The Hume Region hosts the largest Australian Defence Force presence in Victoria and is bustling with industry already supporting Defence.

The Albury Wodonga Military Area consists of the Gaza Ridge, Wadsworth and Latchford Barracks, with the Army Logistic Training Centre headquartered in the region to provide effective logistic training to a large portion of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Local businesses already supplying to the Defence sector (either directly or through its major contractors) include Milspec Manufacturing, Australian Target Systems, Australian Aerospace Engineering (AAE), Meggitt Training Systems, Wodonga TAFE, Bertazzo Engineering, NIOA and many more.

Many of these local businesses are increasing the capacity of Defence through the innovation solutions they offer the sector.

The region includes four of Victoria’s six alpine resorts –Falls Creek, Mount Hotham, Mount Buller and Mount Stirling – which are managed on behalf of the State Government by Alpine Resort Management Boards

The Lake Mountain Alpine Resort is a significant tourism destination for the region. The Lake Eildon and Kinglake National parks and Cathedral Ranges State park are also major tourist attractions in the eastern part of the region.

Tourism in the region focuses on heritage, wine and food, recreational assets and nature-based touring.

The historic town of Beechworth is a major attraction and a popular rural-residential location, given its proximity to employment opportunities in Albury, Wodonga and Wangaratta. Rutherglen has a unique connection to wine making and wine tourism.

As the region’s population and industry grows, there will be an increased demand for waste and resource recovery management within the region.

This creates a challenge for securing land for future waste management facilities, including for sorting and processing, recycling and reprocessing, export, reuse and disposal of waste.

The largest PET recycling plant in the country is now up and running and will substantially reduce Australia’s plastic waste by recycling the equivalent of around 1 billion PET beverage bottles each year.

The $45 million plant in Albury-Wodonga has boosted regional jobs and is helping to build a domestic circular economy, along with increasing the amount of locally sourced and recycled PET in Australia by two thirds, from around 30,000 tonnes to over 50,000 tonnes per annum.

Climate change impacts are already being felt in communities across the region. The pressure is being felt in sectors like local water, food production, and health and wellbeing.

While it is important that we all take steps to reduce our emissions to mitigate against further future climate impacts, such as embracing renewable energy, we also need to reduce our current and future vulnerability by taking adaptation action.

Adapting to climate change involves taking practical actions to manage current impacts and future risks to build resilient communities and systems across the region.

Big ideas and extraordinary talent drive our creative sector, which spans the performing and visuals arts, music, design, digital game development, film and television, fashion, literature and publishing, and more.

We’re proud of our local artists and creative professionals and support them to develop and maintain thriving careers here in Victoria.

From solo practitioners, grassroots collectives and small businesses to major organisations and institutions, we support the sector at all levels. We do this through a range of programs and initiatives that raise the profile, reach and impact of Victorian creatives, and by investing in a strong creative ecosystem.

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.

As Loddon Mallee’s business ecosystem expands, so does its workforce needs. The region envisions growing its tertiary offerings to keep up with industry demand, while building a reputation for innovation. Initiatives like SuniTAFE’s SMART Farm training hub, or the reputed La Trobe School of Rural Health are prime examples of a region invested in ‘growing its own’.

Centres like Mildura and Bendigo are large enough to attract marquee tertiary institutions and global businesses, yet small enough to be able to foster meaningful relationships between the two.

The Fraunhofer Initiative uniting La Trobe University, the City of Greater Bendigo, and Bendigo Regional Manufacturing Group is one example of many.

The Region has irrigated dairy and horticulture in the local government areas adjacent to the Murray River as well as large-scale cropping and grazing throughout the Region.

Intensive animal husbandry is of growing importance in certain locations in the southern part of the Region.

Agriculture and food production play a major role supporting the economy of rural communities, small towns and regional centres.

The extensive food processing industry adds value to the agricultural produce within the Region, creating jobs and increasing the economic output from the Region.

Bendigo Health is a leading regional health service, with around 5000 staff and a catchment area covering a quarter of the size of Victoria. The three main campuses of Bendigo Health are in Bendigo, with many services extended to regional settings including areas such as Mildura, Echuca, Swan Hill, Kyneton and Castlemaine.

The organisation provides services in emergency, maternity, women’s health, medical imaging, pathology, rehabilitation, community services, residential aged care, psychiatric care, community dental, hospice, palliative care, cardiology, cancer services and renal dialysis to the people of the Loddon Mallee region.

In addition to operating a large acute hospital we offer subacute services including inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, a regional psychiatric service, residential care, specialist clinics, dialysis and a range of outreach services such as hospital in the home.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted? If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it
The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Make renting more Sustainable. Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

Build to Rent
The Build to Rent property sector is growing in Australia – this new class of housing is focused on providing high quality purpose designed and built rental stock, creating an additional housing choice for Australian renters with greater security and service.

Build to Rent developments are typically owned by institutional investors for the long term and the owner could be the developer/ongoing building manager. The format provides tenants with the flexibility of renting with the security of home ownership.

Build-to-Rent developments are usually large-scale residential properties specifically designed, built and managed for long-term ownership and rental.

Social Housing
In the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 the percentage of all Australian households living in social housing (i.e. state owned and managed public housing or community managed housing) has ranged from 4.9 per cent in 1981 to 3.8 per cent in 2021. Such a drop in the proportion of social housing raises the question of has Australia achieved the balance right, and also just what is the right level of social housing for Australia?

In 2018 Statistics Canada said 628,700 Canadian households, more than one in ten renter households nationally (13.5% of 4,652,500), were living in social and affordable housing.
In New Zealand, as of 30 June 2021, there were 74,337 public housing households. This equates to 4.0% of households living in social housing.

In England (in 2018) 17% of households (3.9 million) lived in social housing, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes that 1.2 million households live in public housing, which is 0.98 per cent of all housing.

The region has gold, mineral sand and rare earth mining, and renewable energy sectors.

The region is home to Fosterville Mine – the largest producer of gold in Victoria. Since commencing exploration in 2005, it has produced over 3.5 million ounces. Simulations by the Geological Survey of Victoria predict significant gold deposits in the vicinity of 75-million ounces, with multiple million-ounce occurrences, still to be unearthed.

Antimony is the second-most valuable metallic commodity in Victoria after gold, and on Australia’s critical mineral list. Loddon Mallee is home to Australia’s largest antimony producer located in the City of Greater Bendigo. The mine is estimated to contain 17,800 tonnes of antimony – a mineral essential for hardening lead in storage batteries and producing semiconductors.

VHM Limited has exploration tenements in the region for zircon and other rare earth minerals critical in the manufacture of industrial permanent magnets and high energy density batteries required in production of electric vehicles and essential for the renewable energy market.

Initiatives that lead to planning and development of tourism infrastructure and services that increase visitation and spend across the Region and attract investment.

This will include initiatives that increase opportunities for Aboriginal people through cultural tourism in areas such as Gunbower Forest, as well as other initiatives that leverage projects already undertaken to improve tourism in the Region, such as the Ports of the Murray River strategy, our arts, cultural and recreational precincts, and other iconic natural and cultural heritage assets such as our significant Goldfields heritage.

These initiatives will help improve the quality of assets and customer satisfaction thereby leading to increased tourism, more jobs and, ultimately, protection of our culture, heritage and natural assets.

The region has a broad mix of industries including horticulture, dairying, broad acre cropping, mineral sand and rare earth mining, renewable energy, and tourism sectors.

There are local circular economy projects such as biochar production where wood waste is converted for use in agriculture.

Melbourne is Australia’s leader in advanced manufacturing and one of the few places in the world that covers the entire manufacturing spectrum, from research and engineering to design and production. Melbourne is home to more than 20 cutting-edge advanced manufacturing research centres, many in partnership with world-class universities.

Melbourne’s advanced manufacturing expertise spans design, composite materials, material handling, software development, additive processes, automated systems and advanced electronics and machinery.

Melbourne is home to a network of specialised advanced manufacturing research precincts servicing a range of industries including Automotive, Aerospace, Defence, Scientific Instruments, Medical Devices and Equipment, Chemicals and Plastics, Pharmaceuticals, Fabricated Metals, TCF (textiles, clothing and footwear) and Food Processing.

Melbourne’s Central Business District is home to an advanced manufacturing precinct, incorporating the University of Melbourne and RMIT University, that offers state-of-the-art facilities including 3D printing and reverse engineering.

Melbourne’s Parkville Precinct is a globally recognised hub of excellence in healthcare, research and education. A cluster of research and health sciences institutes in the precinct specialise in smart and advanced materials applications, instrument development, advanced ICT applications and nanotechnology.

Home to Monash University, the Australian Synchrotron, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Monash Health, the Monash Health Translation Precinct, and Melbourne’s key pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, including Servier, GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol-Myers Squibb, this precinct is the locus of numerous advanced manufacturing research projects and collaborations.

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

Melbourne has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in finance, manufacturing, research, IT, education, logistics, transportation and tourism.

Melbourne houses the headquarters of many of Australia's largest corporations, including five of the ten largest in the country (based on revenue), and five of the largest seven in the country.

It is the Australian base for a number of significant manufacturers including Boeing Australia, truck makers Kenworth and Iveco, Cadbury, Alstom and Jayco.

It is also home to a wide variety of other manufacturers, ranging from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to fashion garments, paper manufacturing and food processing.

The city also has a research and development hub for Ford Australia, as well as a global design studio and technical centre for General Motors and Toyota

CSL one of the world's top five biotech companies, and Sigma Pharmaceuticals have their headquarters in Melbourne. The two are the largest listed Australian pharmaceutical companies. Melbourne has an important ICT industry, home to more than half of Australia’s top 20 technology companies.

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.

Victoria has an ambitious climate change strategy. With a A$1.6 billion energy package to power Victoria’s progress towards a clean energy future, opportunities for businesses to contribute to this future are abundant.

Victoria is home to a thriving clean energy research and development industry, with major projects ranging from printed solar cells to geothermal heating and cooling.

We're developing new materials and processes to produce thin, flexible and semi-transparent solar cells using printable 'solar inks'. These inks are deposited onto flexible plastic film using processes like micro-gravure coating, slot-die coating and screen printing.

Geothermal systems work using water as a heat transfer medium to transfer heat from water or the ground (via water in pipes) into a building using circulation pumps.

Ground temperatures are ‘captured’ by the water and transferred into a Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) via a heat exchanger. The GSHP then produces water, typically in the range of 7 to 50 degrees Celsius, for cooling and heating respectively.

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.