Hunter Region

Covering an area of over 29,000 sq km, the Hunter Region of New South Wales consists of 11 Local Government Areas, with the City of Newcastle as the regional capital. It is the most populous regional area in Australia. With over 644,000 people (30 June 2009 estimated resident population, ABS ) the Hunter has significantly more people than Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory or the Gold Coast.

The Hunter is undergoing an impressive period of sustained economic growth, with a growing range of investors and business people recognising the powerful competitive advantages the Region offers. An unprecedented amount of investment is occurring in the Region, with many billions of dollars of projects being planned.

Despite difficult global economic conditions continuing during 2009, the Hunter Region was largely unfazed and continued to perform strongly, with a level of economic activity that is the envy of most other Australian centres. This is largely due to the major transformation the local economy has experienced over the past 10 to 15 years. Although traditional industries are still major contributors, the local economy is now characterised by a much more diverse industry base. This diversity, combined with high levels of investment, a “can do” attitude, an embracement of innovation and variety of significant competitive advantages provide the Hunter with a very strong economic outlook.

With a rapidly growing industry base, the demand for industrial land is being met by numerous industrial land developments across the Region. There are major developments such as 104 hectare Steel River Industrial Park Estate and the 150 hectare intertrade Industrial Park, within 15 minutes of the Newcastle CBD. But these are only the tip of the iceberg, with a wide range of new and existing industrial developments across the Region providing excellent opportunities for almost any type of industry.

Although the global financial crisis resulted in reduced activity in recent years, commercial growth, particularly around the major centres, shows strong long term growth. In Newcastle in particular, the demand continues to be much stronger for A grade office space, with C and D grades having reduced in recent years.

As well as providing an exceptional economic case, the Hunter also offers a quality of life that is hard to match. Business people relocating to the Hunter experience an excellent lifestyle, with a combination of exceptional natural assets and a high level of facilities and services. The Region offers very high levels of education and health services, as well as all the services you would expect from a major centre of population. Relatively low levels of traffic congestion and real estate prices compared to Sydney are also welcome.

The Hunter truly has it all; it is a great investment and business location plus a great place to live.