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Welcome to Business Connect, a regular e-newsletter produced by East Gippsland Shire to update the region’s business community with business and economic development news. For further information about what we do, see our website here, or if you would like to make an appointment with an Economic Development Officer, phone (03) 5153 9500 or email.
 
Have Your Say on Council Projects.
Your Say East Gippsland is an easy and convenient way to share your ideas about projects or services we provide for the community.
AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE

Economic Development
East Gippsland Shire Economic Development Strategy

Growing East Gippsland 2018 - 2021
The review and development of the 2018-2021 East Gippsland Shire Economic Development Strategy is underway in line with the Council Plan.
 
Tenders will be called to seek appropriate consultants to undertake the strategy’s development, the project brief for tender is expected to be advertised in May, tender documents will be available on council’s Tenders page.
 
Community feedback will be sought as the development of the Strategy progresses. For further information please contact John Morton, Manager Economic Development on (03) 5153 9500 or email

Business Support
Council's economic development image library focuses on showcasing small business and includes 360 degree images, drone imagery and video.
The image library is used by council and partners for a variety of uses including website, brochures, pamphlets and promotion.
Over recent months, Council’s Economic Development team have been working on several projects including;
 
Business Incubator
In partnership with Gippsland East Local Learning Employment Network and council, staff are investigating the development of a business incubator.
 
This concept provides a shared workspace equipped with office infrastructure to new business start-ups. The space offers a supportive environment and includes mentoring, business training and an opportunity to network alongside like-minded participants.
 
The Business Incubator will be housed at “The Hub” in Bairnsdale (The Old Community College) utilising community space for economic opportunities and support for new business in the region.
 
Further details will be released soon. 
2018 Business Training Workshops and Events
The Economic Development team continue to deliver training and support for small business to uptake digital technology, as outlined in the Digital Strategy.
 
A series of training was delivered in Lakes Entrance, Mallacoota and Buchan during 2017. Since the start of the financial year 24 business training programs have been delivered, supported, funded or facilitated by council's Economic Development team.
 

Webinars:
                                     
Australian Taxation Office


Do you employ 20 or more employees ?

See changes to Australian Taxation reporting for employers here


Small Business
Mentoring Service
 
Operated by Small Business Victoria, the Small Business Bus visits Melbourne and regional Victoria as a 'travelling office on wheels'. It offers friendly, professional assistance from an information officer and specialist advice from an experienced business mentor from the Small Business Mentoring Service External link (opens in same window). Find more details about eligibility criteria and how a mentor can help you on the Small Business Bus program page.

Council Tenders
Interested in Tendering for Council Work?

Council is seeking painting contractors in all areas of the Shire. If you are interested in submitting a Schedule of Rates, council’s tender document needs to be completed and submitted by 12noon on Wednesday 28 March 2018. The document will be available from the Tenderlink website from Wednesday 28 February 2018. This website can be accessed via the Council’s website along with information about Council’s tender process. It is free to register via that link.
 
Any inquiries should be directed to either Ben McLaughlin, Senior Procurement Officer, or to Nicole Maloney, Procurement Administration Officer on Ph: 5153 9500.

Business Funding
Grants and Assistance
Looking for grants or assistance to start or run your business?
While Government generally doesn’t offer funding to start a business, there may be other forms of assistance available to help you.

Search on the Business.gov.au website or the Regional Development Victoria website

Boost Your Business Voucher program
The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) has established Boost Your Business Vouchers to support Victorian businesses to become more productive, employ more people, improve market access and in general, increase their scale, diversity and profitability.
Search Grants

Commercial Enterprise

BAIRNSDALE LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE
East Gippsland Livestock Exchange
Work is continuing on the installation of an extended roofed area at the East Gippsland Livestock Exchange as part of council's capital works project for rainwater harvesting. This includes the installation of three large water tanks which will assist with water usage in the yards and address an issue with stormwater runoff from the facility into Macleod Morass.
 
Caravan Parks
 
Cann River Rainforest Tourist Park
Remains a free stopover point for tourists to the region. Council has been unable to work through a suitable management model for the park to meet the new CFA and caravan park regulations (Residential Tenancies Act – Caravan Parks and Moveable Dwellings Registration and Standards), particularly in relation to onsite emergency management at parks. The park will remain open to the travelling public with limited facilities.
 
Mallacoota Foreshore Holiday Park
Reports another bumper summer season with all sites booked out up to six months in advance for the busy summer period.
 
Swifts Creek Caravan Park
Recently re-registered, the caravan park is being co-managed as part of a service agreement between council and the Swifts Creek General Store.
 
Eagle Point Caravan Park
Park Management has introduced several social events over the busy summer period including outdoor movie nights and food van nights. The events proved a great success, more initiatives are scheduled for Easter and following peak seasons.
 
Marinas
Council's Marinas are investigating new and innovative ways to market the facilities through a marketing strategy.
 
Love East Gippsland

Local Industry Associations
East Gippsland Marketing
East Gippsland Marketing Inc is hosting a Professional Services Industry networking evening on Thursday 22nd March from6pm at the Riversleigh in Bairnsdale.

The event is an opportunity for business people from across the region to network with likeminded colleagues from the professional services industry, and hear from guest speaker, Bryan McCormick, CEO of Workways Australia who will discuss "Business Diversification and Adapting to Change'.

Workways Australia is one of Australia's highest performing employment service providers and has experienced remarkable growth with offices in locations along the Eastern seaboard from Cairns to Melbourne adapting swiftly to a changing competitive environment to achieve this growth.

Employing around 235 staff Australia wide, Bairnsdale remains the head office of this dynamic and community focused organisation.

To attend the Professional Services Industry networking event, please RSVP Megan Richardson by 15th March 2018.

See East Gippsland Marketing’s Newsletter here
Marketing East Gippsland News
Business and Tourism East Gippsland
In partnership with Victorian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (VCCI), membership with VCCI at the essentials level will be made available to East Gippsland businesses at no cost to those businesses that are members of their local Chamber or BTA. 

Essentials membership is normally $700 per annum or the Complete membership will be available at a discounted cost of $500 per annum to those businesses that maintain membership in their local Chamber or BTA. The cost of Complete membership is normally $1,200 per annum.
 
Cann River, Bemm River, Buchan and Mallacoota visit.
While in Mallacoota we said fair well toMr John Rudge who was President of the Mallacoota and District Business & Tourism Association (MADBATA). John was responsible for many tourism and business initiatives in the area, a fitting tribute to John’s contribution to the business community, a memorial service was held at the Mallacoota Golf Club on Saturday 10 February.
 
Up Coming Events
The 2018 Federation Business School East Gippsland Business Awards gala ceremony. It will be held on Thursday 18 October.

See Business and Tourism East Gippsland website here.

Infrastructure Projects

 

For information about how you can connect, see Connect Your Home page on the nbn website.
Nicholson Street, Orbost Streetscape
The tender process for the second stage of this high-profile project commenced on February 14. Once the contract has been awarded, we anticipate works will commence June 2018.

Artists impressions and plans of the works will be displayed along the street, within the Orbost Service Centre and on council’s website.

Throughout construction council will provide weekly updates to the project reference group, traders and Orbost Chamber of Commerce. Interested community members can learn more about the project by: For further information about the project, contact Sophie Beasley on 03 5153 9500.

Service Street, Bairnsdale Streetscape Works
This project is part of staged works for the Re-imagining Bairnsdale Master Plan that includes pedestrian paving, tree planting and furniture, forming a part of the improvements. The vision is to create an accessible and enhanced environment for the community and visitors which in turn supports existing businesses and demonstrates reinvestment within the area.

Throughout the construction stage Council Officers will provide weekly updates to the project reference group and traders. You can learn more about the project by reading Council media releases in the local paper or sign up to receive the quarterly email newsletter Bairnsdale Connect.

For further information about the project, contact Sophie Beasley on 03 5153 9500.

Metung Boardwalk
The lakeside boardwalk in Metung is currently out to tender and works are anticipated to commence late Autumn. Council Officers will provide updates throughout the projects works via in local print media, advertisements in the weekly Shire Advertisement or articles in the quarterly email newsletter Metung/Nungurner Connect.

If you would like to receive this newsletter directly, please sign up to NungurnerConnect.

For further information about the project, contact Sophie Beasley on (03) 5153 9500.

Want to know what’s happening in your place?
Your Place Connect is a quarterly e-newsletter from East Gippsland Shire Council featuring events, activities, projects and programs planned for your place.
You will find a range of topics in Your Place Connect, for example:
•           Physical works underway or planned for delivery;
•           Planning and building information;
•           Economic development information;
•           Environmental sustainability projects and information;
•           Arts and cultural events/activities;
•           Community planning events/activities;
•           Council community grants and other funding opportunities;
•           Visitor information; and
•           Waste information.

If you would like to receive a copy of the next Your Place Connect e-newsletter:
Visit our website. Click on the page that features Your Place, then sign up using the link under the ‘Connect’ banner, or you can pick up a printed copy from your nearest council Customer Service Centre.

Tourism
Recreational Fishing Tourism
Council Officers are currently working with Destination Gippsland (DGL) and East Gippsland Marketing (EGMI) on a project including a grant application to the State Government for funding to undertake a Recreational Fishing Tourism Plan for East Gippsland.
 
The plan will look at broad recreational fishing, with a focus on opportunities that new markets such as crabbing and off-shore game fishing present for the region.

Cycle Tourism
Staff are supporting various cycle tourism projects including delivery of the East Gippsland Rail Trail Signage Plan and Guidelines, seeking a grant to implement the signs. Staff are also working with the Rail Trail to develop a Strategic Business Case for the future of the Trail.
Staff also attend Cycle Tourism Committee meetings, along with overseeing installation and planning of cycle tourism related infrastructure at Bairnsdale, Bruthen, Omeo, Nowa Nowa, and Colquhoun MTB Park.
 
Omeo Mountain Bike Feasibility Report
The Omeo Mountain Bike Feasibility Report (MBFR) will guide a pathway towards developing Omeo as a nationally-significant mountain bike destination. After extensive background analysis, the project has delivered a high–level trail concept plan which provides a vision for the area.
 
A Steering Committee was established in partnership with the Omeo Region Business and Tourism Association.  Council staff are actively pursuing State and Federal Government Grants to deliver the plan. 

The Omeo MTB Destination Plan can be viewed on council’s website. Council is pursuing State and Federal Government grants to deliver the plan.
 
Destination Gippsland

Regional Events                                        Website: Visit East Gippsland
Rural Council Summit - Lakes Entrance
East Gippsland Shire Council will host the annual 2018 Rural Councils Summit in Lakes Entrance on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 May 2018 under the theme of ‘Liveability”.
 
The summit provides a forum for Local Government, business and industry leaders, economic and community development practitioners, academics and education providers, relevant decision makers, and anyone passionate about rural prosperity, to examine the unique and diverse challenges faced by rural municipalities.
 
Mountain Cattlemen’s Get Together 2018
Supported by Council’s RADES funding, this event was held in Omeo during January’s peak tourism period.
 
The event is widely reported through media before the event including television, radio, daily and weekly newspapers and magazines, the events social media reach is also extensive having over 11,000 likes on Facebook. The event attracts over 4K visitors to the region.
 
X-TERRA Victorian Championships 2018
Council has secured the X-TERRA, Victorian Championships for the next 3 years to the region. The first event took place during February alongside a ‘colour run’ event.
 
X-TERRA is an international brand of off-road triathlons and trail runs that are conducted globally in some of the most spectacular environments on the planet. The event format includes Mountain Bike, Trail Running and Swimming stages and will draw international marketing interest.
 
2018 Motorcycling Australian Off-road Championship and Victorian Off-road Championships
Council has finalised an agreement to support Motorcycling Australia Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship to be held in Omeo on the 6 & 7 October. The event is expected to attract 270 competitors and officials.
 
Australia Day Events
Council has once again supported nine Australia Day events across the region. Working with individual community groups the events were held in Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Omeo, Orbost, Buchan, Mallacoota, Lindenow, Cann River and Paynesville.

2018 Cycling Australia Masters Road National Championships
From 18-21 October 2018, the second largest National Championship is expected to attract more than 800 entries from across Australia. Presented by Cycling Victoria on behalf of Cycling Australia, the Masters continues East Gippsland Shire’s strong history in delivering quality cycling events including the extremely popular Tour of East Gippsland.
 
East Gippsland is one of several regions within the state where facilities meet the minimum standard, and where there is suitable capacity within the local club to assist with running such an event. Course details and entry options for the individual time trial, criterium and road races will be confirmed in coming weeks and will be available on the Cycling Australia website. 

Regional and District Events Sponsorship (RADES) Closing Soon.
The second round of RADES funding for 2017/18 closes Wednesday 7 March 2018. Up to $100,000 per year (over two funding rounds) is allocated.
Information regarding the funding program and other event information can be found on Council’s Events page.

RADES funding has a focus on economic benefit to East Gippsland, and the audience will include visitors from around Victoria, interstate and internationally.

For further information contact Jeanette Seignior, Events Coordinator on 5153 9500.

Have Your Say
Community and Industry Feedback Welcome

East Gippsland Shire Council welcomes suggestions from the local community and business operators to inform us about how you think we can better advocate for business and industry to support economic growth in the region. 
If you would like to have your say and add your suggestions to assist us to plan future support, training and development for business in the region, complete our survey here.

Council Updates for Your Place
Place Connect are quarterly updates from East Gippsland Shire Council on projects and programs planned for your place.
Visit your community page on our website www.eastgippsland.vic.gov.au/YourPlace and subscribe to receive updates by email. If you prefer to read our newsletters in hard copy, we have copies available at your local Council Customer Service Centre.

Tenders

East Gippsland Shire Council's publicly advertised tenders can be downloaded through our eTender portal which can be accessed here. 
Handy Business Links

AusIndustry

East Gippsland Statistics

 Small Business Victoria

Small Business Victoria Hub
 
Sustainability Victoria

Destination Gippsland News

Agribusiness Gippsland
Where can I go for 

Information on Australian Government business requirements? 

Contacts for my local business association or industry body?        
                  
Victorian Employer’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VECCI).

Tips and Facts

For advice on how to prepare an emergency contingency plan for business:  Business Victoria has useful information.
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Our mailing address is:
East Gippsland Shire
PO Box 1618
BAIRNSDALE  VIC 3875

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