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The IDGP area is located along the southern NSW coastal strip from Helensburgh to Gerroa and is bordered on the western side by the Illawarra Escarpment. The IDGP area has three Local Government Areas: Wollongong (70% of residents), Shellharbour (23%) and Kiama (7%). It is a mix of rural, urban and industrial land and waterways. This area is also covered by the South Eastern Sydney/Illawarra Area Health Service. The South Eastern Sydney/Illawarra Area Health Service administers health services from Randwick in the north, to the Shoalhaven region in the south.
Wollongong Local Government Area (LGA) is a large urban centre with a high volume of commercial and industrial activity. Shellharbour LGA is a smaller urban area with a large amount of new sub-division activity and a higher component of public housing. Kiama LGA is a compact mix of beaches, urban and rural environments that attract significant numbers of tourists.
In each of the LGAs covered by the Illawarra Division of General Practice, the biggest employer is the wholesale and retail sector. In Wollongong and Shellharbour, the second-biggest employer is the manufacturing sector, with community services (including health) the third-biggest employer. In Kiama, however, these figures are reversed, with community services (including health) being second-biggest employer and manufacturing services the third-biggest employer (Source: IRIS).
This reflects the changing face of the Illawarra, which was previously mostly involved in heavy industry, mining and other primary industry (including agriculture and aquaculture). Mining now employs only 1% of the workforce (half of that from 1996) and numbers of workers in manufacturing has declined from 15.1% in 1996 to 13.7% in 2001. Similarly, workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing have decreased to 1.6% (down from 1.8% in 1996). By comparison, the wholesale & retail trade sector has increased from 18.5% in 1996 to 19.8% in 2001, health and community services has increased to 10.4% of the employed population and the education sector has also seen an increase (to 8.5% in 2001).
Each LGA has new housing developments, attracting young families. Especially in northern Wollongong, a number of people commute from the Illawarra to work in Sydney, having been attracted to the area by the comparatively lower cost of housing and better lifestyle in the beachside suburbs.
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