The Tablelands Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns.

[3] Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Tablelands Region consisted the entire area of four previous local government areas: On 11 November 1879, when the Divisional Boards Act 1879 came into effect proclaiming 74 divisions around Queensland, the nature and distribution of the population in the Tablelands region was vastly different from today.

A number of changes occurred from that point: In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that the four areas amalgamate.

Amongst its reasons given for this recommendation were that a community of interest revolved around the towns of Mareeba and Atherton, with residents travelling to Cairns for services not offered in the region.

The opportunity for tourism and leisure promotion under a single banner, the close proximity of most major towns, the lack of natural barriers and similar economic interests including beef, dairy, fruit and sugar production.