The Region’s largest employers include the education and training sector, health care, retail trade, agriculture and the accommodation and food services sector.

The industry sectors which drive the region’s economy in terms of regional exports, employment and industry value-added include Agri-business, Tourism and Education. These are the three ‘pillars’ of the Armidale regional economy.

The Armidale Region’s largest employers include the education and training sector, health care, retail trade, agriculture and the accommodation and food services sector.

The industry sectors which drive the region’s economy in terms of regional exports, employment and industry value-added include Agri-business, Tourism and Education. These are the three ‘pillars’ of the Armidale regional economy.

The Armidale Region’s largest employers include the education and training sector, health care, retail trade, agriculture and the accommodation and food services sector.

The industry sectors which drive the region’s economy in terms of regional exports, employment and industry value-added include Agri-business, Tourism and Education. These are the three ‘pillars’ of the Armidale regional economy.

Advanced Manufacturing in the region is largely based around food and agricultural products processing. But there is a growing ICT industry in the region focused on software and hardware development in support of agriculture.

Australia’s economy is becoming more dependent on ideas and problem-solving, with the largest increase in jobs in Australia being those that require higher-level qualifications.

The transition towards a ‘knowledge economy’ has been driven by globalisation and a re-organisation of business, with enterprises and individuals becoming specialised through the outsourcing of non-core business functions assisted by the use of new and constantly evolving digital technologies.

Armidale stands out as a significant education centre with an established university, TAFE and network of independent and public schools. Armidale has a thriving digital economy, community services, recreational parks and sporting facilities, all of which have created employment and business opportunities.

Armidale also has an impressive recycling rate with only four per cent of household and business waste making it to landfill. We are all working together when it comes to recycling and protecting the ecosystems of our environment, both local and beyond.

Armidale Regional Council declared a Climate Emergency at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 23 October 2019.

A report - A Framework for Climate Action - was subsequently prepared by a working group of the Environment and Sustainability Advisory Group, the Climate Emergency Working Group.
The report provides recommendations on current initiatives and additional future actions that may be undertaken in the short, medium and long term.

These include:
1. Reduce greenhouse emissions aiming, by 2030, for no additional contribution from our region to the global temperature rise;
2. Adapt to current and anticipated climate change impacts;
3. Reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, e.g. Sequester and store carbon in trees and soils.
The Climate Emergency Working Group (CEWG) was formed in March 2020 and an Interim report was provided to Council in April 2020 with their final report A Framework for Climate Action (PDF 856.3KB) tabled at the ESAC meeting on 10 August and as part of the committee minutes at the Ordinary Council Meeting on the 19 August 2020.
A $60,000 budget allocation in alignment to the Community Strategic Plan and Delivery Program was provided in the 2020/21 budget. Any further initiatives identified in the report developed by CEWG would need to be considered by Council and funding allocated in future budgets. The final funding split has been allocated to:
• Solar panels at Monckton Aquatic Centre; community education and risk analysis on outcome of climate change

There are a number of significant arts and cultural facilities in the Armidale region including the New England Regional Art Museum (housing two of the most important and extensive collections of Australian art in regional Australia), the New England Conservatorium of Music, the Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, Saumarez Homestead, and several museums located within the towns and the university.

Armidale is also well placed to take advantage of the opportunities NBN technology provides in finding new and innovative ways to communicate with and grow audiences as well as to support creative businesses which are digitally focused.

The Armidale Region’s largest employers include the education and training sector, health care, retail trade, agriculture and the accommodation and food services sector.

The industry sectors which drive the region’s economy in terms of regional exports, employment and industry value-added include Agri-business, Tourism and Education. These are the three ‘pillars’ of the Armidale regional economy.

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 Northern Inland region is dominated by resource-based agricultural activity, including a high dependence on irrigated agriculture in some locations. When flow-on effects are included, agriculture accounts for 40-50% of economic activity in some localities.
Beef, Lamb, Cotton, Grains, Dairy and Horticulture are the primary agricultural sectors supported by an advisory and IT services industry.

The UNE Centre for Agribusiness and the UNE Smart Region Incubator underpin local strengths in agribusiness, rural science, agricultural economics, soil science and livestock production.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted? If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it
The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Make renting more Sustainable. Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

Build to Rent
The Build to Rent property sector is growing in Australia – this new class of housing is focused on providing high quality purpose designed and built rental stock, creating an additional housing choice for Australian renters with greater security and service.

Build to Rent developments are typically owned by institutional investors for the long term and the owner could be the developer/ongoing building manager. The format provides tenants with the flexibility of renting with the security of home ownership.

Build-to-Rent developments are usually large-scale residential properties specifically designed, built and managed for long-term ownership and rental.

Social Housing
In the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 the percentage of all Australian households living in social housing (i.e. state owned and managed public housing or community managed housing) has ranged from 4.9 per cent in 1981 to 3.8 per cent in 2021. Such a drop in the proportion of social housing raises the question of has Australia achieved the balance right, and also just what is the right level of social housing for Australia?

In 2018 Statistics Canada said 628,700 Canadian households, more than one in ten renter households nationally (13.5% of 4,652,500), were living in social and affordable housing.
In New Zealand, as of 30 June 2021, there were 74,337 public housing households. This equates to 4.0% of households living in social housing.

In England (in 2018) 17% of households (3.9 million) lived in social housing, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes that 1.2 million households live in public housing, which is 0.98 per cent of all housing.

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.

Expanded mining activity is also a key feature of some local economies including Gunnedah, Narrabri and Werris Creek. The region has a rich mining heritage and during the latest mining boom there was much exploration and discovery locally.

Halls Peak Base Metals – Zinc, Lead, Copper, Silver and Gold
Guyra District – Bauxite, Tin, Gold, Diamonds and Gemstones
Hillgrove – Antimony and Gold

Visitors are attracted to the Armidale Region for a variety of reasons including sporting events, UNE events, visiting friends and relatives and availing themselves of the region’s recreational and cultural activities.

The region is home to spectacular waterfalls and gorges, award-winning cool-climate wineries, boutique shopping, award-winning coffee shops and restaurants, elegant cathedrals, pastoral homesteads and other heritage buildings, fascinating museums and galleries as access to world heritage natural wonders.