The Great Southern is Western Australia’s southernmost region, bordered by the Southern Ocean where the coast stretches for approximately 250 kilometres. Spanning over 39,007 square kilometres, the region represents 1.5% of Western Australia’s total land mass and extends inland for 200 kilometres.

Deemed as one of the most liveable regions in WA, the Great Southern is renowned for its unspoilt natural environment including white sand beaches, tall timber forests, wildflowers and a spectacular rugged coastline complete with whales, dolphins and other marine life, the region has an inspiring and diverse tourism offering.

The Great Southern region is known for its primary production, natural and harvested fishing, aquaculture, award winning vineyards, fine food and wine culture, ecotourism and natural attractions.

The City of Albany, the State’s oldest European settlement (settled in 1826) is the region’s administrative, business and financial hub.

North Queensland has long been a base for various major industries, including mineral processing, sugar mills, beef processing and concrete batching plants.
Industries considered for the region include sea, air, rail and road-dependent industrial uses such as manufacturing (chemicals and metals production), minerals processing, food processing, intermodal freight and logistics and bulk storage.

The region is home to key defence bases including Lavarack Barracks (one of Australia’s largest), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Townsville (co-located with Townsville Airport) and the Ross Island Barracks. The Port of Townsville also supports naval operations for both Australia and foreign vessels.

Townsville is the base for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef studies, TropWATER, CSIRO and ReefHQ aquarium.

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.

The Hunter features coastal and valley landscapes, internationally renowned wine production, important natural areas, both urban and rural lifestyles and extensive mining resources. Together with its global companies, these features make the Hunter an attractive place to work, live and play.

The region is also home to a multi-million dollar thoroughbred horse breeding industry, world-class wineries and national parks, and its river estuaries are the largest oyster producers in the state.

Ipswich economy is driven by high value industries of manufacturing, health care and social assistance, retail trade, education and defence. Ipswich is located in a prime location in South East Queensland, between Gold Coast to the south, Toowoomba to the west, Brisbane to the east, and the Sunshine Coast to the north.

The Wheatbelt is so called because of its extensive agricultural industry. The region is the primary producer of cereal crops in the state and contributes other agricultural products such as canola, olives, vegetables, wine grapes, honey, citrus fruits and livestock.

Whilst agriculture remains the dominant industry, the economy of the region is also supported by mining, commerce, retail, manufacturing, fishing and tourism.

The natural and cultural attributes of the region make it extremely versatile in tourism service and product offerings.

Support for local government, business and communities is required to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the regional, state, national and international tourist sectors. A collaboration model across 42 shires is required.

A ‘Wander the Wheatbelt’ online platform is being investigated with short term opportunities to boost tourism.

Ipswich economy is driven by high value industries of manufacturing, health care and social assistance, retail trade, education and defence. Ipswich is located in a prime location in South East Queensland, between Gold Coast to the south, Toowoomba to the west, Brisbane to the east, and the Sunshine Coast to the north.

The NSW Minerals Council’s latest annual Member Expenditure Survey has found that in the last financial year 28 participating NSW mining companies supported thousands of mining jobs and maintained high levels of direct spending in the Hunter during the Covid-19 pandemic, boosting the region’s economy at a time when it was most needed.

The Central Coast is a region of New South Wales, Australia, lying on the Pacific Ocean north of Sydney. Towns like Terrigal and Avoca Beach feature expansive beaches and surfing. The Entrance is a resort area offering a range of recreation at the confluence of the ocean and Tuggerah Lake, a saltwater wetland. The city of Gosford is the main commercial hub and visitor gateway.

As a region, we have economic opportunities in front of us – the digital revolution, emerging local industries, smart technologies, a growing innovation eco-system, and a desirable growing visitor economy.

The South West is one of Western Australia’s nine recognised regions located outside the Perth metropolitan area. Fronting the Indian and Southern oceans, covering 24,000 square kilometres and including 12 local government areas, the South West is the most populous and economically diverse of WA’s regions.

Of the landmass that comprises the region, about two-thirds is made up of State Forest, National Parks and regional parks, with the southern forests being the largest component. About 25% is occupied by agricultural and rural uses, with about 8% used for industrial and urban development.

The economy benefits from the combination of the commodity rich hinterland (agriculture and mineral resources) in close proximity to a working port. Alumina refining and associated construction play a major role in economic output and employment. Agriculture, forestry and associated processing are significant sectors supplying dairy, beef, vegetables and wood/timber products for domestic consumption and increasingly for export markets.

Historically, timber production and agriculture have been the predominant land uses within the Margaret River region, which has some of the most productive agricultural land in the State. The agriculture sector is diverse and includes a variety of cropping, viticulture and wine, fruit, flower and vegetable production, olives and olive oil, pasture production and livestock - beef and dairy cattle, sheep and deer, timber and artisan cheese production.

Apprenticeships and traineeships are excellent examples of pathways into work that have proven to be effective. But they are specific to certain occupations.

Apprentices and trainees made up about 10 per cent of the pathways people take into the workforce. He said policymakers needed to create better vocational education and training (VET) courses to give young people stronger options outside universities and apprenticeships.

3.9 million people were enrolled in vocational education and training last year, but up to 2.4 million of those were in short courses such as first aid and construction safety.

The need for aggressive climate action is clear and compelling. While confronting, this is a challenge that we must embrace with a sense of hope rather than despair. Tasmania, with its negative emissions profile and renewable energy assets, can be an example to the world on climate action, but much more does need to be done.

Tasmania has an impressive record on climate action� In 2015, we were the first Australian jurisdiction to achieve net zero emissions and we have achieved this commitment four years in a row.

The latest figures show we have the lowest emissions per person in the country.

Our State is now 100 per cent self- sufficient in renewable energy and continues to lead Australia’s transition to a low emissions economy. This includes a commitment to generate 200 per cent of our energy needs from renewable energy by 2040, and fast-tracking a renewable hydrogen industry in Tasmania.

Tasmania is also fortunate to have world-class climate science capability and detailed climate change projections to inform our decisions.
Despite our strong advantages, Tasmania is not immune to the impacts of a changing climate. In the past five years we have seen extreme flooding, fires, drought, biosecurity concerns and marine heatwaves� These events have had an environmental, economic and social impact on government, business, communities and households.

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.

Barossa Regional University Campus helps students access higher education without having to leave their community.

TAFE SA Barossa Valley campus offers courses that have been developed in collaboration with industry to ensure we meet the training and education needs of the local community.

Study areas include pathway courses, aged and disability services, agriculture, automotive, building trades, children’s education, conservation and ecosystem management, cookery, horticulture, hospitality, nursing, viticulture and wine and spirits.

The state-of-the-art Equine Health and Performance Centre is located on the Roseworthy Campus. The centre provides the highest standard of equine veterinary care, housing a number of specialist veterinarians, general practitioners, technicians and staff.

The dairy industry is moving towards a more intensive system of production, with efficiencies in establishing ‘dairy pads’ as well as the more traditional fodder-based dairies.

In the region, beef farming is undertaken on a smaller scale that other regions across NSW due to the smaller size of properties. It operates as part of a mixed farming system with cropping or hay production, enabling feed to be stored on farm for drier periods or sold. The nursery industry relies on many of the similar secondary industries as the other agricultural industries in the region.

Wheat, oats and maize grown in the Shoalhaven provide feed for dairy cattle in the region. Lucerne, pasture and cereal hay grown in the Shoalhaven provide feed for cattle and Lucerne hay for the equine industry. The Bega Cheese processing plant is the main milk processor in the South East and Tablelands Region. The plant employs over 500 staff in the Bega Valley.

The south coast’s oysters, mussels and scallops enjoy an international reputation as
being safe, sustainable and high quality. Aquaculture provides regional employment, tourism opportunities, food security and a reliable supply of quality fresh seafood for locals and international diners alike.

Anyone can have a great idea or come up with an innovative solution to a problem. The hard part when you’re in a region can be getting access to the help you need to turn ideas into a business and a business into a global success story. Advance Queensland is helping Queenslanders to grow their business and build an innovation economy.

The Whitsunday Climate Innovation Hub, an initiative of the Whitsunday Regional Council, is aiming to improve the resilience of the Whitsunday region in the face of increasing climate change hazards, such as storm tide and coastal erosion. The Hub acts as a think-tank, bringing together national and international experts in law, climate adaptation, finance, insurance, tourism and agriculture, and provides climate information to the wider community.

The Goldfields-Esperance is located in the south-eastern corner of Western Australia and is the largest region in the state with a land area of 950,449 square kilometres. The region is more than three times the size of the state of Victoria and over a third of Western Australia's total land mass. It is bounded by the Pilbara region to the north, the Mid-West and Wheatbelt region to the west, the Great Southern region to the south-west, the Southern Ocean to the south and the WA border to the east.

The region has a long, rich association with gold mining, being the premier producer for the state. Nickel also features with strong production and healthy reserves. Agriculture and gold-related tourism are also strong contributors to the region's economy, as well as fishing and aquaculture along the coastlines of Esperance and Ravensthorpe.

The Sunshine Coast encompasses beach resorts, surf spots and rural hinterland in southern Queensland, Australia. It stretches from the coastal city of Caloundra, near Brisbane, north to the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park, home to multicoloured sand dunes, mangrove forests, and shallow lakes. Upscale Noosa Heads has boutique shops, waterways, and walking trails through Noosa National Park.

The Sunshine Coast’s economy continues to evolve into a modern, ‘smart’ economy based on sound growth across numerous high valued and knowledge-based sectors including professional business services, innovative manufacturing and numerous high-tech start-ups.

The strength of the regional economy is based in its diversity and strength across a number of key sectors including healthcare, education, finance and professional business services.

The Sunshine Coast is home to industry disruptors like Youi, Huddle, Gourmet Garden, Country Chef, Ambrose Building, Auto & General, Get Wines Direct and Office HQ.
Businesses tap into an inspired workforce of more than 83,000 students across University of Sunshine Coast, two TAFE campuses and more than 150 registered training organisations.

Agribusiness – focusing on niche food and beverage product and value-adding production – which has a strong foundation in the region and is a key part of the economic future of the hinterland communities. This sector will expand in response to burgeoning national and global demand a clean and safe food supply.