The Hunter Innovation Festival Maitland Roadshow, held with Maitland City Council on 30 Sept 2026, put advanced manufacturing, skills and founder experience on the same table. Jeff Smith, Andy Olrich, Evan Jones, Professor Thomas Nann and Jacqui Daley covered connected innovation, the Hunter Net Zero Manufacturing Centre of Excellence, university spinouts and why industrial firms remain the world’s best-kept secrets.

Last Friday’s Hunter iF Innovators Lunch in partnership with HMA was a masterclass in local brilliance. From EV manufacturing and product design to inspiring the next generation of apprentices, local innovators came together to connect and collaborate. Read on to see how we’re building the future of the Hunter region.

When governments step in to secure the future of a major industrial player, the word "bailout" is often thrown around too casually. The recent agreement to keep the Tomago Smelter running isn't a corporate rescue mission; it’s a calculated investment in Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability that proves the Hunter is ready to lead the clean industrial revolution.

The Measured Marketer joins Hunter Innovation Festival 2026 as Marketing Partner. Join us in our 24th year as we drive Australian innovation and growth, and Jacqui Daley's new book BRAG.

The Federal Government has issued a new, urgent Statement of Expectations to the NRF Corporation. The message is clear: stop acting like a traditional commercial investor, start prioritising national impact over short-term profit, and get capital flowing immediately.

This is part 1 of a four-part series on the Hunter Region's economic and cultural transition. The series explores the heritage that shaped the region, the transformation currently underway, the innovators driving it, and the question of what kind of place the Hunter wants to become. 

I visited Josh, Nat, and the incredible design and building team at Design Anthology’s Gateshead workshop. The Hunter IF team loves seeing world-class product design and hardware prototyping right here in Newcastle and the Hunter region. Here is how they turn wild ideas into commercial reality.

The global clean energy race is accelerating, and the Hunter stands at a critical crossroads. We possess the industrial legacy and infrastructure to lead, but ambition isn't enough. To out-deliver the world, we must harness the power of dogged collaboration to execute on our potential.

Stop waiting for AI to mature and start building with it. Today at Hunter iF, we gathered Newcastle's best tinkerers and makers to do exactly that. We believe in the power of together. Stripping away the sales pitches and theory, we traded ideas, got weird, and shipped real products. Discover the ground truths from the AI coalface and the no-code tools you need to start building today.