Ten million Australians now call the regions home as growth continues: RAI
Ten million people now call regional Australia home, and Western Australia is leading the way with its regional population growing faster than the cities, according to a deep dive into the latest population statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Gen Z leads great urban exodus – Australia’s future workforce is heading to the regions: RAI
Generation Z may be on the march to the regions – now the most likely cohort considering a move out of metro areas, according to new survey results released today by the Regional Australia Institute (the RAI). Generation Z (18 to 29 years) has overtaken its older counterpart, Millennials (30 to 45 years), in having the greatest desire to leave the city behind, with almost half (49 per cent) contemplating relocating.
Australians trading the city for the regions
Caitlin Menadue. A growing number of Australians are leaving capital cities for regional towns, with Yorke Peninsula among the areas seeing the shift ... Coastal towns such as Wallaroo continue to attract retirees and young families ... "It's spacious, you can have chickens and it's great exposure for kids," said Simone Walters.
Regional appeal strong as southern states see migration growth: RAI, CBA
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast remains the perennial favourite, but cooler climates are proving popular, with Tasmania and regional Victoria appealing to more Australians looking for a change ... “We are seeing interesting moves in the southern states with Victoria’s Wodonga seeing the strongest annual net migration growth, while three Tassie spots Latrobe, Devonport and Huon Valley – ranked second to fourth.
When fewer people meet more food
For most of the modern era, the story of food was scarcity. More people meant more demand, higher prices, and ever-expanding markets for farmers. That part of human history has now come to an end. For the first time, global population growth is slowing sharply at the same time as global food production continues to rise.
Haydays’ plight goes to Federal Health Minister
"I will be writing personally to the Federal Health Minister." That was the promise made by Member for Farrer and leader of the Liberal Party, Sussan Ley when she visited Haydays last week. Ms Ley toured the aged care facility with chair Lisa Bowen and staff members Martyn Quinn and Julie Weymouth, to see for herself the upgrades needed for Haydays to retain its accreditation.
Riverina braces for influx
New figures show capital city residents moving to regional Australia outnumbered those heading in the opposite direction by 26 per cent ... Rachel Whiting, CEO of RDA Riverina, said the data mirrors what communities in southern NSW are seeing on the ground.
Regional Australia continues to attract metro movers amid national slowdown: RAI, CBA
NSW border town of Albury experienced a 16-fold increase in net migration from capitals in the year to June 2025. Regional Australia remains a strong draw for city dwellers, with 26 per cent more people relocating from capital cities to regional areas than vice versa, according to the June Quarter Regional Mover Index (RMI).
Centre for Population key data releases
The Centre for Population’s analysis of the National, state and territory population, December 2024; National, state and territory population, September 2024; Regional Population, 2023–24 is now available on the Centre for Population website.
Regional migration – Time for action: Peter van Vliet, Migration Institute of Australia
Australia runs a reasonably large migration program by international standards but getting migrants out of the big cities - particularly Melbourne and Sydney - and into the regions has always been a challenge ... Australia’s regions need strengthened incentives and concessions to encourage migrants to settle in regional areas, fill regional labour shortages, and in turn strengthen our regions and ease population pressures on our big cities. It’s time for action.
Why do all roads for migrants lead to the big city?
Western Australia has once again recorded the fastest population growth in the country, adding 72,600 people in the year to September 2024. To put that into perspective: if every one of those new residents moved into the 200 towns across the Wheatbelt’s 42 shires, it would more than double the population of every town. Yet, on a recent drive across the Wheatbelt, cutting through multiple towns, I didn’t see a single new house being built.
Regional Australia – The nation’s destination of choice: Regional Australia Institute
Regional Australia is the nation’s ‘destination of choice’ according to the latest Regional Movers Index (RMI) report, with data showing that while city dwellers are continuing to relocate out of metropolitan areas, regional Australians are increasingly staying put. Regional Australia Institute (RAI) CEO Liz Ritchie said data from the September 2024 quarter report shows city-to-regional relocations are now sitting at 19.8 per cent above the pre-Covid average...
Two-in-five city dwellers looking to make a regional move: RAI
New research commissioned by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) shows the number of city-dwellers looking to relocate to the regions has doubled over the past 18 months, demonstrating an urgent need for solutions to regional pressure points. The results of a nationwide survey shows 40 per cent of capital city residents are considering a move to regional Australia – up from 20 per cent in May 2023.
Deaths of Despair and Excess mortality inquiry submission: Centre for Population
The Centre for Population has published two publications on Deaths of Despair and our submission to the Excess mortality inquiry. This short guide prepared by the Centre for Population compares deaths related to suicide, drug and alcohol induced deaths in Australia, the UK and the US.
Paraquat, ploughs and perils: The future of global grain
This year, global grain production will be somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0 billion tonnes, of that around 500 million tonnes will be available for export ... Take your pick as to the impact of going organic, but on average, between a third and half the world starves. But what about just taking out paraquat and glyphosate—the foundation chemicals for no-till farming?
Rural life is the foundation of the Ukrainian people
Urbanisation has a negative impact on the Ukrainian family and the renewal of the population of Ukraine. In the conditions of catastrophic population decline, Ukraine needs to renew the ancient family values ​​laid down by rural residents hundreds of years ago.
Growing Wallaroo
Joanna Tucker. Privately owned rural land on the outskirts of Wallaroo is in the process of being rezoned, with new housing and an industrial estate looking increasingly likely to be built there in coming years ... Wallaroo’s population has increased by more than a quarter in the past decade and continues to grow rapidly.
Regional renovate to rent
Every country town has at least one building that lies abandoned or underutilised which could be turned into a house or unit that could attract another worker or family to the community. We have old train stations and roads boards buildings, there are abandoned shops in the main street, empty pubs, unused halls, even farmhouses close to town left to deteriorate.
Need a business? Build it and they will come
Don’t have a plumber, electrician, aircon mechanic, car mechanic, tyre shop, independent ag mechanic, hydraulic shop etc in your town? Then do something about it. The council or a group of farmers should get together to buy an industrial lot, build a lock up shed, offer it out for $1 a year then stand back and watch the rush.
Online removalist platform creates first real-time movement rank for Australian regions: Muval
National online removalist booking platform Muval has joined forces with one of Australia’s leading population geographers to create an Australian-first real-time migration model which provides an instant ranking for Australian areas based on how many people are moving in and out.
Why move to Birchip?
Local Buloke Shire Young Citizen of the year (2024), Blake Lee, and Birchip P-12 teacher, Marian Haddrick, have created an advertisement for the township of Birchip to encourage a swell in population to take up the available employment opportunities in the region.
Second bridge study traffic data flawed
Patricia Gill. A Shire of Denmark-commissioned trafï¬c and evacuation management study used flawed data to determine that a second bridge was not necessary to evacuate the town in an emergency. The Shire’s 2011 Local Planning Strategy had demonstrated the need for the second bridge but the matter was dropped in 2018 after the Shire commissioned consultants GHD to report on the matter. In 2019 the Shire gave away $4.291 million in Royalties for Regions to build a second bridge and got back $2.5 million to upgrade Greens Pool.
