Unlocking jobs and business opportunities in Portland

29/07/2026

Two innovative projects are highlighting business and job opportunities in Portland.

The Future Portland Hardwood Timber Manufacturing Hub feasibility study and the Future Portland dashboard are now complete.

The recently released feasibility study has uncovered that locally grown Blue Gum can be commercialised into glue-laminated timber.

This would be a first for Australia’s timber industry.

Blue Gum is currently processed into woodchips for wood pulp and paper markets across the globe. However, the study shows that processing Blue Gum into glue-laminated timber could unlock major domestic and international market opportunities in Portland.

The study suggests this could create up to 74 full-time ongoing jobs and 150 construction jobs.

The findings are now being used in Portland’s Precinct development, backed by $1.75 million from the Victorian Government, along with funding from the Federal Government and Australian Forest and Wood Innovations.

The new study will explore creating Australia's largest plantation hardwood and softwood processing precinct in Portland. A hardwood peeling trial is currently underway.

Portland is positioned in the 'Green Triangle', which is Australia’s largest sustainable plantation forestry region, stretching across the Victoria-South Australia border.

Glenelg Shire Council’s Future Portland dashboard is also supporting future business and industry opportunities in the region.

The dashboard will showcase the needs for future investments that could create thousands of potential jobs in the next 10 years and beyond across industries including manufacturing, renewables, alternative fuels and aquaculture.

These projects are backed by more than $500,000 from the Portland Diversification Fund and are designed to ensure Victoria’s south-west is economically viable for years to come.