The Region Doesn’t Grow by Accident
We’re the people making sure it doesn’t stand still.
Regional development is slow, unglamorous work. It happens in submissions to government inquiries, in business cases that take years to land, in networks built one conversation at a time, and in programs that quietly change what’s possible for businesses and communities across a vast and varied region.
We are Regional Development Australia Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island. We work across 8,752 square kilometres, six councils, three distinct sub-regions and all levels of government. Our job is to make sure this region has the infrastructure, industry strength, resilience and government connections it needs to thrive – not just today, but over the long term.
This is where you’ll find evidence of that work.
What You’ll Find Here
Projects, advocacy, research and the thinking behind it all.
This section of our site is organised around our four strategic focus areas – the pillars that guide where we put our energy and why. Each one links to a body of work: active projects, completed programs, government submissions, and the regional intelligence that informs all of it.
If you’re a government partner looking for evidence of impact, this is your section. If you’re a community member wanting to understand what we’re actually doing in your area, it’s here too. And if you’re a business owner or investor who wants to understand the strategic context your business operates in, the research and advocacy work in these pages will be worth your time.
For direct business support – grants, mentoring, recruitment, networks – head to For Business.
What Drives Our Work
Four focus areas. One region.
rth knowing about, depending on where you are in your business journey.
Growing Regional Productivity
The region’s productivity and liveability shouldn’t be held back by a lack of public infrastructure.
We identify the bottlenecks – freight routes, public transport gaps, childcare shortages, digital connectivity – and build the evidence base to get government moving. That means formal submissions, infrastructure business cases, and sustained advocacy across state and federal levels.
Active work includes the South Coast Freight Route business case, ongoing public transport advocacy with state government and SAPTA, and the Enabling Infrastructure Program delivered through PIRSA.
Enhancing Regional Innovation and Preparedness
A region that can’t adapt won’t survive the next decade.
Climate change, demographic shifts, digitisation and workforce demand are reshaping what’s possible in regional Australia. Our job is to make sure the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island are ahead of those changes, not scrambling to catch up.
This work includes the Regional Drought Resilience Plan – now complete and moving into implementation – the Resilient Hills and Coasts climate partnership, leadership development through the Inspired Leadership program, and ongoing support for the region’s Study Hubs keeping students learning locally.
Strengthening Our Most Competitive Industry Sectors
This region’s three strongest industries – tourism, manufacturing and agriculture – have the potential to grow significantly. Our job is to make sure they do.
We support tourism organisations across all three sub-regions, back manufacturers through the Hills and Coast Business Grant and the RDA Manufacturing Network, and work with farmers and agribusiness operators on everything from abattoir capacity to agricultural technology adoption.
For direct business support in these sectors, visit For Business. The strategic and sector-level work lives here.
Connecting Region and Government
Good policy needs good regional intelligence. We make sure decision-makers have it.
We provide evidence-based advice and advocacy to federal and state government on the issues that matter most to this region. We run the socio-economic data platform that informs planning and grant submissions. We publish a weekly newsletter reaching more than 3,000 subscribers. And we maintain the Hills and Coast Grant Finder used by 1,734 registered businesses to find and track funding opportunities.
When government needs to understand what’s happening on the ground here, we’re who they call.
The Work in Numbers
What a year of regional development looks like.
$7.15 billion – Gross Regional Product across the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island
$3.5 billion – Total local exports from the region
62,595 – People employed across the region
1,734 – Businesses registered on the Hills and Coast Grant Finder, up 16%
3,062 – Newsletter subscribers, with a 47.7% open rate
[figure TBC] – Projects delivered across six councils in 2024-25
Where We’ve Been Working
A small selection of active and recent projects across the region.
Regional Drought Resilience Plan
After years of development and extensive community consultation, the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island now has a formal drought resilience roadmap. Implementation is underway. Read more
Inspired Leadership
A six-month leadership program built for the people of this region – not imported from the city. The 2024 cohort of 20 included women, First Nations participants and young people from across all three sub-regions. Read more
Fibre Optic Connection for Kangaroo Island
Years of advocacy with key government and industry partners resulted in fibre optic connectivity being secured for Kangaroo Island – a foundation for every business and community on the island. Read more
South Coast Freight Route
The Victor Harbor-Goolwa bypass section of the South Coast Freight Route is the subject of an ongoing business case being progressed with state government. Freight efficiency here affects every producer and business in the southern Fleurieu. Read more
Read the Research
Regional intelligence for anyone who needs to understand this region.
We commission, compile and publish research that helps government, business and community organisations make better decisions. From the Regional Economic Health Check to transport studies, freight reports, drought resilience planning and healthy ageing data – it’s all here, organised by audience so you can find what’s relevant to you quickly.
Where To Go Next
Depending on what brought you here:
For government partners – our advocacy work, submissions and regional intelligence are in Advocacy and Submissions. Our annual reports and strategic documents are in About.
For businesses – the strategic context is here, but the practical support – grants, mentoring, recruitment, networks – is in For Business.
For investors – the regional economic data and investment case for the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island is at Invest.
For community members – our advocacy work on transport, education and planning is at Regional Advocacy, and our newsletter keeps you across everything as it happens.
Ready to Work With Us?
We’re not hard to find.
Whether you’re a government agency with a program to deliver, a council with a project to progress, or an organisation that wants to understand what we’re doing in your area – a conversation is the right place to start.