Victoria’s environmental landscape has been dealt a significant one-two punch just weeks before Christmas, with the State Government announcing the permanent closure of Sustainability Victoria and the National Sustainable Living Festival declaring a sudden hiatus for 2026.

The shake-up comes as the Allan Labor Government moves to implement the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Victorian Public Service—known as the “Silver Review”—aimed at slashing waste and tightening the public purse.

End of an Era for Sustainability Victoria

After 20 years of operation, Sustainability Victoria (SV) will be abolished, with its functions either ceased or absorbed by other departments. The decision follows the release of the Silver Review, led by former public service chief Helen Silver, which identified opportunities to reduce “waste and inefficiencies” across the public sector.

In its official response, the Victorian Government stated that the specific agency was no longer required because environmental sustainability and energy efficiency programs had now “been adopted by other Victorian government entities.”

The closure of SV is part of a broader culling of government bodies that will see 29 entities merged, absorbed, or wound down. Other casualties include:

• Cladding Safety Victoria, set to close by December 2025.
• VicHealth, to be absorbed into the Department of Health.
• LaunchVic, whose functions will merge into Invest Victoria.

The overhaul will result in the reduction of 332 executive roles and over 1,000 public sector jobs in total, a move the government claims will save the budget over $4 billion across the next four years.

Writing on social media, Sustainability Victoria CEO Matt Genever confirmed the “winding down” of the organisation just months after it celebrated its 20th anniversary.

“I will never feel anything other than immense pride for the work of SV and its people,” Genever stated, noting the agency’s legacy in transforming policy into practice and diverting waste from landfill.

Festival Forced into Hiatus

Compounding the shock for the sector, the organisers of the National Sustainable Living Festival announced they would be entering a “planning hiatus” for 2026.

For a quarter of a century, the festival has been a fixture of Victoria’s cultural calendar, drawing tens of thousands of attendees annually. However, organisers revealed that the City of Melbourne had unexpectedly pulled its funding support, ending a 25-year partnership.

“This decision leaves us without a principal partner for the 2026 program,” the festival organisers said in a statement. “We are all facing a time of profound peril… and with this comes the pressing need to reinvent our approach to sustainability.”

The team indicated they would use the pause to build new relationships with partners committed to driving meaningful action.

“Lump of Coal for Christmas”

The swift dismantling of key environmental pillars has drawn sharp criticism from political opponents and community advocates.

Victorian Greens Leader Ellen Sandell slammed the government’s decision to scrap Sustainability Victoria as a cynical cost-cutting exercise in an election year.

“Jacinta Allan is compromising essential environmental programs… to make it look like the Government’s fiscal position has improved,” Sandell said, describing the cuts as a “lump of coal for Christmas that nobody asked for.”

The Greens highlighted that SV has played a critical role in helping over 1,600 schools become more sustainable and supported businesses in removing hazardous materials like asbestos.

With the state’s primary sustainability agency dissolving and its flagship environmental festival cancelled for the coming year, 2026 looms as a period of uncertainty for Victoria’s green sector.