Breakthrough Victoria pivots with $7.5 million startup fellowship program to create 50 startups

The Victorian government will invest $150,000 each to create 50 new startups and pay their salary for the year as part of an entrepreneurship program run by Breakthrough Victoria.

Treasurer and economic growth minister Tim Pallas announced a $7.5 million million investment in the Breakthrough Victoria University Innovation Platform Fellowship Program, which will establish up to 50 new startups by supporting early-stage researchers and PhD candidates to bring their ideas market, saying it will create at least 50 new local jobs.

The program is open to undergraduates, postgraduates and recent graduates from Victorian universities and medical research institutes and will contribute up to $150,000 per startup to fund research commercialisation, plus tailored mentoring and skills development. It will roll out over se

“This new program is going to help more brilliant Victorian researchers take their research to the next level and get products into market – boosting jobs and supporting business growth in the state while cementing Victoria as a world-class startup hub,” Pallas said.

The Fellowship Program is part of the $100 million Breakthrough Victoria – University Innovation Platform, a partnership with the Deakin, La Trobe, Monash University, RMIT, Swinburne and Melbourne universities to commercialise research.

Breakthrough Victoria acting CEO, Lauren Morrey said the fellowships “empowers recent graduates to dive into entrepreneurship” after they graduate.

“This program bolsters Breakthrough Victoria’s strategy to back high-potential research and ensure it doesn’t lose momentum in the critical early stages,” she said.

Fellows will receive a salary between $60,000 and $90,000 from the Breakthrough Victoria investment, with remaining funds for additional hiring or product development. Applicants must have graduated or completed their PhD before starting the program, which begins in July 2025. It will run over several years.

The Treasurer said it will also attract local, interstate and international entrepreneurial talent to Victorian universities.