August 2025 - Regional Cities Victoria

Regional Cities unite with housing industry leaders to drive Victoria’s growth agenda

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Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) convened a strategic forum today at Victoria’s Parliament House with leading housing and infrastructure industry organisations including the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA Victoria), Housing Industry Association (HIA), Master Builders Victoria (MBAV), Property Council of Australia (Victoria Division), and the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV).

The forum was held in the spirit of collaboration and forward planning to shape a unified vision for Victoria’s growth over the next 25 years, with a specific focus on ensuring regional cities are part of the state’s long-term economic, housing, and infrastructure agenda.

Discussion highlights:

Industry leaders and RCV agreed that regional cities can play a central role in accommodating population growth sustainably and affordably with the right investment.
Challenges identified included a shortage of skilled professionals and constrained enabling infrastructure funding (water, sewerage, power, roads, public transport) contributing to delays in development of more homes.
The shortage of skilled workers is exacerbated by housing availability and affordability, highlighting the need for worker accommodation.
Participants noted the contrast between metropolitan Melbourne’s “Big Build” funding and the limited support for growth projects in regional cities acknowledging the loss of the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund (RJIF) has left a significant gap in opportunities to anchor long-term regional investment.
Internal migration trends from metro capitals to cities like Geelong, Bendigo, Latrobe and Wodonga, signals the urgent need to align infrastructure with demographic momentum for sustainable growth.

Points of Consensus:

Focus investment in enabling infrastructure to unlock zoned land for housing in regional cities.
Improved transport infrastructure and connectivity locally, between cities and to metropolitan Melbourne.
More cross-sector action to address critical skill shortages; including in urban planning, surveying, civil engineering and building assessment.
Broad agreement on the need for renewed regional economic development funding – building on the legacy of RJIF – and restoring confidence for councils, businesses, and investors.
That Victoria’s future prosperity depends on a whole-of-state approach – one that enables regional and metropolitan growth to complement, not compete.

RCV and industry shared commitments 2025-2026:

Continuation of joint advocacy efforts in the lead-up to the November 2026 Victorian State Election, ensuring the sustainable growth of regional cities is acknowledged across party platforms.
United voices that with the right investment regional Victoria is an affordable solution to Victoria’s housing pressures.
Collaboration and data sharing around market trends, migration insights, and development constraints to support joint policy and investment outcomes.

RCV Chair Cr Shane Sali, Mayor of Greater Shepparton said the forum was a powerful demonstration of what’s possible when regional leaders and the housing sector come together with a shared vision.

“We know that the future of Victoria depends on strong, confident, connected regional cities and today we took an important step toward that future. Our cities are ready to grow, and we welcome the industry’s insights to making that a reality,” Cr Sali said.

“Our collaboration today reaffirms that regional Victoria isn’t just a beneficiary of the state’s growth, it is central to how that growth will be delivered.

“With the right investment regional cities are ready to grow and ready to go – and industry stands with us.”

Cr Shane Sali is Mayor of Greater Shepparton and Chair of Regional Cities Victoria – an assembly that represents Victoria’s 10 largest regional cities: Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham, Latrobe, Mildura, Shepparton Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Wodonga.

Media: Emily Broadbent 0413 133 627.

OPINION: Regional cities are central to Victoria’s growth story

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One of the most important conversations facing Victoria is where and how we will grow over the next 25 years.

Today, Regional Cities Victoria will have that conversation with some of the state’s most influential housing and infrastructure leaders at Parliament House. Together, we’ll be talking about some of the top issues facing our regional cities and what should be done about them.

As Chair of Regional Cities Victoria and Mayor of Greater Shepparton, I know our cities have never been more important to the state’s future.

Infrastructure Victoria’s draft 30-year strategy acknowledges regional and rural areas contribute nearly 20 per cent of Victoria’s economy and account for around one-third of its exports. We are fundamental economic drivers, not merely support hubs.

In fact, developing regional Victoria is a core focus of the 30-year plan, with approximately a quarter of the strategy’s 43 recommendations specifically addressing regional infrastructure needs, from transport and connectivity to social and community services.

I know that the opportunities ahead – if we plan well for them – can deliver enormous benefits for all Victorians.

The most recent Regional Movers Index (March 2025) shows this shift is already under way. Wodonga, Latrobe and Geelong all ranked in the top 10 local government areas nationally for net regional migration. These are people voting with their feet – moving to regional cities that offer affordability, lifestyle and jobs.

That’s not just a trend – it’s a signal.

It’s a signal that regional cities are not just part of the solution to Melbourne’s population pressures, but are actively shaping a shared and sustainable Victoria.

The Victorian Government has set housing targets for regional cities. We need to deliver 280,950 by 2051 – that’s about 30 houses a day for the next 25 years.

We can do it.

But we can’t do it alone.

That’s why we invited the REIV, HIA, UDIA, the Property Council, Infrastructure Victoria and the Master Builders Association to our Annual Forum. These are organisations that hold enormous influence in the way housing, infrastructure, and planning are shaped in Victoria. And it’s vital that when they speak to government about the future of growth, our voice – regional voices – are part of that conversation.

We share more in common than ever before. We all want faster planning approvals. We all need more skilled workers – especially planners, engineers and surveyors. We all want reliable investment in infrastructure. And we all want a development pipeline that gives certainty to business, communities and councils alike.

Regional cities can help deliver on all of that, and we’re ready to go.

We have land for new homes – with the right infrastructure. We have councils that have done the work for growth. We have communities that want to welcome new residents and businesses. What we need now is partnership and confidence – from government and industry.

That means a commitment to long-term, regionally inclusive investment strategies. It means replacing what was lost with the end of the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, which once allowed local government, state and industry to co-invest in transformative projects. And it means not placing additional burdens on already stretched councils and ratepayers – like the sudden Emergency Services Volunteer Fund levy, which will cost regional cities tens of millions of dollars each year.

Victoria’s growth challenge is not just a metropolitan issue. It’s a whole-of-state opportunity. And if we get it right, regional cities can offer solutions that benefit everyone – from more affordable housing and sustainable services to stronger local economies.

The next state government, due to be elected in November 2026, has a unique opportunity to put regional cities at the centre of today’s conversation about growth.

Together with the state’s housing industry partners, regional cities can offer sustainable growth for Victoria’s future, and we can do that with essential investments to deliver those ambitions.

Media: Emily Broadbent 0413 133 627.

Growth of regional cities tops agenda for housing industry leaders at Parliament forum

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Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) hosts its Annual Forum at Victoria’s Parliament House tomorrow, bringing the state’s most influential housing and infrastructure stakeholders together for critical discussions on the future of growth across regional Victoria.

Industry leaders from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), Housing Industry Association (HIA), Property Council of Australia, Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA), Infrastructure Victoria, and the Master Builders Association (MBA) will engage directly with regional city leaders on the urgent challenges and opportunities shaping regional development.

At the heart of the forum is a call for essential investment to unlock the full potential of Victoria’s regional cities. A key focus will be the economic vacuum left behind following the scrapping of the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund (RJIF) – a fund that previously delivered essential investment to underwrite regional growth.

“The absence of a dedicated regional fund has created a glaring gap in Victoria’s economic development policy,” said Cr Shane Sali, Chair of Regional Cities Victoria and Mayor of Greater Shepparton.

“The RJIF helped shape the liveability and prosperity our regions are known for today and gave us the opportunity to act on the long-term priorities of our cities and the rural towns and communities they support.”

RCV’s agenda for the forum includes calls for:

a new, fit-for-purpose regional fund to underwrite projects for growth, create jobs and pursue strategic priorities with long-term impact;
investment in essential infrastructure (water, sewerage, power, roads, public transport) to meet demand for affordable homes in the regions and support sustainable growth of new communities; and
workforce solutions to address critical skills shortages across planning, surveying and engineering roles within local government.

Cr Sali said the current term of government had been a turbulent time for regional Victoria with the scrapping of the RJIF, the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games, crippling drought and the ambush of the Emergency Service Volunteer Fund tax which will take another $60 million out of regional cities each year.

“As we approach the 2026 Victorian state election, our message is clear. With genuine consideration of the rural and regional context – and the right support from government – our regional cities can play a vital role in the plan for Victoria’s future,” Cr Sali said.

RCV comprises the Mayors and CEOs of the 10 largest cities in regional Victoria – Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham Latrobe Mildura, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Wodonga – and advocates for policies that invest equitably and sustainably in regional cities to support a growing and prosperous Victoria.

Media: Emily Broadbent 0413 133 627.