Committee for Ballarat’s diverse and robust membership continues to be a key part of our regional advocacy in this State Election Year. We are ‘joined at the hip’ with our key partners in promoting the 2026 edition of Ballarat Now and Into the Future. We will take every opportunity with Ministers, MP’s and candidates with our focus on Enabling Growth in the key areas of Community, Infrastructure and Workforce to promote Regional Investment
Key projects include Sovereign Hill’s Gold Vault project, the University Town project, the Circular Economy Precinct and critical water and sewage infrastructure to unlock housing supply. In addition, the National Centre for Photography project is a further ask of Government that, if supported, would provide a further boost to our visitor economy and its associated benefits.
BNIF 2026 is, of course, aligned to a State Election, but the significance of growth and our advocacy for our growing region goes well beyond the November 2026 poll.
Ballarat continues to grow. Our Gross Regional Product in 2025 was $8.1b, a growth of 0.8% on the previous year, while the rest of regional Victoria declined by 0.62%. Our region is home to over 180,000 residents and as a regional hub, we service over 300,000 people across western Victoria. This is a yearly population increase of 2.48%
Nationally, the most recent data from the Regional Australia Institute’s (RAI) Regional Movers Index for the March 2026 quarter, hit a record high. The index was up a massive 20.1 per cent on the December 2025 quarter and 4.7 per cent higher than the 2025 March quarter. In short, the Index shows capital city residents moving to Australia’s regions outnumber those moving in the opposite direction. Further, recent research shows that 1 in 3 people living in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane have thought about or are thinking about moving to the regions.
This national perspective provided by the RAI reinforces the role that regional centres like Ballarat play as important hubs, supporting surrounding towns through jobs, services and local business activity.
We need Government to understand the real time data of movement to regional areas and invest accordingly in the services and infrastructure that make regional communities great places to live.
So whilst our short-term focus is on the November State Election and our advocacy for the BNIF projects, we will always be at the forefront of long-term, sustainable, ambitious and responsible regional development.
It is the robust voice of our members that will ensure our advocacy is trusted, balanced and forward-thinking.