The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. The diverse population is made up of 50% Aboriginal people representing over 30 traditional language groups. Over 91% of the land in the region has been determined under Native Title and comes under the control or influence of those indigenous people.
The Kimberley region is one of the most remote and untouched ancient landscapes on earth, which features remarkable coastal and inland environment, and is home to many unique birds, mammals, reptiles and marine life. The major regional industries are mining, tourism and agriculture.

Broome is situated along the coastline, in the semi-arid margin of the canning Basin. With a population of 17,000 people, Broome is a recognised pearling and tourist port town, and a hub servicing the pastoral and resources industries.

Derby is located 200km north of Broome. Derby is on Salt-Water country and boasts the second largest tidal movements in the world and is the gateway to the thousand islands of the Dampier Peninsula.

Fitzroy Crossing is located on the banks of the Fitzroy River. With a range of fertile soil types, the area is used extensively for livestock and horticulture production.

Halls Creek comprises of desert country and pastoral grazing land with a number of unique natural attractions such as the World heritage Listed Purnululu National Park and Wolf Creek Crater forming the basis of a tourism industry.

Kununurra sits just 37km west of the Northern Territory border and is a hub for tourism, mining and agriculture including the world heritage listed Purnululu National Park – Bungle Bungle Ranges, the Ord River Irrigation Project and the massive man-made Lake Argyle.

Wyndham is located at the point at which five rivers flow into the Cambridge Gulf and was established in 1886 as a port town which was the principal point of entry during the gold rush. Today, its port services the growing pastoral and agriculture industries of the region.

The Kimberley region offers a range of education and training opportunities from the early school years through to further education and training after school. Choosing to stay in the Kimberley region provides a lifestyle and work balance, without having to compromise on career employment possibilities and personal growth.

The University of Notre Dame and the CQUniversity both have campuses and hubs based on the ground in the region, as well as the increasing number of online courses which can be studied via distance education options.

The University of Notre Dame is located in Broome, and is home to the Nulungu Research Institute with a focus on core researching Education, Health and Wellbeing, and Caring for Country.

Powered by the Ord Irrigation Area (ORIA), the region has 24,000 hectares under irrigation producing a range of tropical fruit, vegetable, fodder, grain and seed crops. The west Kimberley is seeing development of mosaic irrigated lands for fodder production, however there is significant room for further expansion and integration to value add to the pastoral sector
The ORIA produces mango, citrus, watermelon, rockmelon, pumpkin, chickpea, sunflower, sorghum, maize, sandalwood and other crops for Australian consumers and export markets.

Aquaculture
Main industry sectors are pearling and barramundi farming in the west Kimberley, with opportunity for large scale farmed prawns in the east Kimberley.

Pastoral
There are 92 Pastoral leases spanning across 21.2 million hectares including 32% Indigenous leases which are generally underperforming. Just over three percent of pastoral leases are under foreign ownership and are managed remotely. The industry is characterised by rangeland grazing with growing potential for irrigated fodder production to expand productivity.

The recently opened Kimberley Meat Company’s abattoir currently processes 35,000 head of cattle annually (with infrastructure capacity that can process 60,000 head annually) which has established new processed and boxed beef opportunities.

The mining and resource sectors have been historically defined by low volume products of gold and diamonds along with small volumes of iron ore. However, it on the cusp of significant developments as new and proposed projects are diversifying the extractive mining sector to include mineral sands, nickel, copper, rare earths and crude oil.

The region is well placed to capitalise on increased global demand for clean energy and rare earths. There is significant opportunity for development of potash, mineral sands and tight shale oil in the region.

The Kimberley is famous for world class diamonds and makes up the entire Western Australian diamond output. Recent exploratory drilling has identified new prospects and is considered a significant discovery.

The region has a history of gold mining dating back to the short-lived Halls Creek gold rush in 1885. Today, there are several small working mines and proposed tenements under exploration and development.

Australia’s first heavy rare earth mine ‘Brown’s Range’ dysprosium mine is located south east of Halls Creek. This mine is expected to scale up from pilot to full operations. A globally significant deposit, the Northern Minerals Browns Range project aims to be the next significant dysprosium producer outside of China.

Major resource companies have invested heavily in Western Australia to increase production of liquefied natural gas from the Browse Basin. However, due to environmental and community concerns all gas processing is conducted in the Northern Territory or on floating LNG vessels. However, servicing of offshore rigs infrastructure and labour force transfer requirements contribute significantly to the local economy.

Iron ore bodies offer Australia’s highest-grade hematite Ore reserves. The Sheffield Resources Thunderbird Project is a proposed large-scale, long-life mineral sands mining and processing project located in West Kimberley. Agrimin’s proposed potash mine has reportedly the largest deposits of sulphate of potash in the world.

The North-West Mobile Force (Norforce) Kimberley Squadron is headquartered in Broome with troops and facilities across the region. These units are part of a high priority team responsible for Army reconnaissance and surveillance in remote areas.

Norforce is a culturally diverse unit, recruiting its mostly Reserve soldiers from communities throughout the Northern Territory and the Kimberley Region of Western Australia

The Kimberley is an iconic holiday destination. The tourism industry represents 10% of gross revenue generated by 500 businesses and directly employs 12% of workforce, with many other indirect flow-on benefits across the region.

The pristine wilderness and natural environment, along with authentic Indigenous cultural experiences are the main visitor drawcards, attracting 400,000 visitors annually - 91% domestic and 9% international. However, there has been minimal growth in these numbers over the last 5 years.

The regions monsoon climate dictates high seasonal fluctuation in visitation – many businesses slow down or shut for up to five months of the year.

The Kimberley is renowned for the pristine environment and immense, diverse landscape of majestic rivers and floodplains, ancient cave systems, spectacular gorges and thundering waterfalls along with world-class beaches and rugged island archipelagos.

The Kimberley Regional Waste Management Plan focuses on capitalising on the benefits of collaboration within the region and includes an action plan, project costings, timetable for implementation and risk assessment. The action plan is aimed at increasing recycling and the operational life of the Council’s landfills.

The Mid West region has abundant renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, wave, geothermal and biomass. A number of renewable energy projects operate in the region and several more are in planning. The region’s renewable energy potential is constrained until the 330kV line (stage 2) is developed, enabling new projects to feed power into the SWIS.

Storage and the commercial realities of renewable energy in comparison to conventional sources also constrains further development of the local industry.

The Mid West hosts a rich diversity of industry and opportunity for investors. Join in this growing economy that comprises mining, tourism, fishing, agriculture industries and a wide array of mineral wealth comprising iron ore, mineral sands, talc, energy deposits, natural gas, silver, nickel and copper.

The Gascoyne showcases a diverse economy with tourism playing the key role in wealth creation in conjunction with fishing, horticultural, mining and pastoralism. The strong growth of the tourism sector, good water resources and management of natural environment, encourages economic and social development in this region.

The Geraldton Universities Centre (GUC) works in partnership with universities across Australia to support tertiary education delivery that meets Mid West student and industry needs. GUC's community-based model, the first of its kind in Australia, has drawn attention from regional communities throughout Australia with some now replicating the model.

The Durack Institute of Technology (Durack) offers more than 250 qualifications from Certificate 1 to Advanced Diploma level and was recently allocated RfR funding to develop a Centre for Training in the Resources Sector at the proposed Geraldton airport technology park, and a Health Sciences and Community Services facility and Aboriginal Learning Centre at the Fitzgerald Street campus in Geraldton.

The Mid West is one of the largest agricultural regions in WA. The region’s mainstay broad acre crops are wheat, canola and lupins. Cattle and sheep are the region’s dominant livestock, with poultry, pigs and goats also produced.

It is also host to the State's largest fishing sector with a dominant rock lobster industry, and an emerging aquaculture sector, including finfish and oysters. The region produces approximately one- third of Western Australia’s fishery.

Pearl aquaculture is well established in the Abrolhos Islands. Other aquaculture is developing in the region with several trials already undertaken or planned. Species trialled include yellow tail kingfish (YTK), snapper, mulloway, seahorse, octopus and ornamental fish at various scales.

The Gascoyne is known as a key food bowl. The Carnarvon Horticulture District is considered one of the best-managed irrigation districts in Australia and contributes 99.5 per cent of the total production value of Western Australian bananas.

The Mid West has a diverse range of minerals and is also highly prospective for wind, wave, geothermal and biomass energy production and is increasingly recognised as having a role as a future energy hub including renewable hydrogen.

One of Australia's most diverse mining provinces that includes talc, gold, lead, tin, tantalum, zinc, heavy mineral sands, iron ore, copper, clays, pigments, nickel, vanadium, titanium, gypsum, chromite, platinoids, limestone, limesands and manganese ore.
Australia's first lead mine at Galena (Geraldine Lead Mine, 1849).

Home to the first iron ore mine in WA (Koolanooka, 1966).

Mount Magnet is the longest surviving gold mining settlement in WA.

The oldest and most productive talc mine in the southern hemisphere (second most productive in the world) is located in Three Springs.

Wilgie Mia near Cue is the oldest known mining operation in the world with excavations of ochre occurring for at least 40,000 years.

The world’s oldest rocks are located in the Mid West (in the Murchison subregion).

The significant radio quietness of the Murchison area was a key to Australia attracting part of the $2 billion (Euro) international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project (hosted jointly with South Africa).

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Astronomy and Space Science (CASS) has a presence in the Mid West through the $152 million Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO). The MRO will be a base for part of the SKA (the largest radio astronomy project ever developed) and a pre-eminent site for radio astronomy research and development.

CSIRO also operates the MRO Support Facility (MSF) in Geraldton.

The MSF provides support for CSIRO’s radio astronomy projects at the MRO. The MSF has access to super computer facilities at the Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre in Perth.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is also located at the MRO. Led by Curtin University, the MWA is an international collaboration between institutions in the US, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Both the existing ASKAP and MWA projects will be expanded from Australia's component of the SKA (stage 1).

The WA Space Centre near Mingenew was Australia’s first satellite park. The facility is owned and operated by Space Australia, a subsidiary of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).

There is so much to discover in the diverse Mid West region. A wealth of resources and natural beauty takes you on a journey through a range of industries. Here are a few examples:
• Closer to the coast, you will find the City of Greater Geraldton, Dongara, Kalbarri and the newly named national park, the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.
• The broad-acre farming land of the North Midlands awakens in spring with vibrant cascades of wildflowers across the breakaway country. These host one of the biggest open gardens in the world!
• The pristine coastline of the Batavia Coast and its rich coastal bounty includes the Western Rock Lobster of the Indian Ocean. A treasure of marine stories opens, full of courage and mutiny, to thrill all who dare discover them. A diverse culture of people and activities guarantees enjoyment to all who visit this region.

The Gascoyne region stretches across some 600km of pristine, postcard-perfect coastline that borders the Indian Ocean. This includes:
• The breathtaking, World Heritage area of Shark Bay. It is well known for its pearling history, sensational shell beaches, stromatolites and the dolphins at Monkey Mia.
• The Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park showcases the world’s largest fringing reef bursting with marine life including the breathtaking whale sharks.
• The rich ochre reds of the desert country. The vast outback of the Upper Gascoyne leads to Mt Augustus, the largest monolith in the world, and the awe-inspiring Kennedy Ranges which are part of the Kennedy Range National Park.
• Carnarvon is a sub-tropical coastal town that sits on the banks of the powerful Gascoyne River. This fresh water river system enables the successful growth of a diverse agriculture industry, recognised as the ‘food bowl’ of Western Australia and is a regional hub for many outlining pastoralists. Carnarvon gained world recognition for playing a part as integral support with its Tracking Station, ensuring man landed successfully on the moon. Now a space museum is a major attraction in town.

The Meru Waste Disposal Facility (MWDF) in Geraldton is the only Class III landfill north of Perth and services a number of Mid West local governments. The City of Greater Geraldton's proposed Community Reuse and Recycling Centre also supports Geraldton and parts of the wider region. Significant further investment in facilities such as the MWDF is required to meet State recycling targets.

A priority for the region must be to optimise the use of regional waste as a resource, with a number of innovative solutions available. Achieving economies of scale remains a significant challenge for the region in regard to management of waste.

In the Peel region the Western Australian Food Innovation Precinct (WAFIP) is being developed to support Western Australia in building a robust and vibrant food and beverage manufacturing sector.

Specialised equipment and research and production capabilities will ensure the Precinct offers a substantial variety of technologies and processing methods, aimed at scientifically proving nutrition and traceability, and the development of high-value food with extended shelf life.

The Precinct will create an enabling environment for Western Australian, Australian and global entrepreneurs, food companies and agri-enterprises to cost-effectively network, research, develop, prototype and market-test new value-added food products derived from Western Australia primary produce.

The changing climate will become an increasingly powerful driver.
Regardless of what people believe is the cause, it is getting hotter – every year for 44 years now. Bushfires have seen issues become increasingly political and there will likely be conflict between those seeking restoration of the planet and those seeking to find a way forward through technology.

Water Security is the capacity of the region to safeguard and provide sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, socio-economic development and preserving ecosystems.

Changing climatic conditions are expected to change the frequency, duration and ferocity of storms. There is a possibility of cyclonic activity moving further
south and an increase in cool season tornadoes with associated storm damage and flooding. Bushfire risk is also expected to increase.

Many people enjoy the natural wonders of the Murray River, Yalgorup National Park, beaches of the Indian Ocean and the Peel-Harvey Estuary, the largest and most diverse estuarine system in the south- west of WA. In the middle reaches of the Peel Region are extensive areas of eucalypt forest and the Darling Scarp to the west of the forests provides an abrupt, stunning backdrop to the Coastal Plain.

All of these environmental assets are under threat from influences including factors associated with climate change and the encroachment of population and industry. All of these assets are at, or nearing, critical levels in their existence and require urgent intervention.

Creative industries are defined as “those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent, and that have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property”.

The creative industry workforce has expanded from a focus on creative workers in the arts and cultural sector to a broader group of ‘creative industries’, incorporating workers with creative roles in design, marketing and the digital economy.

Located at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, the Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery has free exhibitions on display throughout the year. It presents around 10 diverse exhibitions each year featuring contemporary, indigenous, historical, traditional, design and sculptural artworks. The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre Foyer Galleries represent emerging and early career artists, supported by the Black Stump Gallery, Contemporary Art Spaces, Liveringa Gallery and Dwellingup Arts Collective.

Located 75km south of Perth, the Peel is Western Australia’s smallest region geographically, but one of the state’s fastest growing population centres, presenting opportunities for innovation in workforce skills, industry growth and economic diversification.

The Peel has a diverse landscape incorporating 50 kilometres of pristine coastline and urban, agricultural and horticultural land.

With a coastal plain bordered inland by the Darling Scarp, the Peel region is situated amongst the highest rainfall areas of South Western Australia. This climate, along with 23 rivers, streams and creeks, provides an extensive wetland system that is of international and national significance, supporting diverse and unique flora and fauna.

The five Peel Region councils are Mandurah, Murray, Serpentine Jarrahdale, Waroona and Boddington.

Murdoch University sub-campuses are located at Whitby and Mandurah and there is a TAFE campus at Mandurah. Mandurah is identified as a location for further growth, with the potential for an additional campus in the Mundijong/Whitby area.

There is an expanding supply of primary and secondary schools across the region, public and private, as well as access to Education Support Centres, Language Development Centre and Intensive English Centres.

Today’s educational systems are fundamentally misaligned with the future of work. It is expected that there will be a major disruption. The future will be less about knowledge and increasingly a lifelong approach to being technology-enabled and developing skills.

The need for reskilling will be more vocational so universities will need to adapt for relevance. Courses will also need to be shorter. Traditional three-year degrees are luxuries that cannot be afforded by reskilling workers.