The Riverina stretches from the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in the east through to the plains of Hay and Carrathool in the west. The Murrumbidgee River flows through the region, providing water to the irrigation areas around Griffith and Leeton. The regional city of Wagga Wagga is positioned on the main Sydney-Melbourne railway line, equally close to both state capitals.

The Riverina region occupies a large southern segment of the Murray Darling Basin. This system of rivers drains 15% of the Australian continent. It covers parts of the states of Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

The Basin is characterised generally by low rainfall, light soils, hot summers and cool winters, with long sunlight hours. Where irrigation water can be delivered the soils and long sunlight hours ensure fast and luxuriant growth of crops.

The Riverina region enjoys unique advantages because of the combination of varied soil types and land forms, together with a warm climate, and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This has helped create an economy based on agricultural production, food and beverage manufacturing, and wood processing.

Manufacturing, Agriculture Forestry & Fishing are the two key drivers of the Riverina’s economy.

The Riverina stretches from the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in the east through to the plains of Hay and Carrathool in the west. The Murrumbidgee River flows through the region, providing water to the irrigation areas around Griffith and Leeton. The regional city of Wagga Wagga is positioned on the main Sydney-Melbourne railway line, equally close to both state capitals.

The Riverina region occupies a large southern segment of the Murray Darling Basin. This system of rivers drains 15% of the Australian continent. It covers parts of the states of Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

The Basin is characterised generally by low rainfall, light soils, hot summers and cool winters, with long sunlight hours. Where irrigation water can be delivered the soils and long sunlight hours ensure fast and luxuriant growth of crops.

The Riverina region enjoys unique advantages because of the combination of varied soil types and land forms, together with a warm climate, and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This has helped create an economy based on agricultural production, food and beverage manufacturing, and wood processing.

Manufacturing, Agriculture Forestry & Fishing are the two key drivers of the Riverina’s economy.

The Murray Murrumbidgee is one of NSW’s most important agricultural regions, supporting a range of farming types and related industries such as manufacturing. The region contains diverse landscapes and ecosystems, including alpine areas in the Snowy Mountains to the meandering rivers and wetlands of the low-lying floodplains.

Based on long-term observations, temperatures in the Murray Murrumbidgee Region have been increasing since about 1950, with higher temperatures experienced in recent decades.

Spring and summer are projected to experience the greatest increases in maximum temperatures, increasing by 2.4°C in the far future. Increased maximum temperatures are known to impact human health through heat stress and increasing the numbers of heatwave events.

Rainfall is projected to decrease in spring and to increase in autumn. Severe and average Forest Fire Danger Index is projected to increase. Severe fire weather for the region is projected to decrease in autumn in the near future.

Wagga Wagga has long been recognised as a culturally rich and creative city. The Art Gallery inspires a vibrant, innovative and diverse Riverina arts culture.

Home of the Margaret Carnegie Print Collection, which consists of over fourteen hundred original prints by some of Australia's foremost artists, the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery also houses a world class, nationally significant collection of contemporary art glass, featuring approximately five hundred pieces in a stand-alone gallery.

The Riverina stretches from the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in the east through to the plains of Hay and Carrathool in the west. The Murrumbidgee River flows through the region, providing water to the irrigation areas around Griffith and Leeton. The regional city of Wagga Wagga is positioned on the main Sydney-Melbourne railway line, equally close to both state capitals.

The Riverina region occupies a large southern segment of the Murray Darling Basin. This system of rivers drains 15% of the Australian continent. It covers parts of the states of Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

The Basin is characterised generally by low rainfall, light soils, hot summers and cool winters, with long sunlight hours. Where irrigation water can be delivered the soils and long sunlight hours ensure fast and luxuriant growth of crops.

The Riverina region enjoys unique advantages because of the combination of varied soil types and land forms, together with a warm climate, and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This has helped create an economy based on agricultural production, food and beverage manufacturing, and wood processing.

Manufacturing, Agriculture Forestry & Fishing are the two key drivers of the Riverina’s economy.

Charles Sturt may be the largest inland university in Australia, with students from across Australia and around the world, but it is our sense of community in the cities in which the university is located that sets us apart.

The Charles Sturt Three Rivers Department of Rural Health has six major sites across our regional footprint in Albury, Bathurst, Dubbo, Griffith, Orange and Wagga Wagga.

The Three Rivers DRH aims to improve the recruitment and retention of nursing, midwifery, allied health and dentistry professionals in rural and remote Australia.

The Charles Sturt Winery is an integral part of Australia's leading wine science school and is at the forefront of viticultural practices and winemaking techniques.

The winery focuses on excellence, using state of the art technology without sacrificing tradition. We are a professionally run winery reflecting the commercial environment of the Australian wine industry, being market-driven and producing the quality and styles of wine that obtain ready acceptance from wine consumers in the market.

Agriculture is of great significance to the Riverina region, with cropping, irrigation and grazing supporting a processing and value adding industry for cereals for grain, vegetables, fruit, livestock, milk and eggs.

The region is Australia’s largest citrus-growing region. One-third of Australia’s citrus is grown in the Riverina. Walnut, almond and hazelnut orchards have become significant in recent years. And the growth looks set to continue with strong demand from the Asia Pacific.

Cotton production is expanding in the region to become one of the most significant cotton regions in Australia. Australian rice is grown, milled, packed and branded in the Riverina by SunRice. And the Riverina is one of Australia’s largest wine producing regions, producing 15% of the nation’s wine. Griffith is the centre of the wine production zone.

The Wagga Wagga Base hospital is the largest in the region with 325 beds, providing medical services to the wider Riverina.

Wagga Wagga Health Service provides services including critical care, medical, surgical, paediatric, obstetric, and rehabilitation care. We also provide mental health and community health services.

The Charles Sturt Three Rivers Department of Rural Health has six major sites across our regional footprint in Albury, Bathurst, Dubbo, Griffith, Orange and Wagga Wagga.

Three Rivers DRH aims to improve the recruitment and retention of nursing, midwifery, allied health and dentistry professionals in rural and remote Australia.

The region’s extractive operations are mainly for construction materials - sand, road and concrete aggregates, with the exception of a significant gold mining operation (Cowal Gold Mine), north of West Wyalong in Bland that employs around 385 people.

The Defence Riverina Murray Alliance (DMRA) is a regional network of government, partner organisations and industry operating throughout the Riverina Murray regions of NSW.

Although Defence facilities in the Murray Riverina are predominantly centred around Wagga Wagga, there is a strong industry base in the Albury Wodonga region in advanced manufacturing, communications and technologies. Defence industry in the Murray Riverina is focused on military training, specialised contract engineering, propellant and military explosive manufacturing and includes design, engineering remote control systems and munitions disposal.

Defence investment is already one of the drivers of employment and economic growth in many regional centres. The defence industry is a major employer and attractor of skilled workers in regional NSW and the local economy also benefits from the movement of skilled workers out of Defence and defence industries into local education and technology-dependent sectors.

The Defence presence in Wagga Wagga consists of the RAAF Base Wagga (which includes the National Aerospace Training Centre, and aviation Initial Technical Training (ITT) for Navy personnel), and Blamey Barracks Base at Kapooka (which includes the national Army Recruit Training Centre).

The NSW coastline might stretch for 2,000 kilometres, but with an area of 800,000 square kilometres, the state is more red dirt than sand. Country NSW offers ancient Aboriginal culture, extraordinary produce made by passionate producers and rural towns where the welcome mat is always out

Wagga Wagga is a vibrant regional centre on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in the heart of the Riverina. With four distinct seasons, there’s always something new to explore. Discover the delicious food and wine scene, wonderful galleries, tranquil riverbank walks, gorgeous gardens and parks, and fascinating heritage. And Wagga Wagga is the entry point to exploring the region.

One of the major changes in purposes for visiting the Riverina has been the number of people coming to ‘Sightsee’. This number increased 44% from 2016 to 2017, however the most popular reason given for travelling into the Riverina is to ‘Eat out/dine at a restaurant and/or café’.

New South Wales is transitioning to a circular economy over the next 20 years. This means we will minimise what we throw away and use and reuse our resources efficiently, making them as productive as possible. We will end up with less waste, less emissions, less harm to our environment and more jobs. The move will boost innovation and help drive our economy.

The drought, floods, bushfires and COVID-19 pandemic will have lasting impacts on the economy, infrastructure, social systems, natural environment and wellbeing of people and communities across the region – impacts that require a new approach.

Innovative mitigation measures to manage and use water, protect waterways, biodiversity and wildlife corridors, harness renewable energy and prepare for natural hazards by reducing exposure and addressing vulnerabilities to help tackle the impacts of climate change. A circular economy and low-emissions transport initiatives support a more sustainable and net zero emissions future.

Carbon sequestration through soils on agricultural land could mitigate the impacts of climate change. However, effectively enabling this process, requires management actions such as stubble retention, maintaining ground cover, pasture phases in crop rotation, improving plant production through nutrient management and overcoming soil constraints such as soil acidity.

Arts and cultural infrastructure include Queanbeyan and Goulburn Performing Arts Centres, galleries such as Ngununggula Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, Apma Creations Aboriginal Art Gallery in Central Tilba, as well as small artist run spaces in Cobargo, and volunteer managed schools of arts.

The Southern Inland Region is uniquely located between the two biggest population centres and domestic economies in Australia - Sydney and Melbourne, and surrounds the Australian Capital Territory. The region encompasses Hilltops, Upper Lachlan, Goulburn, Queanbeyan, Monaro, Wingecarribee and the Yass Valley.

Just two hours from Sydney and one hour from Canberra, Goulburn-Mulwaree gives businesses great access to markets, resources and ports but with much lower overheads.

The Hilltops region is located in the Tablelands of New South Wales. The area is just over an hour north of Canberra and features the thriving towns of Young, Harden and Boorowa, along with a wide range of villages that are bursting with a rich history. The region is renowned for agriculture, including sheep grazing, cropping, viticulture, stone fruits and horticulture.

Queanbeyan-Palerang is an area of approximately 5,300km2 located between the eastern border of the ACT and the Great Dividing Range. Queanbeyan makes up the majority of the urban population and is a prospering river city.

Upper Lachlan is an area that is known for its quaint villages, fine wool, potato production, wind farms, history and picturesque countryside.

Located on the doorstep of the Nation’s Capital, Yass Valley boasts a modern and well renowned food and wine scene, numerous education options, employment opportunities and medical and general services including a hospital, three large supermarkets, sporting facilities and housing opportunities well below the median house price of nearby Canberra.

The area has many great schools where professional development opportunities, learning programs and strategies are on offer to support every stage of your career. Thanks to its close proximity to the ACT and Victoria, the southern area of NSW has many of the services found in larger cities and towns.

Charles Sturt University has a campus in Goulburn. Charles Sturt University teaches the Associate Degree in Policing Practice from the NSW Police Force Academy in Goulburn. This academy provides the majority of the NSW Police Force’s education and training needs.

The region is a significant contributor to NSW’s wool production, supplying 18% of the state’s production, 14% of sheep and lamb production and 15.5% of milk production.

The region is also known for cherry production and is an important producer of seed potatoes.

Southern NSW Local Health District covers an area of 44,534 square kilometres. The Goulburn Hospital and Health Service Redevelopment includes a new four-storey clinical services building which will house most health services in one location.

The new facility will have a new main entry and hospital reception, a new emergency department, a new medical imaging department, a new intensive care unit, new operating theatres, day surgery, recovery and pre-admission areas, new medical, surgical, paediatric and geriatric inpatient wards with specific designated palliative care beds and a new maternity and birthing suite.

The South East and Tablelands Region contains valuable mineral resources including coal,
precious and base metals and extractive materials.

The region contains deposits of several important base metals (lead, zinc, silver, copper) in the Woodlawn and Captains Flat areas. Extractive resources, including construction material such as sand, hard rock and sources of clay and shale for brick making, are extracted throughout the region, including around Googong, Bungendore, and Lake George. Gold is extracted from Majors Creek.

Electricity generation and the agriculture and transport sectors contribute the bulk of emissions in the region. While the region does not have its own renewable energy zone, the existing renewable energy network, coupled with increased renewable energy into the NSW electricity grid will benefit the region and reduce emissions. Renewable energy initiatives are therefore supported with a particular focus on reducing emissions from agriculture and
transport.

The region is already a well-established hub for renewable energy with its many wind and solar farms. Solar photovoltaic uptake is also relatively high in the region with installation on 33% of dwellings, higher than the state and national average. Increasing uptake together with battery storage will reduce emissions and improve

Visitors to the South East and Tablelands Region enjoy year-round access to mountains, coasts and rural hinterlands, as well as Canberra’s world-class cultural institutions, such as the National Museum of Australia, the Australian War Memorial and the National Gallery
of Australia.

The tourism industry brings $1.2 billion to the regional economy each year. The Snowy
Mountains, the south coast and the rural hinterland offer recreational experiences including food, wine and cultural trails.

The Snowy Mountains tourism industry contributes more than $500 million to the regional economy each year. This market is geared towards winter, with more than half the visitation occurring during the peak snow period, making it the most seasonal tourism location in Australia.

Agritourism ventures such as farm stay accommodation, farm gate activities and farm
events enable farmers to diversify and value-add to their existing farming enterprises.