Health is a major industry in the Orana region which has benefited from government funding and private investment. It is inclusive of public services, medical centres and specialist facilities across the region and its growth is evidenced by the numbers of medical professionals choosing to relocate to the region.

Companies include:
• Marathon Health
• Western NSW Local Health District
• Catholic Healthcare
• Macquarie Women’s Health
• Burnside
• Centacare

When it comes to health and wellbeing, the Northern Rivers is fortunate to have a number of hospitals and major health services within the region but gaps in specialist services, large distances and lack of public transport options impact residents’ ability to access the services they need.

The aim is for the region to be able to offer its residents a range of affordable, appropriate housing choices and access to health care, mental health care, aged care and other services that enhance wellbeing.

The region’s transition to a circular economy will bring opportunities for new industries, employment and waste reduction, while reducing emissions and improving resilience. The region can benefit economically, socially and environmentally from waste resources by reusing, repairing, sharing and recycling waste.

Agriculture is a heavy greenhouse gas emitter. Improved agricultural practices can reduce emissions, as can the transition to regenerative agricultural practices, such as increased crop and animal diversity, composting crop residue and organic matter, and improving grazing practices.

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 Innovation for Regional Success (IRS) group supports the development, sustainability and liveability of regional communities in Australia and internationally through research focused on regional innovation, entrepreneurship and capacity building.

The Greater Cities Commission is leading the delivery and coordination of four innovation districts with the greatest opportunity to accelerate economic recovery for the Six Cities Region.

These innovation districts will complement and reinforce each other, incorporating social, economic and sustainability benefits into their strategic development. The innovation districts the Commission are focussing on are:

• Tech Central
• Westmead Health and Innovation District (including Parramatta North)
• Macquarie Park

Tech Central is a place where universities, startups, scaleups, tech giants and local communities collaborate to solve problems, socialise and spark ideas that change our world.

Westmead Health and Innovation District will continue building on its status as a globally recognised destination for innovation, health, education and research, capitalising on existing major health and research facilities and ongoing government investment in health and transport infrastructure.

The Macquarie Park Innovation District situated to the north west of Sydney CBD includes a world class university, a major shopping centre, a hospital, a high-tech employment hub.

The University of Newcastle (UON) Ourimbah campus, halfway between Gosford and Wyong, is a key asset of the Central Coast. Other institutions including NSW TAFE Ourimbah campus, Central Coast Community College and TLK Community College also provide further education and pathways to employment for youth. These centres will play a critical role in up-skilling our workforce to help meet current and future demands/challenges.

The University of Newcastle Campus in Gosford will be a multi-faculty academic and innovation facility, and will cut the numbers of students forced to leave the Central Coast to study at university.

Tourism is a major industry in the Northern Rivers.

The region boasts some of the best beaches, spectacular walking tracks, top whale watching, snorkelling and fishing, and world heritage Gondwana rain forests. The diversity of our natural environment continues to attract a broad spectrum of tourist.

The tourism industry supports over nine thousand jobs in the Northern Rivers across a range of sectors. Almost two thirds of accommodation and food industry employment is in tourism. The industry also creates employment and revenue in retail and education.

The Northern Rivers, when included with the NSW Mid North Coast is Australia’s third largest tourism region based on domestic overnight stays.

Dubbo Regional Council aims to provide and support a range of waste education opportunities for the whole community. Sending valuable resources to landfill is expensive, harmful and unsustainable.

The key to more sustainable waste systems is rethinking what waste means, considering waste to be a valuable resource that we need to harness. When we reframe rubbish or waste as something useful and productive we begin closing the loops, transitioning to a circular economy that will sustain us and future generations.

While avoiding and reusing waste are the most effective approaches to tackling waste issues, recycling holds an important place in more sustainable waste systems when we talk about closing the loop.

Waste is a significant and increasing contributor to emissions. Moving to a circular economy will reduce emissions and improve sustainability of our cities and infrastructure. This will require major changes to waste management, recycling, and reuse across the six cities.

Increasing the separation of household food and organic waste can generate renewable energy and reduce emissions. This may require innovative solutions in higher-density areas where fewer households have access to their own garden, including through the development of community-led ‘maker spaces’ or ‘circular economy hubs’.

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.

Agriculture is a key industry for the Far West economically and for the unique scenic qualities of the rural lands where agriculture is undertaken.

The Far West lies in semi-arid rangelands in western NSW, generally west of the 500mm average annual rainfall limit. Agriculture is based on extensive grazing on predominantly native pastures and cropping on appropriate land on the western and southern margins.

Some irrigated agriculture occurs where there is access to surface water from the major rivers in the region. Opportunistic cropping can occur on ephemeral lake beds where conditions are conducive.

The livestock industry is a very significant part of the regional agricultural economy. Wool and sheep and lamb are the dominant industries. The goat industry capitalises on a formerly ‘pest’ species in the Far West and has grown over the last eight years. Goat meat production is a growing industry in the Far West. More than 95% of goat meat in Australia is exported, with NSW significantly contributing to the processing in other states and national export.

The grazing pressure of livestock and other pressures from non- domestic grazing animals (kangaroos, goats, rabbits) contributes to stock density and vegetation management issues.

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.

Dealing with the impacts of climate variability is a challenge for our whole community. We need to prepare for increasing variability in our region’s climate and make ourselves more resilient to extreme weather.

It’s never been more important to get together as a community and help each other manage and bounce back from climate-related challenges.

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.

Managing climate risk is about being ready to adapt to changes. For future generations in Albury and the region to enjoy the quality of life and experiences we currently have, we need to become more resilient to the impacts of climate variability.

The region has established education facilities, including Australia’s oldest regional university the University of New England, emerging technology-based clusters, and leading research and development facilities including animal genetics and breeding centres.

The tertiary education sector is at the frontier of the knowledge economy and Armidale is home to the University of New England (UNE).

The University conducts research on food security, health and resilience, and has clusters focused on agricultural science, environment, IT, health and creative arts.
UNE’s SMART Farm serves as a test-site for researching new technologies, including broadband connectivity in an effort to improve productivity, environmental sustainability, safety, workflow and social/business support networks on Australian farms.

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.

There are many different types of manufacturing in the Orana, with suppliers for other sectors such as mining and agriculture being predominant. Retail outlets vary across the region, ranging from food, clothing and homeware suppliers to service providers catering to a range of business needs.

Sydney is recognised as Australia’s only global city and the leading knowledge-based economy in the nation.

Innovation districts, including health and education hubs, remain priority areas for building knowledge intensive jobs growth across the six cities. A number of current projects will set the scene for improved economic dynamism and future knowledge intensive jobs growth across the Central River and Western Parkland Cities. This includes the recently announced Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility at Bradfield, as well as investment in the Viral Vector Manufacturing Facility at the Westmead Health and Innovation District.

Focus industries will include agriculture, tourism, technology, health industries, defence and aerospace, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and materials, smart freight and logistics, agriculture and tourism.

Innovation districts will complement the Aerotropolis, centred on semiconductors, defence, aerospace and modern manufacturing. Tech Central, which has a focus on deep tech, software as a service, quantum cyber and information and communication technology,
and Westmead, which drives health innovation, building on Westmead’s strengths in advanced therapeutics, translation cancer, immunology, vaccinology clinical trials and digital health.

The Orana region covers the central and north western sectors of New South Wales – an area of over 199,000 square kilometres, and has an estimated population of 122, 897. It extends from the hilly western slopes of the Warrumbungle Ranges in the east, to the flat plains of Cobar and Bourke in the west, and north to the Queensland border.

One of the region’s main assets is our people. The people within the region make up relaxed, friendly communities and welcome new residents. You’ll be able to create new connections while still being close to friends and family, enjoy a relaxed, time-rich lifestyle, be rewarded with great job opportunities and take advantage of affordable living. Whether you seek to make a difference in the business community, cheer for your children on the soccer field, or enjoy social days out at the races, the region can provide all of these opportunities and more.

The region also has a diverse industry base, rich history and geographical uniqueness, as well as many beautiful natural assets. It is rich in resources, with a highly productive agricultural sector providing food, wine and fibre to global markets. From black opals to fine red wines, renewable energy and tourism opportunities, the possibilities for you are endless.

Our communities provide the perfect combination of relaxed country living, coupled with exciting new opportunities and attractions. Set amongst some of Australia’s most beautiful landscapes, the Orana region comprises quaint townships full of history and beauty.

Bathurst has a rich history of supporting creative arts and creative industries. Charles Sturt University's School of Communication and Creative Industries has been a significant contributor to national and international talent pools for decades, with well-known alumni reaching the top of their field in journalism, communication, PR, and media management.

Outside Charles Sturt University, Bathurst has a strong field of creative professionals in architecture, design, graphic design, film and sound production, advertising and marketing, illustration, 3D animated design and more. Bathurst’s proximity to Sydney enables our creative professionals to not only serve the Central West and Orana Regions but also the nearby Sydney and Canberra metropolitan markets.