The Sunshine Coast (population 312,908 with up to an additional 50,000 in visitors and seasonal workers) is a coastal region of Australia located in South East Queensland, north of the Queensland capital of Brisbane. On 15 March 2008, the former Councils of Noosa Shire, Maroochy Shire and Caloundra City amalgamated to form the Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

The Sunshine Coast is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east, and extends to the local government boundaries beyond the Blackall Range to the west. Occasionally, the towns of Gympie, which is 30 minutes' drive north of Noosa Heads, and Caboolture, 30 mins drive south of Caloundra, have been included in a broader definition of the Sunshine Coast region.

The Glass House Mountains, located south-west of Caloundra, were first sighted by James Cook from the deck of the HM Bark Endeavour in 1770.

The Sunshine Coast's first white inhabitants were three castaways who shared the life of the aborigines for eight months and subsequently, it became the home of numerous runaway convicts. It was also the scene of some of the most bitter skirmishes of Australia's 'Black War'.

Timbergetters used its rivers and lakes as seaways to float out their logs of cedar, and prospectors scaled its mountains to reach the Gympie gold. With the coming of the railway line to Gympie, the coastal towns, which were founded as ports for the early river trade, were bypassed. The Sunshine Coast eventually grew into a holiday destination, which was further expanded in the development boom of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Sunshine Coast economy is currently dominated by three main sectors - tourism, retail and construction. The region also has a strong agricultural sector. Strong efforts are being made to diversify the regional economy by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and others with an emphasis on 'clean and green' knowledge-based businesses across sectors such as information and communication technologies, cleantech, creative industries, aviation, education and food and beverages.

Each year, the Sunshine Coast Excellence in Business Awards are held to award successful businesses across the region  . Established in 1994, these awards are dedicated to ‘supporting and celebrating business on the Sunshine Coast’.

The Sunshine Coast is also emerging as a hotspot for entrepreneurial and innovative businesses. This has been partly fuelled by a new wave of over 60 start-up businesses - mainly in ICT, cleantech and creative industry sectors - generated by the University of the Sunshine Coast's Innovation Centre. The University site at Sippy Downs is designated as a 'Knowledge Hub' as part of the Queensland Government's South East Queensland Regional Infrastructure Plan and is master planned as Australia's first university town based on the UK models with the potential for over 6,000 workers in knowledge based businesses. Sippy Downs was highlighted as an 'Innovation Hotspot' in July 2010 by top European Business magazine CNBC Business with the potential to be 'Australia's no-worries-answer to Silicon Valley'.

There are many localities within the Sunshine Coast region, including the former Local Government Areas of Maroochy Shire, the Noosa Shire and the City of Caloundra.

Beaches
The region is characterized by beaches, coastal views contrasts with the nearby hinterland. Many World and Australian-renowned beaches within the Sunshine Coast region are located at Noosa Heads, Alexandra Headland, Mooloolaba (the spit), Coolum, Maroochydore and Kings Beach in Caloundra.

 Tourism
The Sunshine Coast is a centre for tourism, containing attractions such as Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, UnderWater World marine park, Aussie World with the Ettamogah Pub, The Buderim Ginger Factory, The Big Pineapple and the Majestic Theatre at Pomona.

National parks
The Sunshine Coast region is home to more individual national parks than any other region in Queensland. The natural biodiversity of the area has been protected by five separate parks in both coastal and inland regions, including Mapleton Falls National Park, Kondalilla National Park, The Glasshouse Mountains National Park, Noosa National Park, and the Great Sandy National Park, which includes sections on Fraser Island and in Cooloola near Rainbow Beach.

 Golf courses
The Sunshine Coast has numerous golf links, including Headland Golf Club (Buderim), Pelican Waters, Pacific Harbour, Noosa Springs, Peregian Springs, Twin Waters, Hyatt Regency Coolum, Beerwah, Cooroy, Caloundra and Horton Park.

Transport
 Road
The car is the predominant mode of transport for Sunshine Coast residents, with the region connected to Brisbane via the Bruce Highway. The Nicklin Way & Sunshine Motorway are the major arterial roads, which pass through most major areas of the Sunshine Coast. Many intercity and interstate coach operators also operate daily bus services to Brisbane using the major corridors.

 Public transport

Plane

Flights from the Sunshine Coast depart from Sunshine Coast Airport, which is located 10 km north of Maroochydore, and fly direct to Sydney and Melbourne with Jetstar, Virgin Blue and Tiger Airways.

Rail

Queensland Rail Citytrain's Nambour and Gympie North railway line operate numerous interurban services daily, with most trains running express between Caboolture and Bowen Hills stations. The train lines run through the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, with buses connecting to the coastal strip. Further north of the Nambour station, the trains only run once or twice per day.

Bus

Bus services are operated by Sunbus, which operates under the TransLink public transport system. These buses connect the suburbs and localities within the Caloundra, Maroochydore and Noosa local government areas. Noosa Shire Council operates zero-fare bus services connecting Noosa Heads to surrounding suburbs and major park and ride stations during the peak summer holiday period.

Ferry

There is a public ferry that operates between Tewantin, Noosaville, Noosa Waters, Northside and Noosa Heads.

Annual events
The Mooloolaba Triathlon, which takes place on the streets of Mooloolaba and Alexandra Headland is held in March. The Noosa Food and Wine Festival takes place during April/May.

The Youth Literature Festival, Voices on the Coast, takes place in June. The Pomona King of the Mountain Festival and Race takes place at Pomona in July

The Coolum Kite Festival, and the Noosa Jazz Festival takes place in September and October. In addition to the Noosa Jazz Festival, the Caloundra Music Festival takes place in October at Kings Beach.

The Noosa Triathlon, which takes place on the streets of Noosa and Tewantin is held in October.

A round of the Australasian PGA Tournament, the Australian PGA Championship takes place at the Hyatt Coolum in December.