HOW AUSTRALIA'S POPULATION IS MOVING:
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* Moves to regional areas are up more than 16 per cent compared to 2018 and 2019
* Regional migration made up 11.1 per cent of all domestic movements, compared to 9.6 per cent moving from the regions to the capitals
* Overall movements are at their fourth highest level since March 2018, still up on pre-COVID-19 levels
WHY WE'RE MOVING:
* The Regional Australia Institute says there were 87,000 job vacancies in country areas in June, a major pull factor for people making the move
* Dissatisfaction with city living has increased from 10 per cent in 2020 to 14 per cent in 2023, according to the institute's survey of 1004 city-dwellers
* The top attractions to regional living are space, improved wellbeing, affordability and having more time
* Greater workplace flexibility increased interest in country living for 73 per cent of respondents
WHERE WE'RE MOVING:
* The most attractive areas for people moving from the capitals in the year to June were Queensland's Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, Greater Geelong and Moorabool in Victoria and Lake Macquarie, NSW
* The areas with the greatest growth were Waroona, WA, Livingstone and Mackay in Queensland, Moorabool, Victoria, and Alexandrina in South Australia
* Sydney is losing the most residents to the regions out of all the capital cities
* Both regional and city movers found Brisbane and Perth the most appealing capitals
Source: The June quarter Regional Movers Index, a collaboration between the Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute
Australian Associated Press
