Business Investment

As one of Australia's fastest growing municipalities, the City of Melton offers a unique mix of urban and rural lifestyles. The residential population that has grown from 80,595 in 2008 to around 205,867 in just 15 years is expected to reach 440,142 residents by 2051, makes our city a great place to invest in, start a business or expand geographically.

With approximately 73% of the resident workforce travelling outside the municipality each day for work, it leaves a highly skilled labour force searching for gainful employment closer to home.

Council maintains collaborative partnerships with locally based recruitment and training organisations - including Western BACE, Job Actives and many registered training organisations - and will happily connect companies looking to develop tailored, local workforce solutions.

The main industries in the City of Melton providing the greatest number of local jobs are: 

• Construction and Trade (17.2%)
• Education & Training (13.5%)
• Retail (13%)
• Healthcare and Social Services (9.7%)
• Public Administration & Safety (8.5%)

The City of Melton's newest industrial estates, Truganina and Ravenhall are located at the east end of the City, just 20km - or as little as 17 minutes - from Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD). Large-scale industrial and commercial land options around Cobblebank and Melton are located a further 10 minutes away, via the Western Freeway.

The new Western Intermodal Freight Terminal (WIFT) has been earmarked for Truganina, and is the backbone of the State Government's freight plan.  It is anticipated the facility will have the capacity to house 3.6km-long trains of double stacked containers, and link in with the National Inland Rail Project. It is expected to be operational by 2050.

The City of Melton is central to the planned route of the State Government's proposed Outer Melbourne Ring road (OMR). The OMR will provide new major rail and road links, and seamlessly connect the City of Melton with the Princes Freeway in Melbourne's south west, all the way to key industrial hubs and the Hume Freeway, the main connector to Sydney and the entire Australian Eastern Seaboard.

Ballarat Rail Line Upgrade: The half a billion dollar allocation to upgrade the Ballarat rail line has delivered improved service reliability, 19km of new duplicated track, a new station in Cobblebank and improvements to Rockbank station.

Road and public transport users will further benefit from the removal of all four level crossings in the City of Melton and upgrades to Melton station, completed by 2026 - 2 years ahead of schedule. 

The Precinct Structure Plans, developed in partnership between State Government, Melton City Council, landholders and other key stakeholders extended Melbourne's Urban Growth Boundary in 2010, adding 11,300 hectares of land rezoned for residential and commercial development.

Toolern

The Toolern precinct in Cobblebank - soon to be home to around 55,000 people - has a $15 billion investment potential and will be the epicentre of future major health, higher education, commercial, corporate and government development in Melbourne's West.

The Toolern precinct will include a Metropolitan Activity Centre incorporating retail, commercial and civic space, all in close vicinity to the already completed Cobblebank station and the new $900m Melton Hospital (completion in 2029).

A 131-hectare regional park incorporating formal and informal recreation opportunities will provide first class amenity and lifestyle for residents and local workers.

Mt Atkinson

The Mt Atkinson and Tarneit Precinct Structure Plans approved by the State Government opened up fresh commercial and industrial land for future development, including the 260ha Melbourne Business Park which is proving a popular investment location among logistics, manufacturing and transport businesses.

According to the 2023 Melton Employment & Industrial Land Strategy there are 944ha of vacant industrial land (1189ha unprogrammed) and 129ha vacant commercial land (367ha unprogrammed) across the city that provide significant opportunities for new investment.

According to the 2018 Victorian-Auditor General's Office report into local government and economic development, the City of Melton has been Victoria's fastest growing economy for over a decade.

The City of Melton's generously sized parcels of available land offer abundant opportunities for businesses to establish and grow their operations, with many iconic brands already calling our city home.

Established Key Business Precincts:

Truganina and Ravenhall

• NewCold
• Catch Group 
• Ceva Logistics
• Amazon
• Hellofresh
• Nike
• Lululemon
• Myer (National DC)
• Electrolux
• Scalzo
• Metcash Group
• DHL
• Ravenhall Correctional Facility 

 
Melton South and Cobblebank

• Westkon
• Abey Australia
• Bertocchi
• Saizeriya
• Melton Entertainment Park  
• RCPA
• ABMT

  
Caroline Springs Business District

Business meets lifestyle in this medium-density business district that combines recreation opportunities along Kororoit Creek, Caroline Springs Lake with multiple four-star hotels, WestWaters Entertainment Centre and an expansive retail and hospitality offering. Caroline Springs and the neighbouring suburb of Burnside continue to evolve, grow and attract new investment.

Western BACE

The Western Business Accelerator and Centre for Excellence is a state-of-the-art business centre incubator in Cobblebank that provides work spaces, office suites, education and training, mentorship and access to investors for start-ups or solo entrepreneurs.

Construction

Construction accounts for $3,559 billion or more than 26 percent of the total output in the City of Melton's economy.

• Varcon Group - Caroline Springs
  Varcon Group is a construction firm with a head office in Caroline Springs delivering premium quality building projects to discerning customers.  The company has high level expertise in high end luxury homes, economical community assets and factories, and functional mixed-use high density complexes.

  
Retail

Retail is the third largest sector for employment in the City of Melton, making up 5.3 percent - or $721 million - of the total output for the municipality.

• QIC Group, Woodgrove Shopping Centre - Melton
  With over 160 specialty stores including fashion, homewares, fresh produce, dining and cinemas, Woodgrove Shopping Centre has been the retail anchor in Melton's west since its $150 million expansion in late 2013.

Nearby Melton Town Centre (MTC) also offers an abundance of investment opportunities for independent or franchise investors. The MTC boast a diverse range of local business favourites, ranging from retail, hospitality and services, and is set for further revitalisation with funding support from State Government.  

Transport, postal and warehousing

The sector contributes $960 million or 7.1 percent of the total output to the City's regional economy. After the construction sector it is the second key propulsive sector, ranking in the top 5 for local expenditure regional exports and value added.

• CEVA Logistics - Truganina
  CEVA Logistics is the world's fourth-largest logistics company with over 420,000 supply chain professionals employed world-wide. When looking to expand and consolidate its Melbourne operations, CEVA invested $80 million to build one of the biggest single-span sheds in the southern hemisphere here in the City of Melton.

  
Education and training

This sector accounts for $755 million or 5.6 percent of total output. The sector is the second largest employer in the City of Melton.  With the government’s announcement in 2023, of a $55m Tafe to be built in Melton the sector will continue to flourish as our city develops the workforce of the future. 

• UNESCO Certification
  Melton City Council was awarded status as a member of the UNESCO's Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) in 2015. The municipality is internationally recognised as a leading city in lifelong learning and the first of four cities in Australia to be awarded membership to the UNESCO GNLC.

  
Wholesale & Manufacturing

The wholesale and manufacturing sectors combined contribute $1.794b or 13.2 percent of total economic output whilst making up 19.5% of regional exports and 9% of local expenditure.

• Abey Australia - Cobblebank
  For more than 56 years, Abey Australia has brought quality tapware and bathroom designs and technology to Australia. With the head office and warehouse located in Cobblebank, Abey has become a feature of the City of Melton business community, having won awards for business excellence and employing a strong cohort of skilled local workers.
  
  ABMT is a local manufacturer of textiles with a strong focus on sustainability employing 60 local people.  As a recognized global leader in natural fibre circular knit manufacturing the company has growth plans and considers Melton to be an ideal business location.

  
Healthcare and social assistance

Healthcare and social assistance is the eighth-largest sector as of 2023, with $582 million or 4.3 percent of total output. It is also fourth in employment and wages/salaries.

Melton Hospital

The health sector is set up for significant ongoing growth with a tender process underway for the construction of a $1b Melton Hospital, which will be surrounded by expansive complementary health and social assistance services in the growing Cobblebank Major Activity Centre.