The North West Local Land Services region covers more than 82,000 km2 in NSW west of the Great Dividing Range, from the tablelands to the western floodplains. It extends to the Queensland border in the north, the Liverpool Plains in the south and the towns of Walgett and Lightning Ridge in the west.
It comprises 7 local government areas, including Gunnedah, Gwydir, Liverpool Plains, Moree Plains, Narrabri, Tamworth Regional and Walgett.
People are concentrated mainly in townships along the Namoi and Gwydir rivers and their tributaries. Major regional centres include Moree, Narrabri, Gunnedah and Tamworth. The region’s population is estimated at more than 123,000 people.
The North West region is home to the Kamilaroi (Gomeroi) people. There are 16 Local Aboriginal Land Councils in the North West representing around 15,000 Aboriginal people living in the region (approximately 12% of the total population in the North West).
Throughout the region there are cultural sites, special places, and physical evidence of land use, such as rock art, culturally modified trees, burial sites, ceremony sites, grinding grooves, artifact scatters and midden sites. These form a record of occupation, cultural significance, land use and management.
The North West region is a highly productive agricultural zone with a summer‑dominant rainfall pattern and a climate that supports crop and pasture growth for most of the year. Across the North West, agriculture is driven by broadacre cropping, cotton and livestock, alongside other key commodities such as pulses, oilseeds, fodder, wool and beef. The region produces around 50% of NSW’s cotton lint, 35% of its wheat, 90% of its sorghum and 70% of its chickpeas; seasonal conditions influence the exact proportions each year.
North West contributing to natural resource management outcomes
We work with the communities of our region to restore and protect our natural and productive landscapes and waterways.
North West’s contributions to NRM shared knowledge across Australia
North West’s contributions to our national NRM snapshots
