University & economy

The Mid North Coast's research and education surface runs from the National Marine Science Centre at Coffs Harbour to the university campuses at Coffs and Port Macquarie. Marine science is the localising hook in the north; nursing, health and education research anchor the south. We cover it alongside Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast and the visitor economy that carries the towns.

Southern Cross University's Coffs campus shares a news feed with the wider North Coast, so we assign each story to the right campus and never double-publish. Economic figures are verified on the source data before we cite them, and data pieces carry a methodology note.

University + Marine Science + Economy

The Coffs Harbour university campus is a workforce anchor the region undervalues: inside SCU's $12 million health-training building

Southern Cross University's Coffs campus has more than 1,200 students across Health, Education and Marine Science, and a $12 million Health Sciences Building fitted with a simulated four-bed hospital ward, programmable high-fidelity mannequins, occupational-therapy training kitchens and motion-capture labs. For a region whose binding health problem is staffing, a campus that trains nurses, therapists and psychologists on the ground is part of the answer that hospital buildings and housing grants cannot supply. A considered read of what the campus is, and why it matters, read from the university's own campus pages.

25 July 2026