Regional centres like Townsville and the Sunshine Coast continue to be bolstered by Australians moving out of capital cities.
The latest Regional Movers Index (RMI) shows Australia has entered a new era of internal migration, with data indicating the nation’s love of regional living was becoming a sustained population trend.
Regional Australia Institute (RAI) CEO Liz Ritchie said data showed that during the June 2024 quarter, 27 percent more people moved from cities to regions than in the opposite direction, building on the pattern seen in previous RMI releases.
“Regional Australia has become the nation’s new frontier. This analysis is clearly showing the population movement we’re seeing is a sustained new trend, that is higher than pre-Covid migration patterns. The regional Australia we have now, is quite different to the regional Australia of five years ago,” Ms Ritchie said.
“The emergence of this new era signifies how important the regions are to the future of our nation. The regions will be at the heart of Australia’s net zero transition, and it is vital the infrastructure and services our growing regions require are met to ensure long-term prosperity and sustainability of our country.”
Ms Ritchie said the data showed despite a seasonal dip in overall movement across the country in the June quarter, the Australian population remained highly mobile, with city-to-regional relocations tracking 16 percent above the pre-Covid average, and regional-to-regional relocations 10 percent above.
She said while large centres within a few hours’ drive of capitals remain popular with many movers, regions experiencing the most growth over the last 12 months were generally further afield, including Townsville in North Queensland, mid-west regional New South Wales, Strathbogie (Vic), Murray Bridge (SA), Greater Geraldton (WA), Coomalie (NT) and George Town (Tas).
Ms Ritchie said around three-quarters of city dwellers who made the move to the regions in the past three months had settled in either regional New South Wales or Victoria, reflective of capital city net migration data which shows Sydney, and to a lesser extent Melbourne, continue to shed the largest number of people.
She said regional Queensland’s share of net city outflows fell to 19 percent in the 12 months to June 2024, down from 41 percent in the year prior.
“The Sunshine Coast retained its title as the nation’s most popular destination for movers, accounting for a 14 percent share of net internal migration, however the Gold Coast slipped down in ranking on account of experiencing a net outflow of people to other regional areas, suggesting it’s fast becoming a gateway to more remote and rural areas of the country.”
