COVID-19 vaccination rates and Victoria's arts sector

Vaccination rates in Victoria were the key to COVID-19 public health restrictions easing across the state’s arts and entertainment sector, according to the roadmap released by the Victorian Government in November 2021. Once 90 per cent of the state’s eligible population of roughly 5.7 million people aged 12+ received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccination, the last restrictions on entertainment venues and music festivals were lifted on 19 November 2021, paving the way for the sector’s recovery.

This research paper provides a snapshot of the state of Victoria’s arts and entertainment sector between October 2021 and mid January 2022, as restrictions eased in line with vaccination rates rising. It also explores how state and local governments in Victoria implemented policy and allocated finances in order to provide relief to the sector, and the new challenges presented by the Omicron variant.