Future Geelong: Geelong is bucking the trend with businesses increasingly attracted to the region

Geelong is becoming an increasingly appealing location for businesses, particularly those in white-collar fields, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.

More and more businesses are calling Geelong home.

Geelong is bucking a statewide economic trend, recording an increase in total business numbers last year in the face of an overall decline in Victoria.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows there were 301 additional businesses within the City of Greater Geelong in 2023, despite total business numbers across Victoria decreasing by an estimated 7600.

While the figure represented a slowdown on the two previous years given the challenging economic climate, it was enough to place Geelong as the top city for business number growth in the state.

The latest figures take the total number of businesses in the region to more than 22,000.

Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan said the region continued to be an appealing option for people looking to start, grow or relocate a business.

“Even though we’re seeing a tough economic climate right now, Geelong’s population growth, $17.4bn pipeline of major investments and positive sentiment about our future means we’re a very attractive place to set up,” Mr Sullivan said.

“The figures are really encouraging and represent good news for local employment, with every new business creating local jobs.

“We’re attracting big players too, such as Hanwha, Petstock and Amazon, and these types of companies create supply chain opportunities for other local businesses.”

Continuing a recent trend, businesses and jobs in white-collar fields continued to grow, taking a larger slice of overall employment and providing increased opportunities for local professionals.

Professional services businesses in Geelong experienced the largest growth of all sectors in 2023, with an extra 166 extra businesses added, taking the total to 2622 businesses in the field.

Geelong Chamber of Commerce chief executive Jeremy Crawford said the continued uplift of the waterfront precinct, investment in the CBD, and the development of surrounding precincts would see even more businesses move to the region.

Jeremy Crawford.

“With a strong professional services sector and more large organisations setting up or expanding their presence, we are seeing our rich business ecosystem – from micro through to large enterprise – benefit from increased investment and maturing industries,” he said.

“The liveability of Greater Geelong is certainly an attraction for small business owners with all the benefits of our region offers to live, work and play.”

Mr Sullivan said moving to Geelong no longer had to mean commuting to Melbourne for white-collar workers.

“The moves of WorkSafe, the Transport Accident Commission, the National Disability Insurance Agency, and more recently KPMG to Geelong, have obviously been game changers, but we’re now seeing steady growth in the number of other companies that offer jobs in professional services fields,” he said.

“Not so long ago, if you were a white-collar worker wanting to take up the lifestyle benefits of our region by moving from Melbourne, it potentially meant a daily commute or compromising your career.

“Now it’s possible to have that great lifestyle and a great local job to go with it.”

Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan. Picture: Alan Barber.

Mr Sullivan added, however, that workplace flexibility combined with a manageable commute also meant Geelong remained a favourable destination for those who want to continue working in Melbourne.

The 2021 Census found Geelong had the largest number of commuters to and from a capital of all regional cities.

The 28,135 commuters between Geelong and Melbourne eclipsed the number of those travelling between Wollongong and Sydney (23,495), and the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane (18,810).

“There is a large professional workforce of around 26,000 people living in Greater Geelong, and when you factor in the population growth to come, any business looking to set up here in the coming decades can be very confident of attracting quality local talent,” Mr Sullivan said.

“It bodes really well for our economic prospects.”

Future Geelong will culminate in an event at GMHBA Stadium on March 1, where Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan will take part in a panel discussion.

Geelong is growing up

by Ali Wastie – City of Greater Geelong chief executive

It’s no secret that future Geelong will be bigger.

Our population, currently around 283,000, could reach 400,000 by 2041.

Ali Wastie. Picture: Alison Wynd.

Maintaining liveability and housing affordability as we grow is the great challenge state and local governments are facing.

We need to carefully plan for where people will live and the type of housing they’ll live in.

The City of Greater Geelong is working hard to find a balance between greenfield development, such as we have seen over the past decade in Armstrong Creek, and infill in existing areas.

The traditional way of living here is in a stand-alone house with a backyard, but rising home prices unfortunately mean this is becoming less attainable in established suburbs.

Newly developed areas offer plenty of new housing supply, but building supporting infrastructure in these areas is up to four times more expensive than upgrading infrastructure in existing suburbs.

It also takes considerable time.

While greenfield development will continue to play an important part in Geelong’s future, we can’t just grow “out”.

We’re aiming for 50 per cent of new housing to be urban infill, up from 25 per cent at the moment.

It will mean increased density, with more apartments and townhouses.

Focused in strategic precincts close to key services such as public transport, shops and employment centres, this type of development can bring genuine benefits beyond affordability.

Developer Monno has gained approval for a 12-storey mixed-use building at 61-71 Moorabool St that will feature 58 residential apartments.

It can take pressure off our road network and, with carefully considered planning controls, can create opportunities for streetscape upgrades funded by private sector investment.

Through our future planning for the Pakington St, saleyards, Highton Village and South Geelong precincts, council aims to capture this private investment in neighbourhood improvements while delivering much needed housing supply.

It’s important our urban design frameworks for these areas stay true to our strategic direction and deliver community benefit.

Without frameworks in place there is no clear policy direction, creating a higher risk of incoherent planning and out of character developments.

It will take some getting used to, but increased housing diversity offers the best chance for local children to afford to live here in Geelong when they are ready to leave home in the future.

Trent Sullivan – Geelong Mayor

In one word, describe what Geelong stands for:

Community

Describe what you think Geelong should stand for:

Geelong should be widely known as having the complete package.

It offers an enviable lifestyle, a full range of built and natural resources, a stunning and diverse environment, and people who continue to adapt and succeed.

Describe what differentiates Geelong from other regional cities:

We enjoy the geographical advantage of being home to a north-facing bay, world-class beaches, rugged bushland and large green wedges, while being relatively close to the metropolitan capital.

We have the capacity of a much larger city, while retaining our strong ties as a proud and connected community.

Originally published as Future Geelong: Geelong is bucking the trend with businesses increasingly attracted to the region