Circular Northern Rivers

What we are doing

What we're building together in Phase 1 

Phase 1 runs from May 2026 through to June 2028. Across those 18 months we are running three concurrent threads of work, and most of what the region will see and be invited into sits inside one of them. 

Thread 1: Listening and mapping  

Before we propose anything we don't have the right to propose, we're listening. This thread brings together the existing knowledge held by councils, producers, First Nations partners, researchers and community organisations into a shared regional baseline with material flows, existing pilots, lived experience, points of friction. Expect early conversations with the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation, the seven local councils, and First Nations and community group representative bodies, alongside producer and SME workshops. 

Thread 2: Co-designing the Hub's identity and offer  

We're building the brand, the narrative and the early service offer of Circular Northern Rivers in conversation with the region, not in a boardroom. A working identity launches at Month 1 so we have something to point at, but the full identity — name treatment, narrative, voice, visual system, and how we co-brand with partners — is refined through stakeholder workshops at Months 2 and 3, and locks in ahead of the regional roadshow at Months 3 to 4. 

Thread 3: Demonstrating what circular looks like in the Northern Rivers 

Lighthouse pilots are how the Hub earns its credibility. Through the middle of Phase 1 we'll be identifying key demonstration projects across the four sectors the Hub is built around the agriculture and food industry, manufacturing, the built environment, and community and social systems ,chosen for visibility, learning value, and direct benefit to participating producers and councils. Producer education sessions, SME workshops, and Living Lab activity at Southern Cross University will run alongside. 

Underneath all three threads, the formal governance work continues, establishing the Co-operative and the operating entity, appointing the Board and core team, and securing the founding members.    

Contact the team to:

→ Register your interest 

→ Propose a pilot