Rockhampton Region
Rockhampton Region
The Rockhampton Region is a local government area in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about 600 kilometres north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region’s major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Mount Archer National Park and Berserker Range.
Rockhampton is the heart of the Fitzroy Basin and is recognised as the beef capital of Australia with livestock production being dominated by beef cattle, currently numbering 3.2 million head in the Greater Rockhampton Region.
Rockhampton is recognised globally as the economic heart of Central Queensland. It is home to a critical mass of residents, high quality services and facilities and a dynamic and prosperous economy driven by entrepreneurial and innovative businesses, strategic investment and international exports. The Beef City of Rockhampton is booming; a modern throwback to the heydays of Queensland’s colonial past, offering all your cosmopolitan conveniences in a contemporary setting.
There are plenty of places to keep the kids occupied including the newly redeveloped Riverbank Precinct, the beautiful Botanic Gardens and Zoo, which is proudly home to more than 30 species of native and exotic animals, and a must do for families is a visit to the recently opened Kershaw Gardens Central Precinct – Playground and Water Play area!
rockhampton regional council major projects outlook
rockhampton regional council priority projects
Rockhampton's sporting destination guide
Population
As at June 30, 2020 more than 81,999 people lived in the Rockhampton Region and enjoyed its easy lifestyle, the result of the Region’s strong and diverse economy.
The Region’s population grew at an annual rate of 1.6 per cent over the five years from 2016 and is projected to reach more than 116,000 by 2036.
The regions residents have a higher proportion of people in the younger age groups (0 to 17 years) and a lower proportion of people in the older age groups (60+ years).
Overall, 25.1% of the population was aged between 0 and 17, and 20.3% were aged 60 years and over, compared with 23.2% and 23.0% respectively for Regional QLD, showing that Rockhampton region represents a higher than average percentage of families residing in the area.
Employment
It is estimated by National Institute of Economic and Industry Research that more than 43,591 jobs were available in the Rockhampton region in 2020-2021, an increase of 3.74% on the prior period.
Unemployment is currently at a ten year low of 5.9%.
Rockhampton was first settled in 1854 and possesses a well-diversified economy, focusing strongly on the key elements of regional service (health care & social assistance, education & training, retail, public administration & safety and transport, postal and warehousing).
The region has a specific strength in electricity, gas, water and waste services as a result of the Stanwell Power Station.
Mining service and meat processing are two important elements of manufacturing workforce. The region is one of the major service points for the coal mines in Bowen, Galilee and Surat Basins. CSG is likely to make an important contribution when Arrow Energy’s Bowen gas pipeline begins construction.
The Gracemere Industrial Area is an import transport hub, with special strengths in fuel, cattle and explosives transport.
Teys Bros abattoir at Lakes Creek, which employs about 1500 people and can process up to 2000 head of cattle a day, is capable of achieving Australia’s largest daily kill. The JBS plant is smaller, with a workforce of 500 people and a potential throughput of 800 head a day.
The regional workforce is highly skilled with tradespersons and professionals representing the largest share of workers in 2011. This is reflected in post-school qualification levels with high proportions of the workforce holding diploma, certificate and bachelor level qualifications.
In Rockhampton Regional Council area, 14.8% of the local workers earned $1,750 or more per week. Overall, 14.8% of the local workers earned a high income, and 17.9% earned a low income, compared with 16.7% and 17.7% respectively for Queensland.
Source: National Institute of economic and Industry Research @ 2014.
Industry | Jobs |
Manufacturing | 2,001 |
Construction | 2,357 |
Retail Trade | 4.254 |
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 1,399 |
Transport, Postal & Warehousing | 2.387 |
Education & Training | 3,925 |
Health Care & Social Assistance | 6,073 |
Accommodation & Food Services | 2,616 |
Public Administration & Safety | 2,536 |
Other Services | 1,687 |
Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Services | 1,173 |
Mining | 531 |
Wholesale Trade | 1,138 |
Administrative & Support Services | 879 |
Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services | 536 |
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing | 643 |
Financial & Insurance Services | 583 |
Arts & Recreation Services | 327 |
Information Media & Telecommunications | 295 |
Total | 36,571 |
Education
Education and training are two of Rockhampton Region’s strengths and we are home to the most integrated education industry across Queensland.
The Region is the centre of excellence for education with good student-teacher ratios across the large number of public and private school. The expanding training sector, which hosts apprenticeships and trainees or provides specific skills training and assessment, ensures local businesses are truly supported.
CQUniversity amalgamated with the Central Queensland College of TAFE on the 1 July 2014 making it Queensland’s first dual-sector university which will significantly increase the vocational and higher education opportunities across the Region.
The new institution will build on the considerable array of private boarding schools and state primary and secondary schools to offer unsurpassed choice.
The educational opportunities across the Region complements the diverse economic base and job opportunities which revolve around retail, health, education and training, engineering, construction and manufacturing industries.
With a wealth of health and social services across the Region, residents and visitors can rest assured their medical needs will be met.
The Rockhampton Region is serviced by three hospitals – the public Rockhampton Hospital and the private Mater and Hillcrest Hospitals – each providing specialist services and advanced levels of health care.
Major government welfare and social services agencies, located in Rockhampton, can assist those in need and there are many private and not-for-profit organisations giving assistance across the Region.
Health and Service Assistance is the Region’s largest sector in terms of employment and has the most flow-on effects of any sector within the Region.
For up-to-date hospital and health service information for the Region visit Queensland Health and CQ Health Hub.
The Rockhampton Region is also full of healthy lifestyle choices including hundreds of parks, playgrounds, outdoor areas, sporting facilities and organisations.
Health
With a wealth of health and social services across the Region, residents and visitors can rest assured their medical needs will be met.
The Rockhampton Region is serviced by three hospitals – the public Rockhampton Hospital and the private Mater and Hillcrest Hospitals – each providing specialist services and advanced levels of health care.
Major government welfare and social services agencies, located in Rockhampton, can assist those in need and there are many private and not-for-profit organisations giving assistance across the Region.
Health and Service Assistance is the Region’s largest sector in terms of employment and has the most flow-on effects of any sector within the Region.
For up-to-date hospital and health service information for the Region visit Queensland Health and CQ Health Hub.
The Rockhampton Region is also full of healthy lifestyle choices including hundreds of parks, playgrounds, outdoor areas, sporting facilities and organisations.
Visit KickstartCQ and you’ll find directory listings for
- Playgrounds
- Sporting clubs
- Pools
- Beaches
- Gyms and personal trainers
- Health service providers
Economy
Rockhampton has again shown the strength and contribution to Queensland’s economy being made by regional centres, with new data released this week showing significant highlights across a number of Central Queensland industry sectors.
Figures released from the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research show that the Gross Regional product for Rockhampton is the strongest it has ever been, up 4.7% to $5.48b, at a rate that is over double that of Queensland’s state average of 2.3%, the first time Rockhampton has exceeded $5.4b.
The top five industry sectors in the Rockhampton Region by output in 2020-21 were health care & social assistance, retail trade, education and training, construction and transport, postal and warehousing.
Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2021. Compiled and presented in economy.id by.id (informed decisions).
Industry | $M | % | QLD% |
Health Care and Social Assistance | 7488 | 17.2 | 14.4 |
Retail Trade | 4332 | 9.9 | 9.5 |
Education and Training | 4224 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
Construction | 4009 | 9.2 | 9.3 |
Transport, Postal and Warehousing | 2821 | 6.5 | 5.1 |
Manufacturing | 2800 | 6.4 | 6.9 |
Public Administration and Safety | 2749 | 6.3 | 6.7 |
Accommodation & food services | 2561 | 5.9 | 6.9 |
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 2150 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
Other Services | 2035 | 4.7 | 3.8 |
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 1848 | 4.2 | 7.1 |
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services | 1212 | 2.8 | 1.2 |
Administrative and Support Services | 1123 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
Wholesale Trade | 1112 | 2.6 | 3 |
Mining | 1017 | 2.3 | 3 |
Financial and Insurance Services | 702 | 1.6 | 2.9 |
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | 669 | 1.5 | 1.9 |
Arts & recreation services | 407 | 0.9 | 1.7 |
Information Media and Tele-communications | 330 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
Total | 43,591 | 100 | 100 |
Transport
Rockhampton is the principal transport hub for Central Queensland and is well serviced by a number of highways. The Capricorn, Burnett and Leichhardt Highways start or end in the region which is also intersected by the Bruce Highway.
Construction on the Rockhampton Ring Road will begin in 2022. The Rockhampton Ring Road is a major Central Queensland infrastructure project, providing a western link of the Bruce Highway at Rockhampton. Rockhampton Ring Road will: connect commuters to priority precincts. offer better connections for productivity and growth. provide an alternative heavy vehicle route.
The Central rail line also starts in the region and the main North rail line runs north-south through it.
The region is serviced by the modern Rockhampton Airport, which in addition to its regular passenger services by reputable carriers, is used as a defence base, especially during exercises in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area.
Private transport is the primary mode of transport within the region which is also serviced by regular bus services, a range of hire companies and a taxi company.
E-Scooters have recently been launched, with Neuron Mobility having been granted a 12 month permit to operate in the city.
