The Australian Ballet has released its 2025 Annual Report, recording an underlying operating loss of $4.7 million, an improvement on the $6.0 million loss reported in 2024.
The result reflects a year in which the company continued to operate outside its Melbourne home theatre during the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation, while also managing the wider financial pressures affecting the performing arts sector, including rising costs and shifts in audience behaviour.
In its Financial Overview, The Australian Ballet separates its operating result from non-operating activities, including philanthropy and investment income intended for future activity. On that basis, total operating revenue was $63.8 million, slightly down from $64.4 million in 2024, while total operating expenses reduced from $70.4 million to $68.5 million. The underlying operating result was a loss of $4.735 million.
Box office revenue increased to $32.7 million, up from $31.3 million in 2024. The report notes that ticket proceeds grew 4.4 per cent in 2025, but remain 15.2 per cent below levels recorded before the closure of the State Theatre. Paid attendance to mainstage performances rose 3.3 per cent compared with 2024, but remains 14.8 per cent below pre-disruption levels.
The report identifies the continued closure of the State Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne as a material factor in the company’s operating position. The Australian Ballet has been performing its Melbourne mainstage seasons at the Regent Theatre, where the report cites reduced seating capacity, lower average ticket prices, set modifications, logistics and traffic management costs as additional pressures.
The company also drew on reserves to support operations. According to the annual report, almost $9 million has been drawn from untied philanthropic reserves to date to support cashflow and minor capital expenditure arising from Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation disruption. Foundation funds totalling $13.6 million were distributed to support 2025 programs.
After non-operating income, including endowed funds not available for general spending, and the result from Orchestra Victoria, the audited statutory result was a loss of $1.3 million. This compares with a statutory loss of $9.1 million in 2024.
Chair of The Australian Ballet Dr Richard Dammery said the result reflected a period of transition.
“Performing outside our home theatre has required adaptability across every part of the organisation, and we remain focused on strengthening our foundations as we prepare for our return to the Ian Potter State Theatre,” he said.
The company’s 2025 program included John Neumeier’s Nijinsky, David McAllister’s The Sleeping Beauty, Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, Johan Inger’s Carmen and Prism, a contemporary triple bill featuring works by Jerome Robbins, Stephanie Lake and William Forsythe.
Across the year, The Australian Ballet commissioned four new ballets and one new score, working with one resident choreographer and 11 guest choreographers. The company presented 264 live performances across five Australian states and territories and Japan, reaching 260,688 total live attendances and 237,160 paid attendances. Mainstage performances accounted for 183,065 paid attendances, with an overall paid capacity of 73 per cent.
The company also reported that 87 per cent of revenue, excluding Orchestra Victoria, was self-funded.
Artistic Director David Hallberg said the year’s repertoire had asked much of the company.
“Returning to major narrative works such as Nijinsky and Manon challenged our dancers to push their limits and show artistic courage,” Hallberg said. “I am proud of how they embraced this, growing in confidence, complexity, and dramatic expression across the year.”
The report also points to a significant workforce. In 2025, The Australian Ballet group employed 327 full-time and part-time staff, including 75 dancers and 53 musicians.
Beyond the mainstage, the company reached more than 300,000 audience and engagement touchpoints across performances, touring, Storytime Ballet, DanceX, education programs, talks and classes. Its Education and Outreach activity recorded more than 27,000 participations, 626 education workshops, 267 teachers and community leaders engaged through professional development, and 14,343 attendances at adult ballet classes.
Executive Director Claire Spencer AM said the Regent Theatre period had required the company to reconsider how it reaches audiences.
“The Regent Theatre years have invited us to think differently about how we engage with audiences and broaden our reach, bringing new communities into the experience of ballet,” Spencer said. “This moment is also an opportunity to recognise the dedication of our artists and staff, and to thank our audiences, donors, partners and supporters, whose ongoing belief in what we do continues to sustain and strengthen the company.”
Internationally, The Australian Ballet returned to Tokyo after 15 years with Don Quixote, supported by guest coach Sylvie Guillem. The company’s On Tour program also reached regional communities, while Storytime Ballet marked its tenth year.
Looking ahead, the company says it remains focused on building artistic momentum, expanding its international presence and preparing for its return to the Ian Potter State Theatre. The annual report states that the company expects to celebrate the reopening of the newly renamed and refurbished theatre with a limited season of The Nutcracker in October 2026, before a fuller return to its Melbourne home in 2027.
The full report can be read here.