Page 1 ABOUT THE REGION Goulburn Mulwaree RELOCATION CASE STUDY Canberra airport 1 hour Canberra CBD 1 hour Wollongong 1 hour, 45 minutes Port Kembla 1 hour, 45 minutes Sydney airport 1 hour, 50 minutes Sydney CBD 2 hours, 10 minutes Melbourne CBD 6 hours, 45 minutes DRIVING TIMES FROM GOULBURN “Goulburn is so close to everything, I travel to and from Canberra and Sydney to shoot music videos and record, and I also have a peaceful life that allows me to create my music.” Five years ago, pop singer Tahlia Aubusson returned to her home town of Goulburn to pursue her music career. Swapping the fast paced life of Sydney for the country enabled Tahlia to focus on her passion for music. Just two hours from Sydney and one hour from Canberra, Goulburn gives businesses great access to markets, resources and ports but with much lower overheads. Combined with a strong and ready labour pool, you can see why many business have chosen Goulburn for their next location. Location, with country and rural lifestyle benefits, as well as excellent services and amenities, makes the Goulburn area a fantastic place to live and work.
“Goulburn is so close to everything, I travel to and from Canberra and Sydney to shoot music videos and record, and I also have a peaceful life that allows me to create my music.” Five years ago, pop singer Tahlia Aubusson returned to her home town of Goulburn to pursue her music career. Swapping the fast paced life of Sydney for the country enabled Tahlia to focus on her passion for music.
Just two hours from Sydney and one hour from Canberra, Goulburn gives businesses great access to markets, resources and ports but with much lower overheads. Combined with a strong and ready labour pool, you can see why many business have chosen Goulburn for their next location. Location, with country and rural lifestyle benefits, as well as excellent services and amenities, makes the Goulburn area a fantastic place to live and work.
Page 2
EXPORTS 2016
$186M
GROSS VALUE ADDED 2016 (GVA)
PUBLIC ADMIN & SAFETY 15%HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL ASSITANCE 13.5%CONSTRUCTION 7.8%
2,334 BUSINESSES
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
6.6% (SEPT 2017)
MEDIAN INCOME
$1196 pw
$151.3MTOTAL TOURISM & HOSPITALITY SALES IN 2016
$1,225M
GVA
Economic Snapshot
POPULATION 29,918
POPULATION GROWTH SINCE 2011
5% PROJECTED GROWTH TO 2036
$44M(2016-2017) VALUE OF BUILDING APPROVALS
ECONOMICGROWTH
1.6%*
15 PRIMARY SCHOOLS
3 HIGH SCHOOLS
1 SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL
PEOPLE
PLACES
PRODUCTS
36 GPs PER 10,000 PEOPLE
20%
$293K MEDIAN UNIT PRICES
$399K MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE
11,561LOCAL JOBS
88% OF THE JOBS IN GOULBURN ARE DONE BY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE LGA
$350 MEDIAN RENT PER WEEK
- HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL ASSISTANCE- RETAIL TRADE- PUBLIC ADMIN & SAFETY
*HEADLINE GROSS REGIONAL PRODUCT 2015-2016
TOP 3 INDUSTRIESBY EMPLOYMENT
Page 3
The main street is home to a variety of specialty shops and independent retailers, cafes, pubs and restaurants. Two modern shopping centres bookend the traditional “Country Mile of Shopping” featuring many of the big name shops you’re familiar with alongside unique Goulburn businesses.What’s more, there are no parking meters.
Competitive Advantage
LIFESTYLEOwning your own home with a backyard and a BBQ, living in a community of friends is the Great Australian Dream.In Goulburn, it’s still an affordable dream. Goulburn is a safe, community-orientated ‘township’ with city advantages such as shopping, quality education and reliable telecommunications without the stress of traffic jams and supermarket queues. The city is surrounded by natural landscapes peppered with picturesque villages, views of the big skies, clean air and tranquil environment. The Goulburn region welcomes newcomers, in fact, 62% of the population were not born in Goulburn Mulwaree, rather they have chosen to live in the area. In a recent survey, the most common reasons for moving were: for work, connection with friends/family already here and the rural/country atmosphere.
HEALTHCAREThe Goulburn region has well-establishedhealth care infrastructure and a strong and efficient network of community support services. With the population growing at a sustainable rate, the region is well placed to deliver quality health care and community services to its residents - both now and into the future.When it comes to your health and well-being, Goulburn’s services don’t end with the highly regarded Goulburn Base Hospital and numerous medical clinics.Goulburn has a range of alternative practices when it comes to health care including natural therapies and alternative medicine. No matter what your preferences andneeds, Goulburn Mulwaree accommodates them all.
Opportunities abound to do business in and around Goulburn. Where the city was historically a regional centre dependent on a large railway workshop, big wool stores and textile mills, Goulburn now looks to a future in the new economy.Being so close to Sydney and Canberra - yet proudly independent of these major centres - Goulburn is ideally situated for businesses and individuals from diverse fields such as IT, communications, retail, distribution and logistics, engineering, mines, renewable energy and construction.With several mining projects, wind farms and a new Multi Function Centre on the drawing board, and the proposed High Speed Rail project expected to include a station in the region, the business centre that is Goulburn, can only grow in stature and prosperity.
SHOPPING
When we say Goulburn is a family-friendly town, we mean it.There’s nothing more important for children than a good education and that’s guaranteed in the Goulburn district with 15 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and a special needs school to choose from.For Goulburn’s school leavers and mature age students, there is a wealth of tertiary education and training options available. There’s also a Country University Centre. The Country University Centre is a facility which provides ‘campus like’ access and opportunities to regional students. The Goulburn Campus of Illawarra TAFE supplies a wide range of courses while the NSW Police Academy, Goulburn Regional Conservatorium of Music, Southern Tablelands Group Training, Allens Training and other private providers offer further training options. That’s just in Goulburn. Three universities in Canberra and a university campus in Moss Vale are all within a one hour commute.
Goulburn has maintained the country style on-street angle parking along the main road with free parking all around the CBD. Shopping in Goulburn is great - city convenience without the stress.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
6.6% (SEPT 2017)
$151.3MTOTAL TOURISM & HOSPITALITY SALES IN 2016
15 PRIMARY SCHOOLS
3 HIGH SCHOOLS
1 SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL
- HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL ASSISTANCE- RETAIL TRADE- PUBLIC ADMIN & SAFETY
*HEADLINE GROSS REGIONAL PRODUCT 2015-2016
EDUCATION
Page 4
MOTOR SPORTS
EXTRACTIVESRAIL FREIGHT
Goulburn Mulwaree is home to Wakefield park, one of the largest privately run and publicly accessible motor sport tracks in NSW. The facility attracts corporate clients for use in vehicle and tyre testing and a wide range of motor sport events, including Club Days and Manufacturer Demonstration Days. The surrounding area specialises in motor vehicle related services, such as spray painting and smash repairs, and a motor sport cluster is emerging around this capacity.
Mining and quarrying activities are the “shooting stars” of the local economy – particularly in the northern part of the region which has been identified by the NSW Government as a State Significant Resource for the supply of heavy construction materials for Sydney. Multi-nationals Holcim and Boral, alongside the family-owned Gunlake and several smaller quarries, are creating significant employment for locals and relocating professionals. Savvy business operators are also benefitting from the diverse supply chain opportunities which are emerging with these large companies who are keen to do business locally. This sector currently employs 120 people and will be actively recruiting for the next two years.
Goulburn has a major rail freight terminal and inter modal hub with capacity to move freight. Since 2010, CFCL Australia (more information in case study on the following page) has had a base in Goulbourn. This company has a large workshop facility and leases locmotives and wagons to clients, such as Sydney Rail and John Holland. CFCL also provides a range of maintenance and repair services to both internal and external customers. CFCL works in partnership to provide transport solutions for local industries. For example, the company currently provides transportation, three times a week, between Goulburn and Port Botany for approximately 57 wagons full of timber for export markets and scrap metal destined for recycling.
An exciting new development is that of Heron Resources’ high-grade Woodlawn Zinc-Copper Project. This is one of the few new Australian zinc projects that is fully funded to production. With construction and recruitment now underway, the company is on track to participate in the pricing environment that is supported by the strong zinc physical market.
Industries & Opportunities
Page 5
SOUTHERN TABLELANDS MEDIA, established in 2017 is a marketing company based in Goulburn. The company specialises in providing marketing solutions, such as social and digital media strategies and branding, to companies in the region.
Tanya Creer, founder of Southern Tablelands Media, her husband and their young son, were living in Sydney’s Surry Hills when they decided to chase space, pack their bags permanently and head to the country. The couple already had some idea of what living in the region would be like. Tanya’s husband has a passion for vintage cars and for many years, they spent weekends away at their holiday home in the region. (They brought this property when they realised it was a cheaper and better way to garage the cars than renting space in Sydney). They chose Goulburn because they liked the feel of the area, it was affordable to buy a property and yet still close to Sydney. As the couple were both freelancers and could both work remotely, the family moved. The family currently live on a property in Middle Arm, about 25 minutes drive from Gouburn. Tanya says, “We absolutely love the area, it’s so much easier to live here than in Sydney”. The couple are still happily living in the region, but four years on, Tanya is no longer working as a freelancer. Living in the area, Tanya saw an opportunity to focus her business more locally.She established Southern Tablelands Media, located in Workspace 2580, a co-workspace in Goulburn. Tanya says, “I saw that businesses in the local community weren’t getting the same access to services as those in Sydney. Businesses were going to companies based outside the region to get the website, marketing and business to business services they needed, but weren’t always satisfied with the results. We are currently working with Mitre 10 Goulburn, Goulburn Produce, Divall’s and have just started some work with Goulburn Mulwaree Council. I’m also getting a
lot of work from small businesses wanting to improve their websites or logos, or sometimes just advice on how small businesses can market themselves”. Tanya says that, in her experience, a local provider is especially important to more traditional businesses. Tanya says her business is very well received. She says that she loves the local clients, and that Goulburn, as a community, feels more connected than other places. Interestingly, social media and Instagram connections are how local clients tend to find her in the first place. Tanya says, “Local clients are different. While they may come to us through social media connections, once they find us, they generally need more time for face to face meetings”. These meetings are important to both the client and to Tanya, in understanding her clients’ needs.“In the city”, she says, “you still need to have the face to face meetings, but meetings tend to be shorter and more abrupt. Our local clients are lovely and fantastic, they are very appreciative, thankful and generally more communicative as well as being more connected”.
Case Study
Page 6
Case Study
FIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES Fife Financial Services specialise in servicing regional Australia with a diverse range of financial services.Nick Fife and his wife moved back to Goulburn in 2010 and started the business after 10 years of working for one of the large hotel chains in the city. Nick Fife’s family have lived in the Goulburn area for four generations and this influenced the Fife’s decision to return to Goulburn to start their family and their business, Fife Financial Services. The Fife’s also felt that they wanted life/work balance. “In Goulburn”, says Nick, “you’re 5 minutes from everywhere. If you have to go to a school event, it’s 5 minutes,. If you have to meet with a client, it’s 5 minutes”. Nick notes that the Goulburn the Fifes returned to was very different to the one when they had left. Nick says that Goulburn has significantly evolved from the regional town it was 30 years ago. “Goulburn is still affordable compared with living in Sydney and Canberra, which means that people have expendable income, and the town now has great services such as a better range of shops and some great restaurants and cafes.”From a business perspective, Nick says Goulburn has great accessibility to markets as it sits in the centre of NSW. This ideal location has helped the business grow. Fife Financial Service’s now has offices in Wagga Wagga and Canberra as well as the head office in Goulburn. In 2016, the business won the Goulburn Chamber of Commerce & Industry Excellence in Small Business Award and has been a finalist in the Australian Broking Industry Awards ‘Regional Office of the Year’ category for the past 3 years.
CFCL AUSTRALIA
CFCL Rail Services’ Goulburn maintenance facility is located in Goulburn on the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor. The workshops are purpose-built to perform the complete range of services, including the overhaul, maintenance, modification and painting of locomotives, freight wagons and passenger cars.
Greg Bonett, Site Manager, relocated from Queensland to work for CFCL two years ago. Greg says that, the transition to living in Goulburn was hard at first for his overseas born wife, but once they got involved in the local multi-cultural society, they made friends easily. Greg says there’s much more to Goulburn and the region than what he had expected.
The services provided by CFCL are highly specialised. The company cur-rently employs 20 full time staff and 2 casual staff. The staff and their families have moved to Goulburn from across Australia.
Of the services provided by CFCL, 65% of the work done is for internal customers and 35% for external customers. For example, the workshop is currently rebuilding a 1915 steam locomotive for a private customer.
Page 7
Case Study
STOCKADE BREW CO is an award winning brewing company originating in Western Sydney and founded in 2014. In 2015, the company began looking for a site to expand their operations. Sydney land and water costs made them search for a property further away - but within 2.5 hours drive of Sydney. After an extensive search, Goulburn ticked all the boxes and Stockade are relocating to a newly refurbished site in Goulburn in late 2018.
Hailing from South West Sydney, Stockade Brew Co began life in 2014. Offering a core line-up of 5 sessionable beers and an ambitious roster of bi-monthly limited edition brews, the brewery has gone from strength to strength. Stockade has won over 50 awards across the likes of the Australian International Beer Awards, the Craft Beer Awards, the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show and World Beer Awards, where they won the title of “World’s Best Imperial Stout”.
In 2016 Stockade started exporting to Singapore and in 2017 began expansion into other South East Asian countries such as Korea and Thailand.
Goulburn offered Stockade the right mix of infrastructure, location, services, water security and land prices - all close enough to Sydney.
The new brewery will add a 10 year expansion plan worth $15M and is expected to create 50-100 new jobs in Goulburn.
Anton says that Council has been excellent to work with. “I highly encourage people to come to Goulburn and look around...There isn’t another city that can compete (between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne)”.
Company Director Anton Szpitalak has ambition to set up a ‘hub of beer excellence in Australia’.
Page 8
NOTES ECONOMIC SNAPSHOTCurrent population. This document uses Estimated Resident Population for 2015-2016. These estimates for Local Government Areas (LGAs) and are prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)to correct for the Census under count and are updated annually. These are the closest to the official estimates of resident population and are often used by State Government in allocating per capita funding to LGAs.Population Growth since 2011. Based on ABS Census data 2011-2016.Projected population growth to 2036. Estimates are to 2036 and are prepared by ID and available under the Joint Organisation of Councils subscription. Median house & unit price. This data comes from local real estate agents and is based on property sales over the previous 12 months (January 2017-January 2018). Other data in the Economic Snapshots comes from Joint Organisation of Councils subscriptions to ID profiles or directly from 2016 census data.
Regional Development Australia Southern InlandShop 5, Central Arcade, 158-162 Auburn StreetGoulburn NSW 2580Phone: 02 4822 6397Email: [email protected] Address: PO Box 775, Goulburn NSW 2580
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSRegional Development Australia Southern Inland (RDASI) would like to thank the NSW Government for their funding assistance in producing this report. We also thank the Goulburn Mulwaree Council for their assistance. RDASI is an Australian Government Initiative.
Prepared by Strategic Economic Solutions May 2018.
CONTACTS
Goulburn Mulwaree Council Civic Centre, 184-194 Bourke Street, Goulburn NSW 2580Phone: 02 4823 4444Email: [email protected] www.goulburn.nsw.gov.auPostal Address:Locked Bag 22, Goulburn NSW 2580
