The Federal Government has announced reforms to strengthen the focus of the Regional Development Australia (RDA) Committee network, following an independent review of RDAs and their effectiveness.
RDA Committees will now focus on attracting investment and jobs to their region and, for the first-time, clear performance measures for RDAs will be introduced.
Key RDA Program restructures to be initiated are:
- RDA Committees will operate under a new charter that focusses their work on facilitating economic development by creating local jobs, attracting investment and driving innovation;
- The four Melbourne RDA Committees will be consolidated into one, consistent with other capital city RDA Committees. The existing boundaries of all other RDA Committees are expected to be maintained;
- Geographic coverage of the RDA network will be expanded to the external territories of Christmas, Cocos (Keeling) and Norfolk Islands and Jervis Bay Territory;
- A more rigorous merit-based RDA Chair, Deputy Chair and Committee member appointment process will be implemented; and
- New performance measures will be established to ensure that the outcomes of RDA Committee activities are properly monitored and measured.
Dr Robert Lang, chair of RDA Sydney, welcomed the reforms.
“RDA Sydney is excited to move into this new era under a different charter which will focus on growing strong and confident economies that harness our competitive advantages and drive economic growth.”
RDA Committees will have funding extended until 31st December 2020 to give the refreshed committees certainty and a good length of time to achieve key performance outcomes. They will now pro-actively target, seek and negotiate with private companies, not-for-profits and governments of all levels to bring jobs and investment to their regions.
A new role of Director of Regional Development will be created for each RDA, who will spearhead efforts to attract investment and jobs to each region.
The restructure allows RDA Programs to continue to focus on growing strong and confident regional economies that harness their competitive advantages and further drive economic growth.
More information is available here. https://rda.gov.au/review/