The Shire provides diverse employment opportunities through a range of primary industries, tourism and commercial and community services. The region is well supplied with existing infrastructure in terms of power and water and is well placed to take advantage of future proposals to extend the natural gas grid.

Tourism is an important industry, especially in the southern section along the Great Ocean Road. The Shire has two main townships, with many small villages and localities. The only city is Colac, which serves as an administrative, retail and commercial centre. The other major township is Apollo Bay, which serves as the major tourism centre.

The five major industry sectors are:

In combination, these five industries employ a total of 5,220 people or 63% of the employed resident population.