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Economic Development & Tourism - City of Coffs Harbour

Coffs Coast Business News - September 2025

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

Woopi News: Community & Business Breakfast - Wednesday 10 September
LinkedIn Local Coffs Coast: Coffee catch-up - Thursday 18 September
WNBCC: Business Networking & Nibbles - Thursday 18 September
BWN Coffs Coast: Cocktail & Connect - Friday 19 September
WNBCC: Seeing Through Your Customer's Eyes Workshop - Thursday 23 October
Navigating Change with Ease and Confidence - Wednesday 19 November

Local news and opportunities

In case you missed it around the region
Destination North Coast - Value of Tourism report 2024
Australian Event Awards & Symposium
Business NSW Mid North Coast Awards
Library resources for Business and Industry
Major events coming up - information for all businesses

Grant funding and business support

Coffs Harbour Grant Finder
Live Performance Venue Grant Program
Innovate with NBN Grant Program
NSW Small Business Commissioner resources

What's On Coffs Coast and major event calendar

LOCAL BUSINESS EVENTS

Woopi News Community and Business Networking Breakfast

Join the Woopi News Community and Business Breakfast, a vibrant event designed to connect, inspire, and inform the local community and businesses.

Wednesday 10 September, 7am - 9am,
C.ex Woolgoolga, 18 Boundary Street, Woolgoolga

MORE INFORMATION & TICKETS

LinkedIn Local Coffs Coast: Coffee catch-up

LinkedInLocal is all about getting to know the people behind the LinkedIn™ profiles and connecting at a human level. Our events are pitch-free and designed to foster connection among the community.

Thursday 18 September, 10am - 12pm,
Business @ Yarrila, Level 1, 27 Gordon Street, Coffs Harbour

MORE INFORMATION & REGISTER

WNBCC Business Networking & Nibbles

Enjoy a first look at Swell Woolgoolga – a new community designed for belonging, growth, & everyday joy. Cardow & Partners will unveil their brand-new sales & experience centre, with the first homesites launching soon.

Thursday 18 September, 5.30pm - 7.30pm,
Cardow & Partners Property, 66 River Street, Woolgoolga

MORE INFORMATION & REGISTER

BWN Coffs Coast: Cocktail & Connect

We’re bringing together local business women for a relaxed evening of connection, conversation, and celebration. Join us for cocktails and good company at the beautiful new Bistro Vue in Coffs Harbour.

Friday 19 September, 5pm - 7pm,
Bistro Vue, 384B Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour

MORE INFORMATION & REGISTER

Woolgoolga & Northern Beaches Chamber of Commerce: Seeing Through Your Customer’s Eyes Workshop

Seeing Through Your Customer’s Eyes is a hands-on workshop for Woolgoolga’s small to medium businesses to boost customer service and grow. Led by Dr Moira Scerri - a strategic service design expert and UTS Senior Lecturer with 25+ years of industry experience.

You’ll learn how to use Customer Journey Mapping to better understand your customers and improve their experience. Moira’s engaging, practical approach combines real-world case studies with easy-to-use tools.

Ideal for retailers, service providers, tourism operators, and trades. No jargon—just actionable insights to help your business thrive.

Thursday 23 October, 5.30pm - 7.30pm,
Seaview Tavern, 51 River Street, Woolgoolga

MORE INFORMATION & TICKETS

Navigating Change with Ease and Confidence

Change can be difficult. Change can be isolating. What if you could future-proof yourself against change with both connections and skills?

That is the promise of this 1/2 day workshop with two highly experienced local business advisors.

Anna McAfee, who co-founded the worldwide community-building phenomenon of LinkedIn Local and who is an expert on building connections. Anna wrote the popular book - How a Hashtag Changed the World.

Hunter Leonard is a marketing and strategy consultant and self-published author who has been advising business owners since 2001.

Wednesday 19 November, 9.30am - 12.30pm,
The Link, 631 Hogbin Drive, Toormina

MORE INFORMATION & TICKETS

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:

Touch Football Australia: Coffs Harbour confirmed as host destination for The Championships 2026
Australian Traveller: 7 great day trips from your Coffs Coast homebase
Australian Traveller: 13 reliably good Coffs Harbour restaurants to dine at
Australian Traveller: 16 perfectly placed Coffs Harbour accommodation picks
Australian Traveller: The amazing homegrown cafes in Coffs Harbour you will love
Australian Traveller: These Coffs Harbour pubs are putting the coastal city on the map
TimeOut: Coffs Harbour named in Top 10 Airbnb trending winter destinations in Australia for 2025

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.

The Value of Tourism to North Coast 2024

Destination North Coast has released the 2024 calendar year annual report, with some promising results for the visitor economy across the Coffs Harbour LGA.

Coffs welcomed 1.887M visitors, with a 62% increase in expenditure, totalling $1.098B.

These outcomes reflect the strength of working together. Through close partnerships with local businesses, industry stakeholders, and government departments, the City's Economic Development & Tourism team is helping to build a competitive, resilient, and sustainable future for our region.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

Australian Event Awards & Symposium

Calling all event businesses: the Australian Event Awards & Symposium lands in the Coffs Coast from 13-15 October. Hear from industry heavyweights including Greg Donovan (Birdsville Big Red Bash & Mundi Mundi Bash) on how destination festivals supercharge regional economies, and Peter Noble OAM (Bluesfest) on building globally recognised, award-winning events. With a huge speaker line-up, practical sessions and networking with peers from across Australia, this is the place to spark ideas and partnerships for 2026 and beyond. Don’t miss it!

MORE INFORMATION HERE

Business NSW - Mid North Coast Awards

Congratulations to the following Coffs Coast businesses who have been named as finalists for the 2025 Business NSW Mid North Coast Awards. Winners will be announced Friday 19 September.

Outstanding Young Business Leader: Tiga Cross – Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary, Belle Lyons – Active Nutrition Pantry
Employer of Choice Award – 21 Employees and over: ETC Coffs Harbour
Excellence in Innovation: Key Community Group
Excellence in Sustainability: Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary
Outstanding Community Organisation: ETC Coffs Harbour, The Community Transport Company
Outstanding New Business: Refined Recovery & Wellness
Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion: Key Community Group, Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary
Excellence in Small Business: Active Nutrition Pantry
Outstanding Visitor Experience: Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary
Excellence in Large Business: Advance Metal Industries Australia, Bellbowrie Motors

Business resources available at Coffs Harbour Library

Did you know there's a dedicated section of business books available at the Harry Bailey Memorial Library, including works by local authors? Featuring books on investing, budgeting, career development, marketing, and so much more –we’ve got all your business and finance needs covered in one convenient location. Just look for the $ symbols or ask one of the team.

In addition to books, you can also access a range of digital resources with your Coffs Harbour Library Card, including:

Newsbank - national and international papers
Choice Online - investigates and reports on products, services, and consumer issues
Gale Business Insights - data sets covering international business topics
ABI/Inform (ProQuest) - business and management journals
Account Database (Informit) - abstracts of published material sourced from leading journals and magazines
Business Source Complete (EBSCO) - full text PDF's of the top scholarly journals
Company 360 - information on 100,000 Australian private and public companies
Factiva - full-text news and financial information database
IBISWorld - Over 500 industry research reports
Morningstar DatAnalysis - comprehensive financial information on ASX listed companies
Analysis and Policy Observatory - contemporary research reports and public policies

FIND OUT MORE

Major events coming up - information for all businesses

Over the next few weeks, the Coffs Coast will welcome visitors from near and far to the region, across a diverse range of events. Don't forget to allow for extra travel time especially around the Highway and Hogbin/Stadium Drive.

For Visitor Economy businesses, now's the time to check staffing requirements, and make sure your ATDW profiles are up to date with any seasonal changes, opening hours, and specials/deals you wish to offer.

All other local businesses may also wish to contact event organisers for corporate involvement and sponsorship opportunities - a great way to showcase and promote your business. Click the events to find out more.

Friday 5 - Sunday 7 September: Australian Kart Championships
Sunday 14 September: C.ex Group Coffs Harbour Running Festival
Friday 19 - Sunday 21 September: Oz Tag State of Origin (5,000+)
Friday 26 - Sunday 28 September: Woolgoolga Curryfest (10,000+)
Wednesday 1 - Sunday 5 October: International Orchid Conference and Show - Woolgoolga
Wednesday 1 - Saturday 4 October: National Youth Championships Touch Football (10,000+)

Did you know? The first ever marathon will be held in Coffs as part of the C.ex Group Coffs Harbour Running Festival! Get your crew together and enter a team, from 3km fun run right through to the full 42kms. The Coastwise Insurance Solution Teams Challenge encourages group participation from friends, families, schools, businesses and others to run to raise funds for local charities.

MORE EVENTS HERE

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.

COFFS HARBOUR GRANT FINDER

Get up to $80k to host live performances at your venue

Are you a small-to-medium hospitality venue in NSW looking to kickstart or grow your live performance offering? The Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner is offering up to $80,000 in funding per venue for essential sound equipment, staging, marketing and paying performers, through the Live Performance Venue Grant Program.

Applications close 2.00pm Tuesday 23 September.

FIND OUT MORE & APPLY

Innovate with NBN Grant Program

Running a business in regional or remote Australia isn’t easy. Isolation, limited reach and tough conditions can all stand in the way. Yet, out here, challenge breeds creativity.

The Innovate with nbn^® Grants Program champions the ideas, resilience and brilliance of regional digital businesses. There’s also $125,000 in grants up for grabs across 7 categories:

Agriculture, Arts & Tourism, Education, Health, Indigenous Business, Sports & Recreation, and Women in Regional Business.

Applications close Sunday 12 October

FIND OUT MORE & APPLY

Small Business Resources

As an advocate for the interests of small businesses the Commission operates a subsidised mediation service to help businesses resolve disputes quickly and efficiently. Here's some handy links: