About

About RDA

RDA Tropical North forms part of a network of 50 committees across Australia’s capital cities and regions, including the Indian Ocean Territories, Norfolk Island and Jervis Bay Territory.  We operate within a regional economic development framework to promote long-term regional economic and social growth to achieve our vision of being the thriving, diverse and sustainable powerhouse of Northern Australia, linking the nation to the Indo-Pacific.  Our region encompasses 21 local government areas from the Torres Strait, Cape York to Croydon, south to Cardwell and north up the tropical coast.   The 11 member RDATN Board are volunteers drawn from the region and who bring leadership, skills and experience from the community, business, local government and not-for-profit organisations.

RDA Tropical North

Our Committee has an active and facilitative role in the community and a clear focus on stimulating economic development coutcomes for the Tropical North Queensland Region through collaboration with all levels of government, industry, community and academia. Together we:

• Identify, assess and implement infrastructure projects of vital regional significance in our region
• Generate innovation through new business in renewables and waste; and
• Promote our region.

Video:  Who We Are and What We Do…

Credit:  Produced by students from the Collaborative Digital Media Project unit of the Bachelor of Digital Media at CQUniversity – ‘Digital Squad’ members:  Andrei Batac, Jay Chidwick, Jen Howard, Leo Walz

Regional Development Australia (RDA) Charter

The Albanese Government’s vision for regional Australia is one of strong, connected regions that shape our economic growth and wellbeing; are resilient and responsive to economic and environmental shocks; are
inclusive, vibrant and diverse. Regions that our First Nations people have every opportunity to engage in and shape, and where people, businesses and investments thrive.
Regional Development Australia Committees (RDAs) are critical to the delivery of this vision, including supporting the successful implementation of the Australian Government’s Regional Investment Framework
(RIF), which will guide a more coordinated approach to regional development, underpinned by local engagement.

RDAs play a role in helping to drive economic growth, innovation and entrepreneurship in regions through facilitating investment in community, industry and the environment. RDAs assist to bridge the regional
development gaps in regions by working with a broad range of stakeholders across sectors and supportingthe delivery of identified Australian Government strategic priorities.
As representatives of their local communities, RDAs will:

• focus their activities and strategy on delivery of the RIF in their region, including investment in people, places, services, and industries and local economies
• support regional stakeholders, including local government and the not-for-profit-sector, to seek grant opportunities that advance strategic regional priorities
• support decarbonisation efforts and the transformation to a net zero economy and enable regional linkages between sectors to achieve these aims
• build the evidence for economic development, including innovation and diversification strategies
• facilitate meaningful engagement across the three levels of government to ensure investments deliver better outcomes for regions, and
• contribute relevant data and local intelligence to support the evidence base to inform regional development strategies, program design and policy responses.

RDAs use their local, cross-sector expertise and regional voice to:

• collaborate with integrity, transparency, respect and accountability
• engage with diverse communities, especially First Nations people
• support the Government’s ambition of ‘no one held back and no one left behind’, and
• support gender equality opportunities in their regions.

Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories 28 July 2023