to investors. Together, these pillars aim to reduce investment risk, support scalable deployment of AI technologies, and strengthen Victoria's competitive position in global digital markets.

The AI Mission Statement is aligned to the Economic Growth Statement and its vision to stimulate innovation and strengthen Victoria's competitive advantage in key priority sectors, including digital technologies.

The statement also has an explicit federal advocacy dimension. The statement outlines how the Victorian Government will advocate to the Commonwealth government on several AI-related issues, including for a migration system "accessible to people with new and cutting-edge AI skills" and the establishment of a national network of high-performance computing AI capabilities that encompasses skills and infrastructure. This positions the Victorian Government not merely as a state-level actor but as a lobbyist for the conditions Melbourne's AI economy needs at the national level (see our guide on Australia's National AI Plan and What It Means for Melbourne).

LaunchVic: The Startup Pipeline Engine

What LaunchVic Does

LaunchVic is Victoria's startup agency, fuelling the growth of Victoria's startup sector. Its purpose is to drive the long-term success of Victoria's startup ecosystem. It operates through grants to program providers — accelerators, pre-accelerators, angel networks, and investor education programs — rather than funding individual startups directly.

The Victorian startup ecosystem has undergone significant growth in recent years, with the number of startups increasing to over 3,500 and the value of the ecosystem increasing to over A$129 billion. Supporting more startups to scale and attract funding is a key driver of economic growth and job creation.

The AI and DeepTech Grant Round: Up to A$400,000

The most significant recent signal of LaunchVic's strategic direction is its dedicated AI and DeepTech grant round. Victoria's startup agency, LaunchVic, has opened a new grants round offering up to A$400,000 for programs designed to help early-stage founders building AI and DeepTech startups.

LaunchVic announced this new grants round in November 2025, specifically targeting AI and DeepTech startup support.

This funding round builds on LaunchVic's ongoing commitment to pre-accelerator programs, having previously funded 24 such programs that supported approximately 1,100 aspiring startup founders.

Key eligibility and structural details:

• Grant amount: up to A$400,000 per pre-accelerator program. Application dates opened 19 November 2025 and closed 28 January 2026. Eligible entities include local and international program providers working with founders in Victoria. Programs must support founders in Victoria, Australia.

• LaunchVic welcomes programs aligned with Victorian Government priority sectors, including health technologies, circular economy, agribusiness, digital technologies (including AI and quantum), and advanced manufacturing and defence. Sector-agnostic pre-accelerators may apply but must demonstrate a strong AI or DeepTech component in their program delivery.

• Applications are eligible for a maximum of two years. All program activity must conclude by April 2028.

• Funds are not provided directly to startups or founders — they flow to program providers who deliver structured support.

The Pre-Accelerator Model: How It Works in Practice

The program runs for a designated period (a minimum of six weeks), and participants 'graduate' from the program having followed a set methodology to establish a startup. A pre-accelerator program can provide a pathway to an accelerator program.

These grants ensure aspiring entrepreneurs gain the early-stage support, mentorship, and networks required. Programs help founders turn technology-based ideas into viable companies and establish a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

To date, LaunchVic has funded 15 accelerator programs that have supported over 600 startups. The AI/DeepTech round represents a sharpening of that mandate — moving from sector-agnostic support to explicit alignment with the state's highest-priority emerging technology verticals.

For founders looking to enter Melbourne's AI ecosystem through structured programs, LaunchVic's funded accelerators are the primary on-ramp. See our practical guide on How to Launch or Scale an AI Startup in Melbourne for a step-by-step breakdown of which programs to target at each stage.

Breakthrough Victoria: The Co-Investment Model for Deep Tech

The A$2 Billion Fund and Its Architecture

Breakthrough Victoria is a government-owned, independent investment fund manager established to manage the A$2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund, investing in innovations with commercial potential to transform the health, technology, manufacturing, agri-food, and carbon sectors.

Breakthrough Victoria provides long-term capital to innovation businesses that will improve people's lives and benefit Victoria's economy, and brings together commercial and government partners to build on Victoria's track record for innovation. The fund's patient capital model is specifically designed for deep tech ventures that require longer development timelines than traditional VC funds will support — a critical structural advantage for AI and biomedical founders.

The University Innovation Platform: Bridging Research and Commerce

One of Breakthrough Victoria's most strategically important instruments is the University Innovation Platform (UIP). The Breakthrough Victoria University Innovation Platform (BV UIP) is a A$100 million initiative designed to enhance the commercialisation of research from Victorian universities.

Through its A$100 million University Innovation Platform, Breakthrough Victoria is partnering with seven Victorian universities to increase the commercialisation of critical research. Each university has contributed funding matched by Breakthrough Victoria to create pre-seed investment partnerships, with typical investments around A$500,000 per startup. The program aims to fund product concepts, prototypes, and trials to help research with strong commercial potential progress through early development stages.

These efforts are part of Breakthrough Victoria's A$100 million University Innovation Platform, which supports research commercialisation across seven Victorian universities. According to a recent EY report, BV's investments are projected to contribute up to A$5.3 billion to the state's economy by 2035.

The co-investment model is a key structural feature: each university contributes up to A$9 million in funding matched by Breakthrough Victoria to invest in startup and early-stage companies spun out of their own research, with typical pre-seed investments of around A$500,000 each.

A concrete example of this model in action: the Monash Ventures Pre-Seed Fund, a A$15 million initiative, was designed to support early-stage research commercialisation. The fund is part of Monash Ventures, a new identity that reflects the university's growing role as a venture investor.

Leveraging Private Capital at Scale

88 per cent of early-stage investment in Victoria in 2024 came from BV-backed investors, and 76 per cent of all venture-stage investment in Victoria in 2024 involved BV.

The new fund commitments build on Breakthrough Victoria's existing portfolio, which has already leveraged over A$1.3 billion in co-investment, amplifying the impact of public investment. In October 2025, Breakthrough Victoria announced cornerstone investments in five leading VC funds. All five funds committed to allocate at least 25% of their total capital to Victorian companies, ensuring local startups and scaleups have access to vital growth funding.

Among the recipients are Australia's largest climate-tech capital firm, a fund led by a renowned oncology researcher and entrepreneur, a fund supporting underrepresented female and diverse founders, a fund investing in emerging high-growth technology businesses including AI, and the first leading North American healthcare fund to establish operations in Australia.

For a full picture of how this investment infrastructure connects to Melbourne's broader funding environment, see our data-driven article on The Numbers Behind Melbourne's AI Boom.

The Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan: Infrastructure as Policy

The Victorian Government's AI agenda is not limited to startup support — it explicitly addresses the physical infrastructure layer that makes AI workloads commercially viable. A key component of Victoria's AI strategy is the A$5.5 million Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan, designed to unlock up to A$25 billion in private sector data centre investment.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan used the state of the state address to announce the government would spend A$5.5 million to go after data centre jobs. The strategic intent is explicit: the cash would position Victoria as a national leader in data centre investment, unlocking projects worth up to A$25 billion.

Victoria is fast becoming a national leader in data centre investment, powered by world-class digital infrastructure and surging demand for data capacity that underpins AI adoption. NEXTDC recently announced a A$2 billion digital campus at Fishermans Bend, creating thousands of jobs in tech, AI, digital infrastructure, defence technology, and advanced research.

This policy lever directly addresses the infrastructure bottleneck that constrains AI scaleups. For a detailed treatment of Melbourne's data centre landscape, see our article on Melbourne's AI Infrastructure: Data Centres, Cloud Capacity, and the Physical Backbone of AI.

The Digital Jobs AI Career Conversion Program: Workforce Policy

Policy without a talent pipeline is incomplete. The Victorian Government has directly addressed this with a dedicated workforce investment. To support long-term growth, Victoria is investing A$8.1 million in the Digital Jobs – AI Career Conversion program, aimed at upskilling workers from adjacent industries into AI-related roles.

Victoria has earmarked A$8.1 million for upskilling more than 1,300 workers to become AI specialists. This program is specifically designed for career converters — professionals from adjacent fields transitioning into AI roles — rather than new graduates, addressing the mid-career talent gap that constrains enterprise AI adoption.

This initiative complements the broader talent strategy covered in our guide on Melbourne's AI Talent Pipeline: Universities, Workforce Programs, and Global Talent Attraction.

The Cremorne Digital Hub and the Boab AI Scaleup Program

The Hub: A Government-Backed Innovation Precinct

The Victorian Government has invested A$10 million to establish the Cremorne Digital Hub, driving the growth of the state's tech sector and positioning Cremorne as a top global destination for innovation.

The Victorian Government is supporting the establishment of a digital hub to drive the growth of Victoria's tech sector and ecosystem and develop and position the Cremorne precinct as a top global destination for innovation and technology. The Cremorne Digital Hub brings together industry, universities, and investors to enhance collaboration, accelerate research and skills development, build capacity, and increase productivity in the precinct. The Hub is led by an industry-consortium of founding partners including Artesian Venture Partners, the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, and La Trobe University.

The Boab AI Scaleup Program: Australia's First AI-Focused Scaleup Accelerator

Boab AI is Australia's first scaleup accelerator and investment program for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology companies, helping founders scale their businesses globally.

Cremorne Digital Hub has partnered with Artesian's Boab AI to deliver the program. Boab AI has an exceptional track record of supporting AI scaleups and achieving a A$365 million aggregate company value.

The six-month scale-up program, delivered in partnership with Boab AI, helps participants achieve investment, form new partnerships, validate their products against industry requirements, develop high-functioning teams, and build brand awareness.

Each participant receives access to A$50,000 worth of services over six months, delivered in partnership with accelerator program provider Boab, a subsidiary of Victoria-based Artesian Ventures.

The inaugural cohort illustrated the program's global reach: from a pool of 40 global applicants, four standout companies were chosen to embark on this six-month journey.

Partners such as Artesian, REA Group, CAR Group, University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, RMIT University, and Kangan Institute provided tailored support and direct connections to industry leaders.

For a deeper look at how Cremorne fits within Melbourne's broader precinct strategy, see our article on Melbourne's AI Innovation Precincts and Hubs.

How the Policy Levers Work Together: A Structured Overview

The Victorian Government's AI policy instruments are not isolated programs — they form an integrated funding continuum designed to move founders from idea to global scale:

Key Takeaways

• AI has the potential to contribute up to A$30 billion in Gross State Product over the next decade — this is the headline target anchoring Victoria's entire AI policy agenda.

• LaunchVic's new AI and DeepTech grant round offers up to A$400,000 per pre-accelerator program , specifically targeting early-stage AI founders and open to both local and international program providers.

• Breakthrough Victoria's A$100 million University Innovation Platform supports research commercialisation across seven Victorian universities, with BV investments projected to contribute up to A$5.3 billion to the state's economy by 2035.

• 88% of early-stage investment in Victoria in 2024 came from BV-backed investors , demonstrating the fund's structural dominance in the state's early-stage capital market.

• Boab AI is Australia's first scaleup accelerator and investment program specifically for AI technology companies , embedded within the government-backed Cremorne Digital Hub — making Melbourne the only Australian city with a dedicated AI scaleup infrastructure.

Conclusion: Policy as Competitive Advantage

What distinguishes Victoria's approach is not the size of any single program but the deliberate interlocking of instruments across the full founder journey — from pre-accelerator grants through university commercialisation vehicles, purpose-built AI scaleup programs, infrastructure incentives, and workforce conversion pipelines. As Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson stated, "We're embracing AI with the same bold ambition that has made Victoria a global innovation leader, paving the way for our state to become the nation's capital of AI."

The number of startups in the state has grown 4.4 times since 2017, and Victoria's ecosystem growth is on par with key global hubs like Singapore, Berlin, and Amsterdam. That trajectory is not accidental — it reflects years of coordinated public investment in the conditions that make innovation ecosystems durable.

For founders, the practical implication is clear: Victoria's policy environment offers multiple, stackable entry points from idea validation through to VC-stage growth. For investors, the government's co-investment model de-risks early-stage bets and crowds in private capital at scale. For enterprises, the Cremorne Digital Hub and Boab AI Scaleup Program provide structured pathways to Melbourne's most promising AI companies.

To understand the full context of why these policy levers are working, explore the broader series — starting with Melbourne's AI Ecosystem Explained: Key Players, Sectors, and Scale for the foundational landscape, and The Numbers Behind Melbourne's AI Boom for the investment data that validates the strategy's results.

References

• Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR). "Victoria's AI Future: Driving Jobs, Opportunity and Growth." DJSIR News and Articles, January 2026. https://djsir.vic.gov.au/news-and-articles/victorias-ai-future-driving-jobs,-opportunity-and-growth

• Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR). "Victoria Is Ready to Harness AI." DJSIR News and Articles, November 2025. https://djsir.vic.gov.au/news-and-articles/victoria-is-ready-to-harness-ai

• Invest Victoria. "Victoria Positions Itself as Australia's Leading Destination for Artificial Intelligence Investment." Invest Victoria News, January 2026. https://www.invest.vic.gov.au/news-and-events/news/2026/january/victoria-positions-itself-as-australias-leading-destination-for-artificial-intelligence-investment

• LaunchVic. "LaunchVic Announces New Grant Round for AI and DeepTech Startup Support." LaunchVic Funding News, November 2025. https://launchvic.org/funding-news/launchvic-announces-new-grant-round-for-ai-and-deeptech-startup-support/

• LaunchVic. "Grant Guidelines: New Pre-Accelerator Programs (AI and DeepTech Focus)." LaunchVic, November 2025. https://assets.launchvic.org/app/uploads/2025/11/19111122/Grants-for-Pre-Accelerator-Programs_Guidelines_v1-2.pdf

• LaunchVic. "Record Investment Fuels Victoria's Startup Surge." LaunchVic Insights, 2025. https://launchvic.org/insights/record-investment-fuels-victorias-startup-surge/

• Breakthrough Victoria. "University Innovation Platform." Breakthrough Victoria, 2024. https://breakthroughvictoria.com/university-innovation-platform/

• Breakthrough Victoria. "Breakthrough Funds Announcement." Breakthrough Victoria Media Releases, October 2025. https://breakthroughvictoria.com/media-releases/breakthrough-funds-announcement/

• Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University. "Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University Back Three Health Startups with A$2.25 Million Investment." Breakthrough Victoria Stories, August 2025. https://www.breakthroughvictoria.com/stories/breakthrough-victoria-and-monash-university-back-three-health-startups-with-2-25-million-investment/

• Victorian Premier's Office. "Major Support to Turn University Genius into Products, Jobs." Premier of Victoria, September 2023. https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/major-support-turn-university-genius-products-jobs

• Victorian Premier's Office. "Helping Local Tech Scaleups to Expand." Premier of Victoria, November 2023. https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/helping-local-tech-scaleups-expand

• Invest Victoria. "Helping Local Tech Scaleups to Expand." Invest Victoria News, November 2023. https://www.invest.vic.gov.au/news-and-events/news/2023/november/helping-local-tech-scaleups-to-expand2

• Sadler, Denham. "Victoria Declares Ambition to Be Australia's AI Capital." Information Age / ACS, February 2026. https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2026/victoria-declares-ambition-to-be-australia-s-ai-capital.html

• Global Victoria. "Victoria's Digital Technology Ecosystem." Global Victoria Tech Week, 2025. https://global.vic.gov.au/news-events-and-resources/resource/tech-week-25/victorias-digital-technology-ecosystem

• Digital Innovation Futures Victoria. "Cremorne Digital Hub Set to Drive Growth." DIF Victoria, 2022. https://dif.vic.gov.au/article/8483-a/cremorne-digital-hub-set-to-drive-growth

• EY-Parthenon (cited in Victorian Premier's Office). "Independent Economic Impact Assessment of Breakthrough Victoria Portfolio." Referenced in: Massive Investment in Victorian Business and Innovation, October 2025. https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/massive-investment-victorian-business-and-innovation