Coffs Coast Business News - March 2026

Each month, the City of Coffs Harbour's Economic Development & Tourism Team collates information for all businesses, large and small, across the Coffs Coast - helping you stay informed, keep connected, and feel supported.

We hope you find our monthly newsletter valuable. Please feel free to forward it to colleagues and your team. They can also subscribe to receive a copy directly. Previous editions of Coffs Coast Business News are available to view here.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Business events and training

• Coffs City Rotary Dine & Discuss - Tuesday 10 March
• WNBCC Nibbles & Networking - Thursday 12 March
• LinkedIn Local Coffs Coast - Friday 13 March
• Business NSW: Future of Business Technology Summit - Tuesday 17 March
• Inside the Bypass: A rare WHS site experience - Wednesday 18 March

Local news and opportunities

• In case you missed it around the region
• Go Full Throttle and drive sales this March
• Bellingen Shire Council: Community Impact Survey
• Productivity Commission Regional Airfares Questionnaire
• Coffs Harbour Bypass: February Project Update

Grant funding and business support

• Coffs Harbour Grant Finder
• City of Coffs Harbour Funding Opportunities: Community Donations Program and Environmental Levy Grants Program
• Qantas Regional Grants Program

What's On Coffs Coast and major event calendar

LOCAL BUSINESS EVENTS

Inside the Bypass: A rare WHS site experience

Hosted by the Coffs Harbour Bypass project team, this rare experience will provide an inside look at how safety is planned, managed and delivered on one of the region’s largest and most complex infrastructure projects.

Your experience will include:
• A comprehensive two-hour briefing covering project updates, best-practice approaches, practical insights and innovative safety strategies
• A guided bus tour offering a firsthand view of the bypass in action
• Lunch and valuable networking with fellow WHS and industry professionals
This is a unique opportunity to learn directly from leaders managing safety at scale — insights that are rarely available to the broader professional community. 

Wednesday 18 March, 9.30am - 1.30pm, 111 N Boambee Rd, North Boambee Valley 

LOCAL NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Check out this monthly snapshot of articles, marketing activities, and campaigns making news across our region and beyond. Here's what's happening:

• Fishing Australia Season 25: Episode 9 - Coffs Harbour Aired Sunday 15 February, available to stream now
• Visit NSW: Seven quiet beach towns in NSW perfect for a crowd-free escape Featuring the Coffs Coast

ALL COFFS COAST BUSINESSES are invited to share these news stories in their business marketing. This is a great way to bring people from out of the area to your business - and the content is already created for you.

Go Full Throttle and drive sales this March 

March 13 to 15 will bring big ‘Full Throttle’ energy to the Coffs Coast, with Freestyle Kings Live, Summer Beach Hop retro car show, and Round 1 of the Australian Kart Championship drawing thousands of people into the region.

For local businesses, that means a real chance to turn the weekend buzz into extra sales, stronger visibility and increased customer activity. It’s also a simple way to help build business confidence, local pride and longer-term activity across the Coffs Coast.

Whether you’re in retail, hospitality or the wider business community, we’ve made it easy to get involved with a ready-to-use Full Throttle Toolkit featuring captions, branded images and web banners. The weekend brings the attention… your business can turn it into sales now, and momentum beyond March.

Bellingen Shire Council Community Impact Survey 

Have you been impacted by the recent road closure? As part of Bellingen Shire Council’s advocacy for urgent support and long-term solutions for Waterfall Way, they are asking residents and local businesses to complete their Community Impact Survey.

The survey asks practical, straightforward questions about travel times, extra costs, access to work, school and healthcare, and business impacts, as well as an opportunity to share your personal experiences. The responses will be combined to provide clear, measurable evidence for state and federal decision-makers.

Productivity Commission Regional Airfares Questionnaire

The Productivity Commission has been asked to examine the determinants of regional airfares. The inquiry will consider how to support a competitive, reliable and affordable aviation network for passenger flights outside Australia’s major cities.

Individuals and organisations are invited to provide a submission to this inquiry. Initial submissions are due Sunday 15 March 2026.

GRANT FUNDING & BUSINESS SUPPORT

COFFS HARBOUR GRANT FINDER

The City of Coffs Harbour provides a free service for locals to find grants and grant writing tips. Register to be notified of specific grants for your business or organisation.

City of Coffs Harbour Funding Opportunities

Community Donations Program
Not-for-profit organisations can apply for up to $5,000 for donations toward activities or services that can demonstrate a direct benefit to the wider community. Eligible projects that could be eligible for funding may include community events such as cultural festivals, sporting events, presentations and rate subsidies for community organisations leasing City properties. 

Applications for the 2026/2027 program are open now, closing 5pm Friday 3 April 2026

Environmental Levy Grants Program
Under the Program, grants are available to community organisations for projects starting from 1 July each financial year, worth between $2,000 and $50,000 per project.

The objectives of the Environmental Levy Grants Program are to ensure that the allocation of Environmental Levy funds support the achievement of the MyCoffs Community Strategic Plan - A natural environment sustained for the future:

• We protect the diversity of our natural environment (C2.1)
• We use resources responsibly to support a safe and stable climate (C2.2)

Applications for the 2026/2027 program are open now, closing midnight 27 March 2026

Qantas Regional Grants Program

The Qantas Regional Grants program is back, offering $2 million in support to Australian-based communities and projects that are looking to benefit the country's regional areas. 

The grant allocation includes a mix of cash grants, flights in kind, and marketing support.

Applications close 10 May 2026

WHAT'S ON @ COFFS COAST

Please reach out to our team at City of Coffs Harbour if you have any questions.

Check out our 6 degrees business support website for business events and resources.
For tourism industry and visitor economy business support and information, go to our Coffs Coast tourism industry hub.

Received this newsletter from a business colleague? Subscribe here