The City of Salisbury covers 158km2 and stretches from Valley View in the south to Edinburgh in the north, St Kilda in the west and Salisbury Heights in the east. It contributes $8.65 billion to the State economy and nearly 61,994 jobs. Significant employment hubs are located in:
• Vicinity Industrial Base – with national businesses such as Nick Scali, Cahill Transport, Hobson Engineering, Toll, Stevens Group, Lindsay Transport and Rand Refrigeration Logistics.
• Pooraka – accommodating the State’s main wholesale fruit and vegetable market along with food processing, manufacturing and logistics firms such as Auscold Logistics, Goodman, General Dynamics Land Systems Australia, Sigma Healthcare, Huthamaki, Nocelle Foods and Stegbar.
• Salisbury South – hosting a diverse mix of construction, food manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and logistic companies, including Bickford’s, RM Williams, Mayne Pharma, Bega, Michells, Coca Cola Amatil and RAAF/Army Base.
“We had a choice to move our production operations to either the north or south of the Adelaide business district. We chose Salisbury in the north, because the Council there has been exceptional to deal with in terms of planning approvals. Continuing support from the City of Salisbury enables Bickford’s Australia to further grow our business in this region. As world-class beverage manufacturers, we have been part of South Australia’s heritage since 1839.” — Angelo Kotses, Managing Director, Bickford’s
South Australia, as Australia’s defence state, hosts a significant cluster of world-class businesses delivering many of the country’s largest and most complex projects. Major defence companies across the aerospace, land, systems and maritime domains have their headquarters or significant operations in the State, with Salisbury being home to many of them. With the innovation and defence precincts of Technology Park and Edinburgh Parks, and seven of the top 10 international defence companies located in the City of Salisbury, it will continue to play a pivotal role in the future development of South Australia’s economy.
TECHNOLOGY PARK
Mawson Lakes and Technology Park combine a vibrant world class business centre with great lifestyle and amenities. Home to over 100 companies, it has a critical mass of technology expertise and a hub of defence and aerospace, advanced electronics and information communication technologies. Internationally focussed firms such as Codan, Ellex, Topcon, Sarstedt, Speedcast, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Saab Australia are based in the precinct, along with locally grown businesses like Tindo Solar, elmTEK and Solinnov.
“The decision to locate the company in the Salisbury area over 30 years ago was an easy one given the presence of other major defence contractors as well as defence agencies such as DST Group. It provided excellent access to a skilled workforce and gave our staff a relaxed working environment with plenty of opportunities for growth. In 2002, we opened our advanced technology facility in the area and we have since grown our local workforce to over 350 people. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with the Salisbury area.” —Andy Keough, Managing Director, Saab Australia
Adjacent to the University of South Australia’s expertise and research facilities, Technology Park is ideal for entrepreneurial start-ups and globally focussed knowledge intensive businesses. Based at the Mawson Lakes Campus, the University of South Australia’s Division of IT, Engineering and the Environment is home to several international research institutes and research centres. These include:
- The Barbara Hardy Institute, the Research Node for Low Carbon Living, the Defence and Systems Institute, the Agricultural Machinery Research and Design Centre and the Laser Physics and Photonics Devices Laboratory in the School of Engineering.
- The Future Industries Institute focussed on building knowledge and capacity in core future industries, which are high value, knowledge intensive alternatives underpinned by unique skill bases and technology solutions.
- The Advanced Computing Research Centre, the Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Institute for Telecommunications Research (ITR) and the Phenomics and Bioinformatics Research Centre based in the School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences.
EDINBURGH PARKS
The Edinburgh Defence Precinct is a key national defence research and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance hub consisting of RAAF Edinburgh base, Defence Science and Technology and Edinburgh Parks. The Precinct consists of four sites and more than 6,500 personnel. It is the largest defence establishment in SA and is undergoing a large-scale transformation.
The RAAF base at Edinburgh is one of only two Defence super-bases in Australia. It is home to 3,500 personnel from the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force and the centre of Australia’s military intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and electronic warfare capabilities.
Edinburgh Parks is Adelaide’s largest modern industrial estate. Its ample land, excellent infrastructure and proximity to transport routes make it a favourite for businesses involved in manufacturing, defence, warehousing, transport, cyber security and logistics. It provides a base for organisations such as Coles, BAE Systems, Inghams, Your DC, Haulmark Trailers, VeroGuard Systems and Nova Systems.
“At BAE Systems Australia, our advanced defence technology protects people and national security, and keeps critical information and infrastructure secure. For 65 years we have searched for new ways to provide our customers in Australia with a competitive edge across the air, maritime, land and cyber domains. We’re proud to have our headquarters in a major defence and technology precinct within the City of Salisbury.” — Gabby Costigan, Chief Executive, BAE Systems Australia
SALISBURY WATER
The City of Salisbury in Adelaide’s North, has gained a strong national and international reputation for their integrated delivery of urban water management, including a Water Sensitive Urban Development (WSUD) approach tailored to the unique characteristics of their area. This initially involved City stormwater runoff being treated in an extensive network of constructed wetlands to reduce the pollutant impact on Adelaide’s coastal waters. It now involves harvesting of cleansed stormwater from the wetlands with storage via managed aquifer recharge (MAR) wells drilled into the area’s natural sandy limestone aquifers. The recycled water recovered from the MAR wells is distributed back to the community via an extensive ‘directionally drilled’ purple pipe network. The fit-for-purpose recycled water is used for cooling and greening of numerous school grounds and sports parks, as well as displacing municipal drinking water for a number of industrial uses.
To facilitate this work, the City of Salisbury is a licenced water retailer under the Water Industry Act 2012 and has formed an internal business unit, ‘Salisbury Water’, to manage the operations, quality assurance and retail functions in accordance with all regulatory and resource management obligations. During Adelaide’s notoriously long dry summers, typically over 2,500 million litres of recycled stormwater is recovered for cooling and greening.
The significant benefits of this integrated water management approach include:
- Improved regional drainage and flood mitigation for homes and businesses
- Reduced demand on the municipal drinking water supply
- Significantly reduced cost of water for water-dependent industries
- Attraction of industry to ‘green’ industry parks
- Protection of the sensitive marine environment of Adelaide’s Coastal waters (including the Barker Inlet, Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary and Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park – Winaityinaityi Pangkara)
- Increased diversity of flora and fauna in the native vegetation along urban watercourses and the network of constructed wetlands
- Greening and cooling of the urban area, delivering improved liveability for the community
- Passive recreational opportunities including walking, riding and bird watching facilitated by wetland trails and boardwalks
- Nature education opportunities.
“It struck me how ambitious, methodical and broad-visioned Salisbury has been in developing the water system it now owns and operates. There has been very significant collaborations with the CSIRO, Universities, and with Resource Managers, Regulators and other partners over the years that have underpinned everything that Salisbury has been able to deliver” — Peter Dillon, Hon Fellow CSIRO Land and Water
CENTRAL TO ADELAIDE’S FUTURE ECONOMIC AND POPULATION GROWTH
Salisbury is a City that is growing in output and stature. Population growth sits alongside industry expansion, and both are underpinned by the continuing growth of its knowledge and skill base.
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL GROWTH
Salisbury provides a strategic base for businesses needing fast and efficient access to local and international markets, and is a location of choice for South Australian transport and logistics firms. Salisbury is also a hub for national and international food processing companies, meeting growing international demand for Australian goods, advanced manufacturing, transport and logistics, and knowledge intensive services. Additionally, the area is home to world leading research facilities, driving innovation and commercialisation across sectors including manufacturing, energy, health, mineral processing and clean technologies.
The strong industry base, excellent warehousing options, crucial transport infrastructure and affordability support an efficient and seamless freight system. With multiple arterial routes, the area offers quick access to Port Adelaide, airports, intermodal terminals and distribution centres.
Unmatched direct connections to the National Highway and to the Northern Connector provide an unimpeded journey from Gawler to Regency Park. The City of Salisbury is the central point for transporting products throughout South Australia.
“Our move 20 years ago allowed our business to grow and operate more efficiently and also offered our customers a better location to facilitate their freight requirements with quicker turnaround times and onsite cold storage facilities. Key things we like are direct access to freight routes, nearby customers such as those in the fresh food sector at the South Australia Produce Market and the meat wholesalers means shorter delivery and pick-up times. With the majority of the truck maintenance centres Kenworth, Mack, Cummins and Caterpillar being within 10 minutes we know we’ve got quick access to local services and less down time.” —Peter Gilbert, Managing Director, Gilbert’s Transport Service
The competitive advantages of being based in Salisbury has resulted in a significant uptake of market-ready industrial and commercial land over recent years as the demand for this land across Adelaide experienced a strong upswing. To ensure that the city continues to meet the demand for the supply of employment lands, in 2022 the City of Salisbury prepared a Strategic Growth Framework which identified a staged supply of employment lands to cater for the next 30+ years of growth. Located predominantly in the west and north, the future land supply is well placed to benefit from its proximity to the North-South Motorway and Port Wakefield Road.
RESIDENTIAL GROWTH
Salisbury is one of the more populous local government areas in South Australia. With a diverse cultural mix, growth has been driven by popularity with overseas migrants and its affordability for first home buyers, families and investors. Salisbury’s residential population is anticipated to grow from 145,000 to 153,000 residents by 2036. Additional housing supply will be delivered through a combination of urban infill and greenfield development, including a master planned community for approximately 10,000 households at the former Dry Creek salt fields.
Infill development will continue to provide a range of housing options, with Ingle Farm, Para Hills and Pooraka experiencing strong demand over the last five years. Supply of housing from infill will continue in the inner north and expand outwards as these areas reach capacity.
The City of Salisbury is taking a proactive approach to infill by identifying precincts for future infill located near key centres, public transport and community facilities, as well as providing state of the art community and recreational facilities to support liveability outcomes. Future development occurring within Salisbury is underpinned by the existence of a strong education system incorporating early learning through to trades, specialist skills and tertiary education facilities.
THE POLARIS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTRE. THE GUIDING STAR FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS IN SALISBURY
The Polaris Business Development Centre is the hub for entrepreneurial and business support and economic growth in Northern Adelaide. Established in 2001, Polaris has been providing information, advice and mentoring services to thousands of business people since its formation.
The programs and services delivered through the Polaris Centre are supported by significant investment from the City of Salisbury. The Polaris Team provides services to start-ups, micro, small, medium and large sized businesses. Polaris is growing businesses and in turn changing the lives of business owners and operators. The professional yet personal approach ensures authentic impact for business owners and operators that delivers successful and sustainable businesses.
In addition to attracting, facilitating and enabling business and industry to setup and relocate to the City of Salisbury, the Polaris Team ignites the interest of local residents, young people and students to consider entrepreneurship and business as a credible, possible and realistic career pathway by engaging with the community and schools.
Salisbury is an innovative, optimistic and resilient community in which business and industry plays a key role. The City of Salisbury understands this, and is committed to supporting industry, development and investment, and working with all levels of government to facilitate the interests of businesses. Ultimately, business wealth in the City of Salisbury is community wealth.
PRACTICAL SUPPORT FOR BUSINESS
The Polaris Business Development Centre supports economic growth by providing practical information, advice and mentoring to business owners and operators which improves business performance. The Polaris Centre delivers group programs as well as tailored and personalised one to-one sessions designed to provide business owners with the knowledge, confidence and skills they need to succeed.
“Champagne Glazing Transformations commenced as a client of the Polaris Business Development Centre over 6 years ago. We started with general practical advice to growing our business. We then engaged our Business Mentor Rob Chisholm from Polaris to provide us with one-to-one mentoring which has helped us expand from shower screens to roller shutters, plantation shutters, wardrobes and more.” — Sam Gilson, Founder and Owner, Champagne Glazing Transformations
FINDING AND NURTURING TALENT
Strong and close relationships with local employment agencies and education providers and an intimate understanding of the local labour market means the Polaris Centre can help business and industry source their current and future labour needs. The Polaris Team actively engages with organisations such as Workforce Australia, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), AusIndustry and other key stakeholders to keep local residents and jobseekers informed of future employment opportunities.
BUSINESS INTRODUCTIONS
The Polaris Team uses its network of over 7,800 local businesses, as well as State, Federal and local government contacts to facilitate introductions between potential customers, suppliers and stakeholders to expedite the process of doing, establishing and growing business in the City of Salisbury.
“The Polaris Team introduced several businesses such as Coiltek, Attica Homes, Pacer Profiles and more to Car Services Salisbury. These introductions and referrals have been instrumental in growing our business. Car Services Salisbury has been a client of the Polaris Business Development Centre working with Business Mentor, Rob Chisholm for almost 10 years.” — Jeff Digance, Founder and Owner, Car Services Salisbury
SITE SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT
The Polaris Team is able to apply its knowledge of the local property market, including zoning, contact with land owners, developers, agents and government bodies to assist with site selection and navigate the process of development. The Polaris Team, the Strategic Urban Planning Team and the Economic Development Officer are co-located at the Polaris Centre and together form the City Shaping Division, which directly interfaces with Council’s development assessment and infrastructure delivery to provide an integrated and seamless service delivery. This is a unique, deliberate and strategic move by the City of Salisbury to support economic development of the city.
“Since commencing as a client with the Polaris Business Development Centre less than 12 months ago, our Business Advisor, Deniz Subasi has helped us develop a business plan and increase our knowledge of the support available, including grants, to grow our business. In addition to this, Deniz helped us find and secure an extraordinary property in the heart of Technology Park at Mawson Lakes to build our manufacturing facility. Manufacturing our own scientific technology products in the City of Salisbury at Technology Park will be a game changer for our company!” — Gerard McCusih, Founder and Director, Gerard Scientific Pty Ltd
