The unnamed company, which will appoint its directors within the next two months, will be funded by A$7.6 million that the Australian government has earmarked to develop opera in Victoria. The state has suffered a decline in opera performances—and a concomitant loss of opportunities for performers, designers, and musicians—since the Victoria State Opera merged with the Australian Opera to form the Sydney-based Opera Australia in 1996.

Opera companies currently serving Victoria will not receive any funding. These include Melbourne City Opera and Melbourne Opera Company, which had planned a merger and then called it off, and OzOpera, the tourning company of Opera Australia.

According to Michael Roux, a Melbourne businessman who will serve as the new company's chairman, the company will perform contemporary works and new commissions, but Roux said he did not see any need to attempt the classics.