Victoria - Overview:
Victoria is situated in the south east of Australia, bordered by the states of New South Wales and South Australia, and occupies an area of approximately 228,000 square kilometres. The total population of Victoria is in the region of 4.9 million people, with the vast majority, some 3.5 million, resident in the state capital of Melbourne. Melbourne itself is located in the south of Victoria along the banks of the Yarra River, with its suburbs extending around the huge Port Phillip Bay.

Economy:
Victoria has a diverse economy that is responsible for approximately a quarter of the national GDP. Some of the major industries include the automotive industry, biotechnology, financial and business services and information and communications technology (ICT).

Victoria is home to many leading car manufacturers such as Ford and Toyota and according to the state government, accounts for 57 per cent of Australia's total automotive production market. Melbourne is recognised worldwide as an important centre for biotechnology and is home to numerous companies and research institutions working in a variety of fields such as agriculture, immunology and neuroscience. Two of Australia's leading four banks, the National Australia Bank and the Australia New Zealand Banking Group, have there headquarters in Victoria and the financial services sector is responsible for employing nearly 100,000 people. The ICT industry in Victoria employs in the region of 60,000 workers

Victoria is also home to a thriving agricultural sector, producing a wide range of temperate crops, beef cattle, sheep, and nearly two thirds of all milk produced in Australia.

Workforce:
Victoria has a large and well-educated workforce of about 2.3 million people and, according to the state government, has a greater proportion of university graduates than any other state capital city in Australia.

Melbourne has eight major tertiary institutions and Victoria produces approximately 2,700 graduates a year in IT alone. The state also has the largest bio-industry workforce in Australia.

Infrastructure:
Victoria is a major transport hub with an airport that operates 24 hours a day all year round and the largest container port in the country. The Victorian government is also spending billions on improving the region's road and rail networks.

Tullamarine airport is located about 22 kilometres Northwest of Melbourne city centre and caters for approximately 17 million passengers a year. The airport offers flights to international destinations worldwide including Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. Domestic flights run between Melbourne and all state capitals, as well as to many regional centres and a few towns in Victoria.

The Port of Melbourne port is situated at the north of Port Phillip Bay and is one of the largest general cargo ports in Australia and the largest and busiest container port, responsible for handling approximately 37 per cent of the country's total container trade. Well over 3000 ships a year call a year call at Melbourne, providing links to all major parts of the world. The port has facilities for handling a range of cargoes ranging from timber and motor vehicles to grain, sugar, crude oil and petrochemicals.

Quality of Life:
Victoria offers an excellent quality of life, with a wealth of leisure opportunities, good road and public transport networks, world class educational facilities and a relatively low cost of living. Victoria's principle city of Melbourne has several parks, nature preserves, sports fields, swimming pools, and golf courses scattered throughout the city and the wider region offers numerous recreational opportunities ranging from water sports to downhill skiing.

In Mercer's Quality of Living Survey 2003, Melbourne is ranked 15th out of 144 cities from around the world with a score of 103.5. This is just behind Sydney, which is in 5th place on 105 points. Melbourne is ranked in 36th position for safety, just behind Perth but ahead of other Australian cities such as Adelaide and Brisbane.

Melbourne is also ranked as one of the least expensive cities in the world in Mercer's Cost of Living Survey 2003, which measures the comparative cost of over 200 items such as housing, food, clothing, and household goods, together with transportation and entertainment. The city was placed in 111th position, well below Sydney which was placed 67th.

Business Costs:
According to a report published by the commercial real estate services firm, CB Richard Ellis, in 2002, the total average occupation cost for offices in Melbourne is 27.68 USD per square foot per annum. This is well below the average cost in Sydney of 38.50 USD, but above the average in many other Australian cities such as Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth.