Working together to enhance our region
The Goldfields Voluntary Regional Organisation of Councils (GVROC) was formed in 2007, with the overarching principle to create a strategic alliance of Local Governments, who contribute and work together to ensure development and retention of infrastructure and community services and undertake joint economic development initiatives, through grant funding with the State and Federal governments plus the private sector, to benefit the region
The Goldfields Esperance Region
The GVROC region is vast, covering a land area of around 940,000km2 and comprising red deserts, expansive mineral wealth, the magnificent Great Western Woodlands, and the iconic white, sandy beaches of the Southern Ocean. The region is renowned for its lifestyle, its friendly people, a great sense of community combined with excellent facilities and great opportunities.
As the largest region in Western Australia, covering a third of the State, GVROC regional communities and economic activity is relatively isolated from the major urban centres and capital cities of Australia, however this drives an entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit amongst its people, strong and resilient communities, and the freedom to live in one of the most beautiful, natural, safest, and least populated areas of the world. Approximately 55,000 people live in the region.
GVROC Projects
Learn more about what we do for the Goldfields Esperance region
GVROC Investment Project Prospectus
2025-26
This prospectus contains a showcase of projects which will serve to enhance the economic and social fabric of the Goldfields Esperance Region. The projects detailed in this prospectus have been meticulously selected to align with the GVROC’s goals, each chosen for its potential to deliver significant economic and community benefits to the region.
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Economic benefits are multifaceted, encompassing job creation, business growth, and infrastructure development. Projects that promise to spur our local economies, attract investment, and create employment opportunities have been given precedence.
Goldfields Esperance Urban Greening Program
Nine Local Governments in the Goldfields Esperance region will undertake the planting of more than 30,000 trees and seedlings with the aim of enhancing the urban canopy and increasing biodiversity. This initiative seeks to bolster economic, environmental, and social resilience, while also improving community health.
The reduction in canopy cover and biodiversity adversely affects public amenity and health. Supported by a grant of $573,000 from Lotterywest, this ambitious project will focus on socially vulnerable and heat-exposed areas within the Shires of Wiluna, Leonora, Laverton, Dundas, Esperance, Menzies, Coolgardie, and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
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GVROC Regional Climate Alliance
The GVROC Regional Climate Alliance was formed in 2021 and since then it has undertaken a number of important initiatives, including a Carbon Emissions Baseline Study, first pass Climate Risk and Adaptation Plan and Renewable Energy Audit. In 2025 it will release findings on the project "Adapting Community Assets for Climate Change Impacts: Feasibility Study". Funded by the Commonwealth Government with support from the WA State Emergency Management Committee.
GVROC Climate Alliance also plans to undertake a major greening program across the region which will see more than 30,000 trees and shrubs planted that will provide shade and shelter in our remote communities.
Safer Goldfields Regional Action Plan
This plan is a five-year strategic document providing an overview of community safety issues in the Goldfields-Esperance region, drawing together information about existing initiatives and services, and coordinates a holistic approach to community safety and crime prevention.
The GVROC identified the need for a coordinated response to address increasing issues of community safety throughout the region and agreed to develop the Safer Goldfields Regional Action Plan (SGRAP) as a regional instrument to guide partnerships, document method and drive the delivery of regional solutions.
The SGRAP focuses on the nine local government areas within the strategic alliance of GVROC. It demonstrates how government investment in regional response will build local capacity to increase outcomes and alleviate further pressure on the government to develop and deliver outcomes.
GVROC Housing Strategy and Audit Action Plan
The role of the Housing strategy was to ensure optimal delivery of fit-for-purpose housing stock in the Goldfields Esperance region. This strategy provides a direction for all parties to action and implement to address the housing challenges faced in the region.
The Audit and Action Plan considers key land and housing issues and provides a series of strategies and actions that will stimulate and enable the delivery of appropriate land and housing stock in the region. It has a focus on the role GVROC and its members can play in achieving these outcomes, especially in overcoming systemic barriers to housing and land supply.
Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA)
The Goldfields DAMA is a five year labour agreement between the Federal Government, the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Shires of Coolgardie, Leonora and Menzies. It aims to attract skilled migrants to work and live in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Coolgardie, Leonora and Menzies, allowing Goldfields employers to sponsor skilled overseas workers in specified industries that are currently experiencing critical skill and labour shortages.
