Southern Federation of Dance (SFD) was founded in Melbourne in 1988 by Janine McGrath and Jennifer Hemphill, who shared a vision of creating a dance syllabus that was modern and challenging, while remaining inclusive, progressive and clearly structured.

Work initially commenced on a Jazz syllabus, inspired by the traditional structure of a classical ballet class. Over the following two years, the original SFD Jazz choreography was developed, culminating in the successful launch of the new Jazz Syllabus at a performance held at the Banyule Theatre. This landmark event was met with great enthusiasm from the dance community, with SFD welcoming its first 100 members shortly thereafter.

The Tap Syllabus was then developed by choreographers Joyce Moore and Shirley Glatzer. This was followed by the creation of Classical Ballet Levels 1–7 by a collaborative team consisting of Christine Hogg, Judy Gray, Tanya Buskes, Jenny Hemphill and Janine McGrath. All choreographers involved in the early syllabus development formed the inaugural Board of Examiners. In the subsequent year, Pauline Waters was engaged to choreograph the Major Classical Ballet Levels, including Levels 8, Pre-Elementary, Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced.

In the early 1990s, Jenny Hemphill devised and delivered the first components of what would later evolve into the SFD Teaching Certificate Course, now offered to aspiring dance teachers across a range of disciplines.

Since its inception, the SFD syllabus has continued to be reviewed, refined and expanded—initially by the original choreographers and later in collaboration with many additional choreographers from within SFD and the wider dance community. Today, the Southern Federation of Dance is a highly regarded and respected organisation, known for delivering reputable examinations, competitions and a diverse range of professional and community events.