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Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

RDA Great Southern

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Albany, WA
RDA Great Southern

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Working in partnership with communities towards a thriving and sustainable Great Southern region.

Regional Development Australia Great Southern WA works collaboratively with the community to improve economic and social development in the region.

04/11/2026

We're proud to sponsor the Tourism category at this Friday's Great Southern Business Awards and congratulate the six finalists:

✨ Albany's Historic Whaling Station
✨ Albany Tours Western Australia
✨ Denmark Chocolate Company
✨ Heyscape
✨ The Gardens at Bullimah
✨ Whale Watch Western Australia

There are so many reasons people choose to visit our incredible region, and behind those experiences are local businesses and passionate people who work incredibly hard to make the Great Southern so special.

From unforgettable experiences on our coastline to beautiful places to stay and explore, these businesses each contribute something special to the Great Southern tourism industry. See you all on Friday!

https://www.albanycci.com.au/awards

Albany Chamber of Commerce & Industry Kristen Brown MBA ACC Jasmine Avery Kylie Hansen Joanna Friend CA, GAICD Sven Stenvers Alex Ogg Heidi Mippy

01/11/2026

After last week's AGM, we headed to Garrison to farewell two of RDA Great Southern's longest serving team members, Dawn Nation, and Kaye Pitman. Dawn has been with RDA on and off since the start in several capacities, while Kaye has served an incredible unbroken 18 years with the organisation.

Both Dawn and Kaye have our greatest respect and gratitude for so capably steering RDA Great Southern’s finance and administration functions through all these years. The board and team at RDA Great Southern wish them both all the very best. And we hope they won't be strangers at the office and study hub in the new year!

https://rdagreatsouthern.com.au/

29/10/2026

There are so many wonderful reasons people choose to visit the Great Southern, and behind many of those experiences are local businesses and passionate people who work incredibly hard to make our region such a special place.

We're delighted to congratulate the six finalists in the Excellence in Tourism category of the 2026 Great Southern Business Awards!

✨ Albany's Historic Whaling Station
✨ Albany Tours Western Australia
✨ Denmark Chocolate Company
✨ Heyscape
✨ The Gardens at Bullimah
✨ Whale Watch Western Australia

From unforgettable experiences on our coastline to beautiful places to stay and explore, these businesses each contribute something special to the Great Southern's tourism industry.

Congratulations to all finalists. We're looking forward to celebrating with you at the Gala Dinner on Friday 6 November!

A special thank you to RDA Great Southern for sponsoring this award and supporting recognition of our region's tourism businesses.

29/10/2026

“We are delighted to welcome Heidi Mippy to the RDA Great Southern Committee. A Noongar woman with deep family and professional ties across the Menang, Goreng and Wagyl Kaip communities, Heidi has built a career of more than 25 years across Western Australia, from WA Police, the Department for Child Protection and local government to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, DevelopmentWA, the Kimberley Land Council and Curtin and Murdoch universities. Her board roles with the Zero Net Emissions in Agriculture Cooperative Research Centre and the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute span agricultural decarbonisation and emerging nature and restoration investment markets, areas directly relevant to our priorities in decarbonisation and industry growth.

As the newly appointed CEO of Wagyl Kaip Southern Noongar Aboriginal Corporation, Heidi will also help ensure the economic opportunities we support are inclusive and deliver lasting benefits for First Nations people. We look forward to the governance experience, insight and partnerships she will bring as we work to grow investment, jobs and opportunity across the Great Southern.” (Liz Guidera, Chair, RDA Great Southern)

27/10/2026

Our friends at Great Southern Development Commission have just launched the latest round of RED grants. These grants are amongst the best going around our wonderful state for catalysing social and economic impact, with so so many examples of high impact businesses, not for profit and community initiatives and social enterprises supported over the years.

With up to $200K available all Great Southern leaders in this realm should have a REDs application high on their priority list. Applications close 14 January so take the time to get yours ready.

Info sessions, workshops and all the detail are here: https://gsdc.wa.gov.au/our-support/regional-economic-development-grant
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Applications are now open for Round 9 of the Regional Economic Development (RED) Grants program, with eligible Great Southern organisations able to apply for up to $200,000 in funding.

RED Grants supports locally driven projects that:
📍 Increase or sustain jobs
📍 Expand or diversify industry
📍 Develop skills and capability
📍 Attract new investment
📍 Improve productivity

25/10/2026

Southern Ports Community Investment Program supports well over 100 grassroots organisations and community groups each year - and applications are open now. Funding of up to $5,000 is available to support initiatives which promote positive outcomes across our three key funding areas of environment, education and community.

Applications close Friday 6 November.

www.southernports.com.au
Southern Ports

20/10/2026

On Friday the RDA team gathered to join the Albany Community Foundation lawn bowls fundraiser. Working across Katanning, Denmark and Albany, we don't all get together often, and most of us had 0-1 games of experience under our belts, so it was a lot of fun catching up, learning what an 'end' is..and avoiding the ditch!

It was great to see so many local businesses and groups turn out to support this event - 140 attendees in total gave up their Friday afternoons to support the important work of Albany Community Foundation (ACF) raise $4,339!

ACF support those most in need in our community - individuals who have fallen through the gaps and facing hard times - with support such as:

-$1800 in food & fuel vouchers for a woman receiving palliative care
-$400 to help house a pet for a young homeless person
-$448 payment to assist a client with a broken hot water system
- $1800 for a co-payment for car repairs for a lady & her children fleeing domestic violence

Shout out to the amazing crew at Merrifield Real Estate for organising, cooking and feeding us through the arvo. And the generous prize sponsors.

16/10/2026

Already in Albany, or weighing up a move? This is a chance to do work that matters at the nexus of economic and social impact, in a small team with big reach.

RDA Great Southern is hiring, and we want standout people.

Our remit is the entire Great Southern, comprising 11 Local Government Areas, including our home base in Albany – one of Australia’s most in-demand regional destinations: third nationally in the Regional Movers Index in 2024, with net internal migration up 26% in 2026. Come help shape where the region goes next.

We’re a locally led not-for-profit backing the Great Southern’s priorities. We connect government, business, not-for-profits and First Nations communities, and we lead and operate the Great Southern Universities Centres (Study Hubs) in Albany, Denmark and Katanning.

🤝 Engagement Lead: build trust-based relationships, convene events and give the region’s priorities a clear, credible voice.

📊 Business Analyst: turn regional opportunities into funded projects through grant writing, feasibility studies and investment cases.

🗂️ Operations Administrator: keep the organisation and our Study Hubs running across finance, governance, compliance and student support.

📍 Albany-based, with regional travel
⏱️ 0.6–1.0 FTE each (negotiable), 12 months fixed term with a view to permanency

We’re hiring for talent and tasks: For the right person, we’ll consider combining up to two of these roles into a single full-time position.

We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Great Southern is Menang, Goreng, Wagyl Kaip and Southern Noongar country.

✉️ Send a one-page cover letter outlining your interest in the role, and what you would bring to it, along with your CV to [email protected]. Applications are assessed on a rolling basis, so don’t wait.

https://rdagreatsouthern.com.au/employment/

09/10/2026

⏰ Closing THIS MONDAY: $15K grants for regional businesses using digital innovation, through 'Innovate With NBN' Grants. NBN Australia

Now in its seventh year and delivered with the Regional Australia Institute, the Innovate With NBN Grants Program backs regional and remote businesses using the NBN network to lift digital participation, stimulate local economies and challenge traditional markets.

💰 7 × $15,000 grants, one for each of the following categories:
🏆 AgTech and Environment
🏆 Arts, Culture & Tourism
🏆 Education
🏆 First Nations Business
🏆Health and Wellbeing
🏆Innovation for Productivity
🏆Women in Regional Business
🏆 Plus a $20,000 Innovate with nbn Champion Award for one exceptional entry

✅ Open to businesses connected to the nbn network and located in regional Australia, with an ABN and matching bank account (one category per application)
🎥 Keep it simple: tell your story (problem, solution, impact) and a 60–90 second phone video is perfectly fine
📅 Closes 9PM WST, Monday 12 October 2026. Winners announced 16 November.

If you’re a Great Southern business using connectivity to reach further, whether you’re a First Nations enterprise, a women-led business, a farm, a tourism operator or a health or education provider, now’s the time to put your hand up. Don’t overthink it. The strongest applications explain the problem, the solution and the impact in a simple, authentic way.

05/10/2026

Applications are OPEN for the 2027 AgriFutures Rural Women's Award, with $15K for WA rural women leaders. Australia's leading award for women leading in rural and emerging industries, businesses and communities (agriculture, forestry and fisheries included) is looking for its next cohort:

💰 $15K grant for each state/territory winner to grow a project, business or program
🏆 Extra $20K for the National Winner and $15K for the National Runner Up
🎓 Professional development training, a workshop with fellow winners and access to a national alumni network
✅ Open to women 18+ who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, with an existing, live project, business or program making a difference in rural, regional or remote Australia (no formal qualifications needed)
📅 Closes 5pm AEST, Weds 4 Nov 2026

What some past WA winners are doing with their grants:
🏆 Louise O'Neill (2022), Denmark: Farm Life Fitness runs live online fitness classes and wellbeing workshops for rural communities, employing only people from rural areas. Her grant went towards scaling the community and building its online home.
🏆 Mandy Walker (2024), Wongan Hills: Co-manager of Walkers Diesel Services, Mandy is building a collaborative model so Wheatbelt engineering businesses can join the defence supply chain and buffer themselves against seasonal swings in agriculture.
🏆 Michelle Moriarty (2023), South West: Founder of Grief Connect, supporting widowed people through online groups, counselling and telehealth, and using her grant to extend the program's reach.
🏆 Isabella Thrupp (2025), Kimberley: Station manager and founder of Prinking in Pindan, a clothing brand born on cattle stations. She went on to be named National Runner Up.
🏆 Angela Teale (2026), Geraldton: Aerospace engineer and Starsite co-founder, using the Award to build STEM pathways into the space industry for regional and Indigenous communities.

💡 Still at the idea stage? The Rural Women's Acceleration Grant opens on the same dates.
🙌 Know a woman who should apply? Nominate her through "Champion Her", then share this post with her.
🔗 https://agrifutures.com.au/opportunities/rural-womens-award/

Address

1st Floor, Albany Co-operative Society Ltd, 46 Frederick Street
Albany, WA
6330

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

(08) 6820 2800

Website

http://www.rdagreatsouthern.com.au/

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