Have your say on Council's 2027 business workshops, connect with peers at Buda, and explore new regional drought resilience funding.
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15 October 2026
In this edition of Business Link: Shape Council's 2027 business training program, prepare for peak spring visitor trade, join the Regional Connections networking evening at Buda, and explore regional drought resilience grant opportunities.
News
Regional Connections: business networking at Buda
LGBTIQ+ business owners, professionals and creatives and their friends are invited to Buda Historic Home and Garden for Regional Connections, an evening of relaxed professional networking opening the Castlemaine Pridefest26 weekend. Allies and anyone keen to connect with the local business community are warmly welcome too.
Enjoy complimentary local canapés, a Shedshaker Brewing bar, and Buda’s heritage gardens in spring, with an optional focused networking session on offer. It’s a welcoming setting to build new partnerships, expand your contacts and showcase local enterprise.
Presented by GLOBE Victoria and Castlemaine Pride, and supported by Council and Business Mount Alexander, the event links regional LGBTIQ+ enterprises with broader Victorian commercial networks.
Date: Friday 13 November 2026
Time: 6.00pm to 9.00pm
Location: Buda Historic Home and Garden, 42 Hunter Street, Castlemaine
Cost: $0 to $25 (free for GLOBE members, $12.50 concession, $25 casual)
Make the most of a busy visitor period
Late October through to the end of November is shaping up to be one of the busiest visitation periods of the year across Castlemaine, Maldon, Harcourt and surrounds. Ensuring your business is visitor-ready can help maximise sales, create memorable experiences, and encourage repeat visits throughout the year.
Here are some high traffic events happening in October & November
OCTOBER
- Mt Tarrengower Hill Climb: Saturday 17 to Sunday 18 October
- Annual Maldon & Baringhup Agricultural Show: Sunday 18 October
- Yarny Day Out: Saturday 24 October
- Castlemaine & District Festival of Gardens: Daily (excluding Wednesdays) 24 October to 10 November
- Castlemaine Annual Show (parade & fireworks on Friday): Friday 30 to Saturday 31 October
- Maldon Folk Festival: Friday 30 October to Monday 2 November
- Golden Wellness Festival: Saturday 31 October
NOVEMBER
- Town Folk Festival: 21 November
- Traditional Arts Fair: 22 November
- Great Victorian Bike Ride: Riders will be in our shire from Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 November (see route map here)
- Shamick's Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show: Saturday 28 November
There are some quick ways you can improve your opportunities for visitation and ensure your business is ready. The top three we recommend are:
- Plan Ahead for Increased Demand: Review staffing requirements and stock levels, to ensure you're well-resourced to provide a great visitor experience.
- Make Sure You're Easy to Find: Update your Google Business Profile, including current trading hours
- Think Beyond the Event: Consider how you can attract repeat visitation.
Last chance to shape 2027 business training: Survey closes Sunday
Council is planning its next series of business training workshops, and this is your final opportunity to tell us what topics matter most to your business.
Your input directly determines the upcoming schedule, delivery formats, and guest presenters. Whether you want guidance on digital marketing, financial resilience, or regulatory compliance, your feedback ensures our sessions are practical and relevant. The survey takes less than three minutes to complete and allows you to share your preferred topics, session times, and learning formats.
Save the date: The first training session of the series will take place on Monday 15 February 2027 in Castlemaine. Full program details and booking links will be announced shortly.
Feedback closes: Sunday 18 October.
Make your event, venue, or business accessible to all
Improving access for your customers, patrons, and guests provides real benefits for our entire community.
Across Mount Alexander Shire, 28% of residents are aged 65 or older, compared to the Victorian average of 19%, alongside higher local rates of chronic illness and disability. Many older residents maintain significant purchasing capacity, representing an important market for local traders, hospitality venues, and community gatherings.
Creating a welcoming environment does not need to involve expensive renovations. Practical, low-cost actions can quickly improve visitor experiences. Consider simple adjustments like widening paths between tables, ensuring step-free entry, reducing background noise, printing clear signage, and providing friendly, patient customer service. Whether you run a storefront, manage a festival, or coordinate a community group, accessible spaces help attract more visitors and ensure everyone can participate fully.
Review your space today by reading the MASDAG Disability Access Guide to identify practical changes you can implement right away.
Changes to Working with Children Check rules for local businesses.
Businesses employing staff or engaging volunteers in child-related roles face new legal obligations from Monday 19 October 2026.
From this date, all Victorian employers must use the new WWC Connect online service to verify personnel and formally notify the Social Services Regulator.
To ensure your business complies, follow these four steps:
- Check each person's clearance status online before engagement.
- Connect workers and volunteers to your organisation via WWC Connect.
- Record and retain evidence showing completed checks and connections.
- Maintain up-to-date records as roles change or conclude.
Connecting existing workers is also strongly recommended, as the platform automatically alerts your organisation if a worker's clearance status changes. In addition, individuals applying for or renewing a clearance must now complete a mandatory 45-minute child safety training module online before approval.
Calling for input on design for Victory Park Toilet Block
Castlemaine CBD retailers and businesses near Victory Park are encouraged to review proposed upgrades to the park's public toilets.
Clean, safe, and accessible facilities support foot traffic, customer comfort, and evening trade in our town centre. The draft concept plan includes improved visibility, new LED lighting, and modern accessible amenities designed to deter anti-social behaviour.
View the concept plan and complete the short survey via the Shape Mount Alexander website.
Submissions close: Wednesday 21 October.
Celebrate Indigenous Business Month
Indigenous Business Month runs throughout October across Victoria, showcasing the contributions of First Nations business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives.
This annual initiative provides an opportunity for our business community to connect with, support, and learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprises. Whether you are seeking new supply chain partnerships, looking to stock authentic local products, or interested in attending specialist networking events and workshops, a range of resources is available to assist you.
Take action during Cyber Security Action Month
October is Cyber Security Action Month across Australia.
The campaign highlights that protecting your business does not require specialist technical skills, but rather simple daily habits. Small business operators and primary producers can reduce risk by enabling multi-factor authentication, applying software updates, using strong passphrases, and keeping regular backups of critical files.
Free guides, practical checklists, and staff awareness resources are available to help.
Turning a hobby into income? You might be in business
You might not think you’re running a business from your hobby or side hustle activities. If you’re starting to earn money from doing these activities regularly, you may be carrying on a business without realising it.
Generally, carrying on a business involves ongoing and repeated activities with the intention of making a profit.
Need more information to help you get it right and meet your tax obligations?
Business Support
Workplace mental health and resilience network event
Mount Alexander business owners, managers, and supervisors are invited to travel to Bendigo for an afternoon combining professional development with regional networking.
Keynote speaker Ashley Bennallack, Employee Wellbeing and Capability Lead at Village Roadshow, will present practical strategies on psychosocial hazard awareness and proactive mental health. You will learn evidence-based tools to manage workplace risks, support staff resilience across six key domains, and maintain compliant work environments. Following the presentation, connect with regional peers over refreshments and festive end of year networking. Christmas attire and accessories are welcomed, with prizes on the day.
Date: Thursday 5 November
Time: 2.00pm to 5.00pm
Location: Fernery Room, All Seasons Resort Hotel, 171 McIvor Highway, Bendigo
Cost: $30 for Be.Bendigo members, $35 for non-members
Access to low-cost advice for disputes
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) responds to requests for assistance from small businesses and family enterprises that are in dispute with other businesses or Australian Government agencies.
ASBFEO provides:
- information about dispute resolution options
- access to mediation
- alternative dispute resolution processes under the Franchising, Horticulture, Dairy and Oil Codes of Conduct
- assistance with disputes with the ATO.
Funding
Drought resilience project funding opens for Loddon Campaspe
Expressions of interest are now open for the Regional Drought Resilience Planning 2.0 Implementation Grants, funded under the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund in partnership with the Victorian Government.
The program allocates up to $1.55 million to our region. While current expressions of interest focus on appointing an overarching regional coordinator organisation, $1.09 million will be distributed to deliver on-ground resilience projects through to 30 June 2029.
Activities supported under the program must deliver public benefit and align with our regional priorities. Funded project areas will include:
- Farm and business resilience: training, workshops and peer networks to assist agricultural enterprises to adapt management practices and manage economic risks.
- Water security: local water demand reduction strategies, investigations of water use, and access to regional drought preparedness data.
- Landscape management: sustainable land management practices that improve natural resource health, including projects incorporating Traditional Owner knowledge.
- Community wellbeing: initiatives that build local capability, share knowledge, and foster social connectedness during prolonged dry conditions.
Organisations interested in leading the regional coordination role must submit expressions of interest by 5.00 pm on Monday 23 November 2026.
Closing soon: Trees on Farms grants
Rural landholders and primary producers have until Sunday 1 November to apply for round 1 of Agriculture Victoria's Victorian Trees on Farms Program.
The initiative offers up to $40,000 for integrated environmental plantings and up to $80,000 for farm forestry projects. Grants are calculated on a per-hectare basis to help you establish shelterbelts, shade livestock, protect gullies, and build sustainable timber resources. Funding is also available to work alongside an approved professional to co-design your property plan.
Applications close: Sunday 1 November.
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Mount Alexander Shire Council
Email: business@mountalexander.vic.gov.au Website: www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au
Mount Alexander Shire Council acknowledges that the traditional custodians of this
land, the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung peoples, proudly survive. We acknowledge their continued practice of custom and their close cultural, spiritual, physical, social, historical and economic relationship with the land and waters that make up
their country, which includes Mount Alexander Shire.