The City of Melbourne has partnered with the University of Melbourne and RMIT University to create Melbourne Innovation Districts (MID), a smart city initiative that is set to drive investment in the knowledge economy and help shape the city’s future.

Melbourne is home to a number of incubators, hubs and co-working spaces.

The Region is home to the prosperous and vibrant regional cities of Bendigo, one of the State’s largest and fastest growing regional cities, and Mildura, the major regional city for the north of the Region and the largest urban centre on the edge of the outback. Echuca, Swan Hill, Castlemaine, Gisborne, Kyneton and Maryborough are also important centres, offering employment and lifestyle services.

Manufacturing is the largest employer in the Central Hume region, followed by retail, health and community services. Wodonga has an important manufacturing base, with many national companies established in the area as well as a significant defence force presence.

Hume is a fast-growing region in Victoria with a social and cultural fabric and heritage to match its natural beauty. Renowned for world-class wines and gourmet food, the region is woven together by the Goulburn, Broken, Ovens, Kind and Kiewa Rivers – all vital to sustaining a rich environment, lifestyle and business. The Strathbogie Ranges represent the gateway to Victoria’s High Country and integral to the region popularity for nature-based tourism and cycling.

Hume is extremely varied in its industry and employment make-up, with a strong concentration of agriculture in the west and the alpine, wine and gourmet food areas in the region's east making tourism a strong contributor to regional employment.

Two of Australia’s nationally important transport routes – the Hume and Goulburn Valley transport corridors – traverse the region, providing an exceptional competitive advantage by linking supply chains to national and international markets through Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra.

The Goulburn Valley area is a long-established agricultural region, which is at the forefront of global food production. Traditional broad acre farming combined with dairy, viticulture, orchards, olives and aquaculture endorse the 'food bowl' label, and various large and international companies call the region home including SPC Ardmona, Uncle Toby's, Mars Petcare and the Woolworths Distribution Centre.

Barwon South West has three economies - inland agriculture, coastal tourism and a manufacturing and social base in Geelong.

Barwon South West is comprised of Greater Geelong, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast, Colac Otway, Corangamite, Moyne, Warrnambool, Southern Grampians and Glenelg.

The main industries are manufacturing, retail trade, health care, construction, education and training, agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism. Manufacturing, health and retail trade are currently the largest employing industries, although the economy has significant opportunities for growth in new energy, advanced manufacturing and food security industries.

With rich agricultural land and UNESCO listed Aboriginal cultural sites, our economy has strengths and opportunities in advanced manufacturing, high-value agriculture, sustainable and cultural tourism, green hydrogen, renewable energy, health and community services and innovative education, training and co-working spaces.

Achieving shared objectives in growing regional prosperity such as growing employment, tackling disadvantage, addressing population ageing and building digital and physical infrastructure, requires an integrated approach between the three levels of government and across government portfolios, business, individuals and community groups.

The Region is home to the prosperous and vibrant regional cities of Bendigo, one of the State’s largest and fastest growing regional cities, and Mildura, the major regional city for the north of the Region and the largest urban centre on the edge of the outback. Echuca, Swan Hill, Castlemaine, Gisborne, Kyneton and Maryborough are also important centres, offering employment and lifestyle services.

Gippsland is renowned for its natural attributes, including Gippsland Lakes and coastlines, Wilsons Promontory National Park and one of Victoria’s largest visitor attractions, the Phillip Island Penguin Parade.

Roughly the same size as Switzerland, Gippsland covers over 41,500 square kilometres and is the largest region in Victoria. The community works and lives in a resource-rich landscape (one of the most diverse in regional Australia) from the Latrobe Valley’s industrial heartland to rich agricultural lands, coastal and lakes regions, highlands, and the forested north and east.

Each year, nearly eight million tourists visit Gippsland, attracted to the unspoilt lakes, beaches, snowfields, bushlands, and rainforests, as well as the beautiful towns and villages. Its major towns are Traralgon, Warragul, Drouin, Morwell, Bairnsdale, Moe, Leongatha, Sale and Wonthaggi.

Gippsland has a reputation for producing quality products and services across various industries such as food and fibre, energy, forestry, fisheries, manufacturing, and tourism.

Stretching from the western edge of Melbourne to the South Australian border, the Grampians region includes the major townships of Edenhope, Nhill, Warracknabeal, Horsham, Stawell, Ararat, Beaufort, Ballarat, Bannockburn, Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh.

Steeped in gold rush history the Grampians is home to Sovereign Hill, the Silo Arts Trail and natural attractions including the Grampians National Park, Mt Arapiles and the Little Desert National Park.

Agriculture and food production are major industries across the Grampians, with extensive dryland farming in the Wimmera Southern Mallee sub-region. Opportunities across the region include artisanal food and beverage production, broad acre intensive cropping and diversified agriculture.

The Grampians region is positioned to capitalise on renewable energy, manufacturing, tourism and intensified agriculture production.

Often described as Australia's heart of culture, Melbourne's attractions include sporting events, art galleries, live music, festivals and fashion events that are popular with tourists and locals alike.

Explore the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia’s oldest and most renowned public art museum. The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne offers a mix of diverse plant collections and tranquil lakes.

Melbourne’s Luna Park is renowned as the city’s oldest amusement park. From roller coasters to motion simulators, the park offers classic family entertainment with its state-of-the-art attractions.

Featuring the highest observation deck in Melbourne, the Eureka Tower offers surreal views of the entire city.

The University of Melbourne is Australia's Number One university and is a world leader in education, teaching and research excellence.

RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia.

Monash University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named after prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state.

Victoria University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is a dual-sector university, providing courses in both higher education and technical and further education.

La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria.

Swinburne University of Technology is a public research university based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1908 as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College to serve those without access to further education in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

Melbourne’s defence industry is renowned for its highly skilled workforce, excellence and unparalleled capabilities in advanced manufacturing, world-class research & development and delivering complex defence projects.

The arts and creative industries impact us all, collectively and individually, in myriad ways.

Creative industries are an evolving mix of sectors spanning arts, culture, screen, design, publishing and advertising. They cover disciplines as diverse as game development and graphic design, fashion and filmmaking, performing arts and publishing, architecture and advertising, media and music, comedy and craft. They include activities that are commercially-driven and community based, experimental and export-intense.

Barwon South West has three economies - inland agriculture, coastal tourism and a manufacturing and social base in Geelong.

Barwon South West is comprised of Greater Geelong, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast, Colac Otway, Corangamite, Moyne, Warrnambool, Southern Grampians and Glenelg.

The main industries are manufacturing, retail trade, health care, construction, education and training, agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism. Manufacturing, health and retail trade are currently the largest employing industries, although the economy has significant opportunities for growth in new energy, advanced manufacturing and food security industries.

With rich agricultural land and UNESCO listed Aboriginal cultural sites, our economy has strengths and opportunities in advanced manufacturing, high-value agriculture, sustainable and cultural tourism, green hydrogen, renewable energy, health and community services and innovative education, training and co-working spaces.

Achieving shared objectives in growing regional prosperity such as growing employment, tackling disadvantage, addressing population ageing and building digital and physical infrastructure, requires an integrated approach between the three levels of government and across government portfolios, business, individuals and community groups.

Gippsland is renowned for its natural attributes, including Gippsland Lakes and coastlines, Wilsons Promontory National Park and one of Victoria’s largest visitor attractions, the Phillip Island Penguin Parade.

Roughly the same size as Switzerland, Gippsland covers over 41,500 square kilometres and is the largest region in Victoria. The community works and lives in a resource-rich landscape (one of the most diverse in regional Australia) from the Latrobe Valley’s industrial heartland to rich agricultural lands, coastal and lakes regions, highlands, and the forested north and east.

Each year, nearly eight million tourists visit Gippsland, attracted to the unspoilt lakes, beaches, snowfields, bushlands, and rainforests, as well as the beautiful towns and villages. Its major towns are Traralgon, Warragul, Drouin, Morwell, Bairnsdale, Moe, Leongatha, Sale and Wonthaggi.

Gippsland has a reputation for producing quality products and services across various industries such as food and fibre, energy, forestry, fisheries, manufacturing, and tourism.

Manufacturing is the largest employer in the Central Hume region, followed by retail, health and community services. Wodonga has an important manufacturing base, with many national companies established in the area as well as a significant defence force presence.

Hume is a fast-growing region in Victoria with a social and cultural fabric and heritage to match its natural beauty. Renowned for world-class wines and gourmet food, the region is woven together by the Goulburn, Broken, Ovens, Kind and Kiewa Rivers – all vital to sustaining a rich environment, lifestyle and business. The Strathbogie Ranges represent the gateway to Victoria’s High Country and integral to the region popularity for nature-based tourism and cycling.

Hume is extremely varied in its industry and employment make-up, with a strong concentration of agriculture in the west and the alpine, wine and gourmet food areas in the region's east making tourism a strong contributor to regional employment.

Two of Australia’s nationally important transport routes – the Hume and Goulburn Valley transport corridors – traverse the region, providing an exceptional competitive advantage by linking supply chains to national and international markets through Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra.

The Goulburn Valley area is a long-established agricultural region, which is at the forefront of global food production. Traditional broad acre farming combined with dairy, viticulture, orchards, olives and aquaculture endorse the 'food bowl' label, and various large and international companies call the region home including SPC Ardmona, Uncle Toby's, Mars Petcare and the Woolworths Distribution Centre.

City of Melbourne is proud to be part of a local and international movement of cities that will act to reduce emissions and to address climate change impacts.

The greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming are generated from electricity, gas, transport, and waste produced in our city. They are also generated by food and agriculture, goods and services, and the resources that go into packaging, clothes and building materials. Too many greenhouse gas emissions act like a blanket around the earth, causing temperatures to rise.

To reduce greenhouse emissions, we need collective action by customers and businesses, commuters and transport companies, tenants and building owners, investors and government regulators. By taking action together, we can generate health and social benefits and reduce the cost of environmental impact.

We are already investing in renewable energy, urban forests, green buildings, waste innovation and in better pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. Through such creative initiatives, we can deliver better health for our community together with economic, social and environmental benefits.

We are doing this because we want our city to remain a great place to live, work and visit, but climate change is threatening that.

As Melbourne feels the effects of climate change it threatens the liveability of our city through heatwaves, flooding, drought and poor air quality.

Creative industries are an evolving mix of sectors spanning arts and culture, screen and design. They cover disciplines as diverse as game development and graphic design, fashion and filmmaking, media and music, comedy and craft, and include activities that are both commercially-driven and community-based, experimental and export-intense.

Creative industries are important to our prosperity. They drive new approaches to job creation and industry innovation. As the economy transitions and jobs of the future emerge, creative industries will be increasingly important to the future of the next generation.

Victoria is the national leader in visual and performing arts. Melbourne hosts 62,000 live music concerts each year and Victoria has three times more live music performances than the national average, and the state is home to leading libraries, galleries and museums

The dairy sector is an industry of critical importance to the Great South Coast Region. Despite recent challenges with global milk markets, which have depressed prices and placed uncertainty over the industry, it remains a sector with strong long-term growth prospects.

Sheep and beef farming enterprises are also of significant importance to the Great South Coast region. The average value of beef production in the Great South Coast is very high, underpinned by grass- fed production and high value cattle varieties.

The sector represents a significant opportunity because of the strong demand for Australian red meat in export markets and the flow-on benefits to the food processing sector. The Hamilton Red Meat Innovation Centre also demonstrates some of the flow-on economic activity and jobs associated with the industry.

The region’s aquaculture sector has strong long-term growth potential. Growing demand for Australian high-value seafood products (such as abalone and rock lobster) and advancement in aquaculture technology both signal potential for the sub-sector to thrive in the region.

The pig and poultry industries represent a significant opportunity to grow the value of output from small land holdings through intensive, high value production.

The Barwon region’s wine industry is a driver of economic activity, and also an important part of the region’s visitor economy. The wine sector, along with the gourmet foods sector could leverage the Barwon South West’s significant tourism assets and visitation.

The existing forestry supply chain positions the region to capitalise on increasing global demand for wood fibre and to grow into a world-leading sustainable forestry hub.

There are a number of emerging crops in Australia that represent an opportunity for the region. These crops include hemp, cannabis, legumes, and poppies.

Gippsland offers a variety of natural attractions like nowhere else in Victoria. From rugged alpine mountain ranges, historic rural towns to pristine beaches, Gippsland is a diverse place attracting local and international visitors all year around.

The tourism industry in Gippsland is an important contributor to the region’s economy, worth $2.4 billion in direct and indirect expenditure per annum. Gippsland has outperformed regional Victoria for domestic and international visitation percentage growth, with 10.8 million visitors to the region annually. The visitor economy supports over 3,000 businesses who derive the majority of their income from overnight and daytrip visitors.

Strongly backed by the government, multiple projects have been put into place to further Gippsland’s visitor economy. This includes the $48 million upgrade of the Philip Island Nature Park, the $30 million Latrobe Creative Arts Precinct and the $13.9 million West Gippsland Arts Centre.

Steeped in gold rush history the Grampians is home to Sovereign Hill, the Silo Arts Trail and natural attractions including the Grampians National Park, Mt Arapiles and the Little Desert National Park.

A year-round calendar of special events and festivals ensures there’s always a special reason to visit this regional centre, which is Victoria’s third-largest city. These events include the award-winning Ballarat Heritage Festival, the Ballarat Begonia Festival, the bi-annual International Foto Biennale, Sovereign Hill’s Winter Wonderlights and a celebration of incredible local wines at Pyrenees Unearthed Wine and Food Festival.

Melbourne’s north is fast becoming a world-class food and agricultural hub. The region is home to some of Australia’s best loved food and beverage brands, as well as an eclectic mix of artisan businesses, including boutique microbreweries, premium chocolate makers, coffee roasters and gourmet food distribution companies.

The region leads the state in the production of many food categories including bakery, confectionery, dairy, seafood and meat.