Over the last decade Geelong has changed from a manufacturing town into a centre for health, education, insurance and public administration. The National Disability Insurance Agency, WorkSafe Victoria and the Transport Accident Commission all have their headquarters in the city, Barwon Health runs University Hospital Geelong, and Deakin University has campuses at Waurn Ponds and on the waterfront. In 2017 Geelong was named a UNESCO City of Design.
That concentration shows up in the small-business market. Geelong has a large number of disability support, allied health, rehabilitation and return-to-work providers, many of them small teams who depend on referrals from support coordinators, case managers and GPs. Their websites have to be clear, accessible and accurate about registrations and service areas, because the people referring to them check.
Around them sits everything a growing regional city needs: trades and builders working in new estates from Armstrong Creek to Lara, professional services in the CBD, hospitality along the waterfront and Pakington Street, and advanced manufacturing that has replaced much of the old industrial base.