The Australian Government will deliver two new regional programs in the 2022-23 October Budget to invest in community infrastructure in way that is transparent, fairer and more sustainable, with $ 1 billion committed over three years.

The Growing Regions Program will provide new opportunities for regional local councils and not-for-profit organisations through an annual open, competitive grants process.

The regional Precincts and Partnerships Program will provide a strategic, nationally consistent mechanism for funding and coordinating larger-scale projects that transform a place, to benefit communities in regional cities and wider rural and regional Australia.

The Government will consult on the guidelines to ensure best practice transparency and consistency of process, as well as fairer distribution of funds to ensure people can have confidence in the new programs.

Building Better Regions Fund Round 6 will not proceed. 

More details on the two new programs will be available soon.

‘Industry 4.0’ (or the Fourth Industrial Revolution) refers to the automation and digitisation of supply chains, and includes technologies such big data, robotics, IoT, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, sensor technologies and machine-to-machine communications. RDA Gold Coast recognised that COVID-19 has pushed many businesses to adopt emerging digital technologies out of necessity. The pandemic has also highlighted the pressing need to build less vulnerable, Australia-based supply chains, supported by cross-sector partnerships.

Seeking to build on this emerging technology focus, RDA Gold Coast’s Industry 4.0 project has identified significant Industry 4.0 capabilities across a number of key sectors on the Gold Coast. These include advanced manufacturing, health and medical technology, space and aerospace, textiles, additive manufacturing, food technology, sport and film. Supporting the development of these emerging clusters and attracting complementary supply chain businesses and collaborations will help drive new investment and create the jobs of the future on the Gold Coast.

A practical and immediate outcome of the project was the development of a new Industry 4.0 website for the region, which includes information on grants, opportunities and resources, and a searchable directory of Gold Coast Industry 4.0 users and suppliers, including local tech champions such as Gilmore Space, MEXX Engineering, PWR Advanced Cooling Technologies, Austech VR, Coletek, Materialise, Datarwe and VirtuReal. The directory can be searched by 14 different technology types, and Gold Coast businesses can upload their own details for inclusion. The overall goal is to promote and support technology-based businesses, and see the Gold Coast become a world-class innovation powerhouse.

Businesses across the Gold Coast region should think before dismissing direct business fibre as too expensive for their business. There are new opportunities the nbn™ network provides to large areas across the Gold Coast from Yatala to Cooloongatta - in fact there are over 24,500 businesses within in the city of the Gold Coast that can now access nbn’s fastest business grade broadband at similar wholesale prices as those in major capital cities. 

These dedicated business fibre zones are part of a $700 million investment by nbn™ making business grade fibre – known as Enterprise Ethernet - accessible and affordable to more businesses.  

Fast and reliable internet is more important than ever, particularly as business owners acknowledge the need for increased digitisation, decarbonisation and limit disruption. Greater business fibre accessibility on the Gold Coast helps level the playing field for businesses of all sizes, including the fast growing micro-business segment. Eligible businesses within any of nbn™ Business Fibre Zones that order an Enterprise Ethernet service will receive their chosen speed tier and service based on the same CBD-equivalent wholesale charge that is applied to a company based in a CBD Zone, and if you take up a three-year plan with your provider, nbn™ currently does not charge your provider a connection fee.  

Enterprise Ethernet is the fastest symmetrical wholesale product available, with a 99.95 per cent network availability uptime target, helping to reduce business downtime. All business nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet services are managed by a dedicated team that understands Australian businesses, providing business connection and assurance support 24/7. 

To get started and find out more on how business nbn™ can support your network needs, visit www.nbnco.com.au/business to check your address and discover the benefits. With the nbn™ network you have the flexibility to start small and increase your plan as your business needs grow. This handy website also can link you directly to a business nbn™ service provider in your area and their competitive pricing plans. Further information on the business fibre zones can be found here: Business Fibre Initiative | nbn (nbnco.com.au)

If you’re part of a business group in the region and would like a face to face presentation for your group or webinar on business fibre opportunities and the nbn™ network please contact

The Gold Coast Regional Jobs Committee, managed by RDA Gold Coast, has just released a review of the Gold Coast tourism and hospitality workforce.

Tourism and hospitality are vital sectors of the Gold Coast economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous impact on these sectors in a number of ways including:

• Inability to trade due to COVID-19 restrictions
• Loss of workforce due to international students and migrants returning overseas
• Loss of workforce due to staff transitioning to other sectors.

At a national level, there is a tight labour market across many sectors including hospitality and tourism. This is being keenly felt on the Gold Coast and as COVID-19 restrictions lift and tourists begin to come back, the industry is deeply concerned that they will not have the chefs, cooks, baristas, and hotel staff etc to meet demand. Download the full report to read more.

Download the Report