A Regional Vision for Growth: What Southern NSW & ACT Businesses Need to Know

If you're running a business in Southern NSW or the ACT, you're probably feeling the pressure of challenges that seem increasingly difficult to solve on your own.

Finding staff. Securing housing for workers. Managing rising costs. Accessing reliable transport and freight connections. Navigating energy transition opportunities. Attracting customers and investment.

While these issues affect individual businesses, they are also regional challenges requiring regional solutions.

That's why Regional Development Australia Southern NSW & ACT recently launched the Southern NSW & ACT Regional Vision - THRIVE 2035.

Developed through extensive consultation with more than 600 stakeholders across the region, the Vision provides a shared roadmap for the future of one of Australia's most diverse regional economies. Stretching from the Southern Highlands to the Far South Coast, across the Snowy Mountains and into the ACT, our region contributes more than $155 billion in annual economic output and supports almost 385,000 jobs.

But sustaining that success will require a coordinated approach to growth.

Why a Regional Vision Matters to Business

Many businesses tell us they are spending increasing amounts of time dealing with challenges outside their direct control.

Workforce shortages are limiting growth opportunities. Housing affordability is making it difficult to attract and retain staff. Infrastructure constraints are increasing costs and reducing productivity. In some communities, population growth is placing pressure on services, while others face the challenge of retaining young people and attracting skilled workers.

The Regional Vision acknowledges these realities and focuses on practical priorities that support business success and regional prosperity.

Rather than prescribing solutions, it identifies the key areas where collaboration between business, government, industry and community leaders can deliver the greatest impact.

The Six Priorities Shaping Our Future

The Vision identifies six interconnected priorities:

Population and Liveability - ensuring our communities remain attractive places to live, work and invest.

Employment and Training - developing the workforce needed to support future industry growth.

Business Growth and Innovation - creating the conditions for businesses to expand, innovate and access new markets.

Transport and Logistics - improving connectivity within the region and to national and international markets.

Resilience and Sustainability - supporting communities and businesses to adapt to changing economic, environmental and social conditions.

Hubs of Regional Development - recognising the unique strengths of our cities, towns and industry clusters and leveraging them for broader regional benefit.

While each priority is important in its own right, together they form a blueprint for sustainable economic growth.

Turning Data into Action

One of the strongest messages from businesses during consultation was the need for better access to regional information and evidence.

To support this, RDASNA has complemented the Vision with a range of regional reports examining workforce trends, housing, transport and tourism. Businesses can also access regional economic and demographic data through the DataAU and REMPLAN platforms available on the RDASNA website.

These resources help businesses understand emerging trends, identify opportunities and make more informed investment decisions.

What Happens Next?

The launch of the Regional Vision is not the end of the process - it's the beginning.

The Vision is intended to guide advocacy, investment and decision-making over the coming decade. It provides a common framework that businesses, councils, industry groups, educational institutions and governments can use to align priorities and work towards shared outcomes.

For business owners, it offers something equally valuable: confidence that the region has a clear direction and a collective commitment to addressing the issues that matter most.

Regional success doesn't happen by accident. It happens when communities work together around a shared vision.

The Southern NSW & ACT Regional Vision provides that opportunity. The question now is how we collectively turn that vision into action.