Regional City of Mildura

A producer of quality Victorian food and agriculture and a strategically important regional service centre for North West Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales

Mildura is an oasis on the Murray River in northwest Victoria. Located on the border of New South Wales and South Australia, the Mildura region is 550km northwest of Melbourne and 400km northeast of Adelaide.

Part of the Mallee region, Mildura is the largest city in northwest Victoria and strategically vital to what is an important agricultural area.

The city is a significant service centre for northwest Victoria as well as parts of South Australia and New South Wales, delivering transport and warehousing services, professional services, health services and tertiary education. Mildura produces premium agricultural and aquaculture products for domestic and international markets.

Food and beverage manufacturing are among Mildura’s major exports as the region’s arid climate creates the perfect conditions for citrus and grape growing.

Culture and lifestyle

Life in Mildura revolves around the Murray River, with fishing, water sports, the white sandy beaches found along the river and the desert environment of Mildura-Sunset National Park.

Mildura also has a strong arts culture with the Art Gallery built in 1966 on a historic property adjacent to the Murray River. The Centre includes a 384-seat theatre, the Mildura Art Gallery and the original Caffey House. The theatre is also hired out to commercial and amateur theatre, school productions and used for workshops, private functions and classes.

Mildura is a renowned food and wine region drawing on premium local inputs. Australian celebrity chef Stefano di Pieri proudly promotes his hometown’s food and beverages, which owes much of this food culture to post-WWII Italian and Greek migrants.

Employment, industry and infrastructure

Agriculture and aquaculture, food and beverage manufacturing are large export industries for Mildura, drawing on Mildura’s location on the Murray River and surrounding quality irrigated and non-irrigated rural land.

Mildura services surrounding agricultural areas and mining and resources towns. It is also a base for regional industry with expanding industrial land available in two key non-urban estates, Thurla and Koorlong. There are around 5,348 businesses in the city and a workforce of approximately 25,100 people.

Health Care and Social Assistance is the primary employment industry in Mildura, followed by Retail Trade, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and Construction. In the five-year period 2014-2019, there was strong employment growth in Construction, Health Care and Social Assistance, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services and Public Administration and Safety.

In terms of Gross Value Added activity, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing is the largest performing sector in Mildura, generating $305 million in 2019. Manufacturing, Health Care and Social Assistance and Construction are also key industry sectors.

Mildura connects Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales by road, rail and air.

The Mildura Airport is strategically vital to the Sunraysia region. It is the busiest regional airport in Victoria for passenger services with the number of passengers doubling over the last decade.

A $6.4 million Terminal Redevelopment Project completed in 2013 was a strategic consideration to accommodate the existing and future needs of passengers over the next 10 to 15 years.

The RDV information portal has more detailed data and statistics on the Mildura region and regional Victoria more broadly.