About Parkes
Parkes is a thriving inland centre, large enough to provide quality education, employment and investment opportunities, yet small enough to provide a quaint rural lifestyle where most things are only a two minute traffic-free drive away and you can duck home for lunch.
Parkes is a great place to raise a family, away from the hustle and bustle, with a level of amenity and sophistication allowing you to still enjoy life’s little pleasures.
One of the strongest reasons families and businesses are attracted to relocating to Parkes Shire is its geographical location. Parkes is a thriving Shire centrally located within NSW. Parkes is literally the crossroads of the Nation with the Newell Highway, connecting Brisbane and Melbourne, and the transcontinental railway linking the eastern seaboard to Perth, meeting in Parkes to form a unique logistics opportunity for Australia. Over 80% of the Australian population can be reached by road within 12 hours from Parkes.
This unique characteristic has made Parkes one of the most strategically significant locations in the future of transport and logistics in Australia. This strategic location will be boosted when the Inland Rail from Melbourne to Sydney is complete.
The Parkes Shire is a vibrant, fun loving and welcoming community, famous around Australia and the world for the Parkes Elvis Festival held annually in January and for the Parkes Radio Telescope, affectionately known as “The Dish”.
The Shire offers residents the quality and ease of life of rural living while providing many of the conveniences of larger centres. Parkes is a three hour drive from Canberra and five hours from Sydney.
Parkes is serviced by a regional airport with several return flights daily between Parkes and Sydney and is also accessed by daily coach and rail services to and from Sydney.
Useful Links
Parkes New Residents Information Booklet
Incentives for health professionals
Parkes takes very proactive approach to supporting health professionals to relocate to the region and, as a result, has a very strong network of health professionals and specialists who have chosen to call Parkes home.
The GP Cup, for example, is an initiative of the Parkes Shire Council and North Parkes Mine formed to address the shortage of doctors and services in the region. Money raised from this community event is used to help doctors and health professionals in the relocation process to Parkes. Please contact Parkes Council’s Tourism and economic Development Officer for more information.
Parkes Shire is classified as MMM4 under the Department of Health’s new “Modified Monash Model” classification system that categorises areas according to both geographical remoteness and town size. The system was developed to recognise the challenges in attracting health workers to more remote and smaller communities. Medical professionals moving from major city areas to Parkes may be entitled to relocation and retention benefits from the General Practice Rural Incentives Program.
Click here for more information on the General Practice Rural Incentives Program.
Council Contact
Kelly Hendry
Tourism and Economic Development
Kelly.Hendry@parkes.nsw.gov.au
02 6861 2333
