Australian Tourism
Australia’s visitor economy is vital for Australia’s national prosperity. Domestic and international visitation generates jobs, investment, and growth in communities throughout Australia. Prior to COVID-19, the visitor economy contributed over $166 billion to our economy, was our fourth largest export sector and, directly and indirectly, supported over 1 million jobs. The experience visitors have in Australia influences their future spending and investment decisions, drives demand for Australian products and services, and creates lasting networks for Australia around the world.

We must develop new and innovative products and experiences, and refresh existing ones, to attract first time and repeat visitors. We can do this by leveraging the factors that we know drive destination choice for high value travellers and which align to our unique offerings.

These include nature and wildlife, food and wine, aquatic and coastal experiences, history and heritage, and friendly and welcoming locals. We will also explore new product segments where they align with our offering, such as the high-yield segment of travellers seeking luxury experiences.

Events will also be a critical part of our product portfolio to maximise visitation. Sporting, artistic, cultural and especially business events are all effective at driving high-yield visitation. Events can also play an important part in kick-starting recovery, with new and innovative events providing the catalyst to drive visitation. Mass participation events are also particularly important in driving new business and investment, including in regional locations.

Umbrella Engage is an offering in the Aged Care, Health, NDIS and Community Services space- utilising technology including smart MR/AR glasses to provide remote third-party assessments and checkups from anywhere at any time. This allows people in all areas including rural and remote locations better access to allied health, ACAT and many other assessments without lengthy wait times.

Unearthed Prosperity solves problems by generating and delivering ideas that create impact.

We consult on a variety of areas using our work & lived experience to deliver visionary solutions enabling prosperity.

We lead teams of capable people to unearth creative solutions to bring positive experiences to people and places.

We provide the capability and capacity to create and make ideas happen to achieve growth outcomes for regional communities.

We offer our services to business, industry, government, community organisations and not-for-profits.

The University of New England is a public university in Australia with approximately 22,500 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern central New South Wales. UNE was the first Australian university established outside a state capital city.

The University of Newcastle, informally known as Newcastle University, is a public university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan.

We were established to serve the needs of the Hunter and Central Coast – a responsibility that is legislated in our University Act.

The Newcastle and Hunter Region has reinvented itself many times. With a strong Indigenous community, a rich industrial and resources history, and an emerging arts and digital culture, the region is one of the most representative of Australia and is a true microcosm of Australian society.
The Hunter is Australia’s largest regional economy, generating more wealth on an annual basis than Tasmania, the Northern Territory or the ACT.

We are home to a wide range of industries from health, education, advanced manufacturing, to tourism, agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, mining and resources, power generation, viticulture and defence.

For more than 30 years, we have been serving our community on the Central Coast through our Ourimbah campus. The Central Coast region has experienced a dramatic transformation during this time. It is now the fastest growing region in NSW and recognised as a Significant Urban Area by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The University of Queensland is a public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an informal designation of the oldest university in each state.

The University of Southern Queensland is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offers courses in law, health, engineering, the sciences, business, education, and the arts.

The University of Sydney is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850 as Australia's first university, it is regarded as one of the world's leading universities. The university is one of Australia's six sandstone universities.

A quiet pursuit of the extraordinary.
Our story began 130 years ago, in a sandstone building overlooking Hobart. Since those early days, with three lecturers teaching eleven students, our purpose has remained the same. Through academic excellence, we make our home, and the world, a better place.

Here, success takes a certain determination and imagination. With our isolated location and small population, we have always had to work differently. It’s what makes Tasmanians such creative thinkers and problem solvers. And it has seen us generate powerful ideas both for and from our island.

Here, we nurture our environment as it nurtures us.
Just as the winds and elements shaped this land, this land shapes everything we do. That’s why, today, we fight to protect our island home. As a university, we study and preserve some of the last great wilderness on our planet. From our island shores, our research extends to the great Southern Ocean and down to the Antarctic.

Here, everything is connected.
Literature students ponder the vast Southern Ocean. Scientists sing. Doctors design. Teachers become entrepreneurs. Architects devote themselves to sheltering the needy.

Our creative minds capture our unique land and seascapes, reminding us why our island is worth fighting for. They tell stories that resonate far away. Our institutions lead in medical, agricultural, social and environmental research. Our small setting allows us to test big ideas, leading to greater outcomes for the world.

We welcome all enquiring minds, from near and far, to join our pursuit. Every one of our students becomes part of a welcoming, collaborative community. And our whole island becomes their campus.

We are the University of Tasmania.

The University of Technology Sydney is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1870s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021, UTS enrols 45,221 students through its 9 faculties and schools.

The University of the Sunshine Coast is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it was later renamed the University of the Sunshine Coast in 1999.

The University of Wollongong is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of more than 32,000 students, an alumni base of more than 131,859 and over 2,400 staff members.

Smartphones are the ideal tool to connect tourists to “things to do: and “things to see” across Australia.

And Unreal World connects tourists to geolocation-based tourism information – videos, images, stories, trails, accommodation, sightseeing information, food and beverage, and special interests across the nation. A virtual gateway to a host of tourism related information.

The UNreal platform is made up of hundreds of thousands of what are effectively mini-website information points. We call them UN-Real-Points (URPs). These URPs are created, controlled and updated by UNrealAR’s writers, journalists, orbiteers, volunteers and our partners.

UNreal World assembles knowledge – past-present and future – and geo-locates it. We do this by utilising our own journalists, writers and editors – and we open up our capability to partners, communities and commercial subscribers. On the UNreal platform, real people own and control the knowledge they contribute – and that knowledge can be historical, scientific, cultural, artistic, special interest, events, public safety, and community service-related information.

A walking club may create URPs to guide routes; sporting clubs may publish match fixtures and timeslots; music performers may move their URP to their next perfromance venue; surf life saving clubs may update beach conditions during the day for the beachgoing public ... We already chart movie and literary locations, as well as street art, and present those URPs to the individual artists to manage for themselves.

While we function as a global digital technology platform, we actually see ourselves as a global publisher of geo-located knowledge and information. That knowledge is maintained – and often created – by local people and enthusiasts. UNrealAR is a new way to communicate with local and global publics at the same time.

UpRising is for leading innovative organisations who recognise the value in developing creative, design thinking and entrepreneurial skills in our young students to drive economic recovery and early talent pathways.

Our Mission
At Vennu, we are committed to transforming the use of space. We believe every community, organisation, and business deserves access to the necessary venues.
Our mission is to democratise access to space, making it simple and efficient for anyone to discover and book the perfect venue for their needs.

Impact and Reach
Today, Vennu supports hundreds of organisations, including educational institutions, non-profit organisations, corporations, and others. By streamlining their booking processes and offering comprehensive support, we enable them to focus on what they do best—serving their customers and communities.

Building Communities
At the core of Vennu’s vision is the belief in building stronger, more connected communities. By activating spaces, we create opportunities for people to come together, share experiences, and build lasting relationships. We turn empty spaces into vibrant hubs of activity, fostering a sense of belonging and unity.

Vision for the Future
Looking ahead, Vennu we aim to continue transforming the way spaces are used in Australia and beyond. Our vision is to be the leading platform activating space and empowering communities to thrive. We are dedicated to making space accessible to all, sharing common ground, and bringing people together.

Victoria University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of only six dual-sector universities in Australia, providing courses in both higher education and Technical and Further Education.

Virtual Contact Centre Limited (VirtualCC) was created to benefit unemployed older Victorians (50+) by employing them to provide outsourced support functions to Business and Government. VirtualCC is a Not For Profit Company Limited By Guarantee.

In the future, we intend to extend this criteria to include those disadvantaged by their cultural background, long term employment status, or gender. In providing these services we aim to increase self respect and improve the mental health outcomes for disadvantaged regional Victorians.

Of all earth’s continents, only Antarctica gets less precipitation than Australia. Its average annual rainfall of just 470mm is also unevenly distributed. In the Northern Territory, Darwin receives around 1,700mm, while Adelaide in South Australia gets less than one-third of this—some inland towns survive on less than 200mm.

Australia’s limited and unpredictable rainfall is being exacerbated by climate change with the continent one degree warmer than a hundred years ago and receiving significantly less rain. In 2018, every state except for Tasmania and Western Australia received less than average rainfall while persistent high temperatures in Queensland contributed to record rates of evaporation.

From 1996-2010 the Millennium Drought brought long-term water restrictions to the country’s highly populated southeast and southwest. It was a catalyst for change. Driven by the twin challenges of declining water supply and growing demand, Australia has stepped up its efforts to secure its water future.

Despite the continent’s vast size, nearly the entire population lives in cities. These are predicted to grow by an additional 20 million people in the next 30 years, with water consumption in larger cities expected to rise by 73% to more than 2,650 gigalitres.

To meet this demand Australia is looking beyond its traditional rain-fed dams and reservoirs. Instead, it is turning to technology with all the mainland states investing in large desalination plants, each producing up to 674 gigalitres of additional freshwater to cushion city-dwellers against growth and drought.

However, desalination is costly and controversial, using so much energy that its water is nicknamed ‘bottled electricity’; Sydney’s plant costs A$500,000 a day to run—even standing idle. This January it was switched on for the first time since 2012 and is expected to contribute 15% of the city’s drinking water, staving off severe restrictions.

The widespread acceptance that environmental sustainability is a crucial goal of water management is arguably Australia’s most important change in water policy. A growing public awareness, together with investment in infrastructure, innovation, and conservation, has seen Australia praised for improving its water security.

Even so, this year has seen many areas suffering again. Low rainfall and high temperatures in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, mean that Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne are facing water restrictions: low inflows to Sydney’s dams have led to its desalination plant being switched on.

This could be a major test of the plans, projects, and technologies put in place to mitigate the effects of drought; the question on everyone’s lips is ‘has Australia done enough?’

Effective water infrastructure underpins the livelihoods of regional Australia and supports and sustains communities around the nation. It helps to grow the food, livestock and crops essential to our everyday living. It also generates jobs and injects billions of dollars into regions and the broader Australian economy each year.

Water is one of our most important resources and we must make sure it is sustainable, reliable, and resilient to drought and a changing climate.

Australia’s variable rainfall, streamflow and landscape conditions create water supply challenges. This, along with the demands of agriculture and growing urban populations, and climate change means we face frequent water challenges.

Our projects also help farmers access a more constant supply of water, which eases the pressure on our natural surface and ground water systems. This allows ecosystems that rely on these systems to flourish.