Victoria's Loddon Mallee Region

The Loddon Mallee covers more than a quarter of Victoria, stretching from Melbourne’s fringe right up to Mildura on the New South Wales and South Australian border. At its centre is Bendigo, one of Australia's most culturally rich regional cities, with a booming economy and housing that’s genuinely affordable. The region's workforce has grown faster than any other in Victoria since 2019.

Loddon Mallee region at a glance

Key towns: Bendigo, Mildura, Echuca, Castlemaine, Swan Hill, Kyneton, Maryborough, Gisborne
Distance to Melbourne: Gisborne 1-hour drive, Kyneton 70 mins by train, Bendigo 1.75 hours, Echuca 2.5 hours, Swan Hill 3.5 hours 
Population: 355,000+
Universities: La Trobe University (Bendigo and Mildura), Monash University School of Rural Health
Hospitals: Bendigo Health, Mildura Base Hospital
Average temperatures: 18-28°c (Summer), 3-14°c (Winter)

Employment and career opportunities

Employment in the Loddon Mallee region has grown by more than 18% since 2019, the highest of any region in the state. The regional economy generates more than $22 billion a year, with the Mallee sub-region recording gross regional product growth of 20.6%, above both state and metropolitan averages.

There are over 177,000 workers across the region, with demand in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, defence, agribusiness, food processing, mining, financial services and education.

Healthcare

Healthcare is the largest employment sector across the region. Bendigo Health is the major hospital and health service for central Victoria. Mildura Base Hospital serves the north-west. Community health centres operate across the region's towns, creating jobs for nurses, allied health workers and social workers at every level of the system.

Advanced manufacturing and defence

Bendigo is home to Thales Group, which manufactures the Bushmaster protected vehicle for the Australian Defence Force and international partners. This type of advanced manufacturing environment is rare outside a capital city, providing opportunities for engineers, production specialists, supply chain managers, and quality assurance professionals.

Financial services, education, and professional roles

Bendigo Bank is the only Australian bank headquartered in a regional city. It employs hundreds of people in Bendigo across finance, technology, and professional services, and its presence anchors a wider professional services economy in the city.

La Trobe University and Bendigo TAFE are also major employers, offering career pathways in teaching, research, student services, and administration that are comparable to what you'd find at a metropolitan institution, without the metropolitan commute.

Agribusiness, horticulture, and food processing

The Loddon Mallee region produces more than half of Australia's almond crop and olive oil. Cobram Estate, the largest olive producer in the southern hemisphere, is headquartered here. The Murray River corridor supports table grapes, citrus, wine, and stone fruit production on a large scale, creating roles in agriculture, food science, logistics, and processing.

Mining and critical minerals

The Murray Basin holds one of the world's largest deposits of critical mineral sands, an emerging sector with growing demand for geologists, engineers, and mining professionals. Victoria’s largest gold producer, Fosterville Gold Mine, is located at Costerfield.

Major employers

Major employers include: Thales Group, Bendigo Bank, La Trobe University, Cobram Estate, Fosterville Gold Mine, Bendigo Health, Mildura Base Hospital, Sunraysia TAFE, and Bendigo TAFE.

Housing

The region offers many great value housing options, from wide, tree-lined streets, heritage homes from the gold rush era to modern residential estates, all at regional rather than metropolitan prices. For many people, this is the single biggest practical difference in their quality of life.

Where you choose to settle in the Loddon Mallee shapes your experience of the region. Bendigo's inner city has character-filled streetscapes, a lively café and restaurant scene, and easy access to city services. Castlemaine and Kyneton in the Macedon Ranges offer a creative, community-focused lifestyle within an hour of Melbourne. Echuca on the Murray River offers a relaxed riverside setting at very affordable prices. And Mildura, with its warm climate, big skies, and thriving food and wine culture, offers a lifestyle that's genuinely distinct.

Education

Whether you're settling with school-age children or looking to continue your own studies, the region has options at every level.

Schools

Government and independent schools operate across the region's towns and cities, from primary through to secondary level. Bendigo, in particular, offers schooling options that consistently rank among the state’s top-performing schools for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) results. Towns across the region are well served by local schools with close community connections.

TAFE

There are two main vocational training providers in the region, each with campuses in multiple Loddon-Mallee locations:

• Bendigo TAFE - campuses in Bendigo, Echuca, and Castlemaine
• Sunraysia TAFE - campuses in Mildura and Swan Hill

University

La Trobe University has campuses in both Bendigo and Mildura. The Monash University School of Rural Health also operates in the region, training the next generation of rural health professionals. And the Regional University Hub in Swan Hill supports students in more remote areas to access tertiary education

Health

Goulburn Valley Health in Shepparton is the main public hospital for north-central Victoria. It provides emergency, surgical, maternity, mental health, cancer care, and specialist services for a large area. Albury Wodonga Health serves the Victoria-New South Wales border area, and Northeast Health Wangaratta is the main hospital for the Ovens Murray area.

In addition to hospitals, the Hume region has many other health services:

• Urgent Care Clinics (Shepparton and Wodonga) - are open seven days a week, free, with no appointment or referral needed
• Benalla Health - nurse-led urgent care centre
• Community health providers - these operate across the region, offering allied health, mental health, chronic disease management, aged care and youth health services.

For the most complex or specialised treatment, Melbourne is about two hours away by train from Shepparton. And the Virtual Emergency Department is available throughout Victoria too. This free service is available 24 hours and allows you to have a video consultation with Emergency doctors and nurses, providing peace of mind when you need it most.

Transport

By car

Commutes within larger towns like Bendigo are around 15-20 minutes. Gisborne and the Macedon Ranges are less than an hour's drive from Melbourne's, and Echuca is approximately two hours by road.

By train

V/Line trains connect several of the region's major towns and Melbourne's Southern Cross Station. Approximate travel time ranges from 1hr 10 mins (Kyneton) to 3hrs 30 mins (Swan Hill).

By air

Mildura Airport is Victoria's largest regional airport, with direct flights to Melbourne (70mins), Sydney and some international destinations.

Community and culture

The Loddon Mallee has two distinct characters, each with their own appeal. In the south and centre, the Macedon Ranges towns, like Kyneton and Castlemaine, have quietly become some of Victoria's most desirable places to live, with a thriving food and wine scene and a creative energy that has drawn waves of new residents from Melbourne.

Bendigo sits at the heart of this part of the region: one of regional Australia's most culturally rich cities, with institutions and cultural life that surprises almost everyone who arrives.

Further north, the character shifts, Echuca on the Murray River, Swan Hill, and Mildura offer something genuinely different: wide skies, warm dry summers, a slower pace, and a strong agricultural and river culture that's distinct from anywhere else in Victoria.

Bendigo: a regional cultural capital

Bendigo is one of regional Australia's most culturally rich cities, and its diversity has deep roots. The Chinese community has been part of Bendigo since the gold rush era of the 1850s, and that heritage is alive today in two of the most significant cultural institutions outside a capital city.

• Golden Dragon Museum - home to one of the finest collections of Chinese traditional arts, historical artefacts, and ceremonial regalia outside China; a living record of the Chinese community's long history in the goldfields.
• Great Stupa of Universal Compassion - the largest Buddhist centre outside Asia.

The Bendigo Art Gallery is one of the largest regional galleries in Australia, currently undergoing major redevelopment.

Bendigo also holds UNESCO City of Gastronomy status, reflecting a serious food and hospitality culture that extends across the region.

The region's annual events include:

• Bendigo Easter Festival, featuring Sun Loong, one of the world's longest performing parade dragons
• Mildura Jazz, Food and Wine Festival
• Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival
• Maldon Folk Festival
• Castlemaine Festival of Gardens
• Groovin the Moo

Nature on your doorstep

The natural environment spans some of Victoria's most distinctive landscapes: the Macedon Ranges, the Murray River, ancient Mallee country, Ramsar-listed wetlands, and iconic Hanging Rock.

Aboriginal First Nations Communities

Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) are the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage. They are the primary source of advice and knowledge on matters relating to Aboriginal places or Aboriginal objects in their region.

In the Loddon Mallee region, the main RAPs are:

Settlement support

A range of settlement services operate across the region to help you and your family get established. Local councils and community organisations provide practical support: from language assistance and employment pathways to social connection and help understanding local services.

Local councils in the region are:

• Buloke Shire
• Campaspe Shire
• Central Goldfields Shire
• City of Greater Bendigo
• Gannawarra Shire
• Loddon Shire
• Macedon Ranges Shire
• Mildura Rural City
• Mount Alexander Shire
• Swan Hill Rural City

Community organisations include:

• AMES Australia, Mildura
• Bendigo Community Health Services , Bendigo
• Intereach, Bendigo
• Intereach, Echuca
• Intereach, Maryborough
• Intereach, Swan Hill

Region at a glance