March 1, 2023
by Dafyd Martindale
The South Burnett experienced strong population growth in 2022 according to the latest Regional Growth Index (RGI).
The RGI is a quarterly study of population movements within Australia which tracks migration from cities to regions as well as region-to-region migration.
It is jointly prepared by the Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute, and measures population movements using CBA customer addresses.
All Australian local government areas need to record a minimum of 100 customer movements per quarter to be included in the national totals.
The latest study – covering the December quarter of 2022 – shows that the South Burnett received 1 per cent of all city-to-region migration in that period, as well as 1 per cent of all region-to-region migration.
While this was lower than Gympie and Toowoomba – which received 3 per cent and 2 per cent of city-to-region migration during the same period, respectively – the growth was still much larger than 2020 and 2021 when pandemic lockdowns slowed internal migration in Australia significantly.
Importantly, the South Burnett appeared in all four of 2022’s quarterly surveys, which indicates the inflow of new residents was sustained throughout the year.
This growth – roughly equivalent to the annual population growth the South Burnett used to enjoy until 2014 – may also go some way to explaining the shortage of housing and difficulty in obtaining tradespeople that has bedevilled the region.
The latest report found Queensland and Victoria were the two most popular States for city-to-region migration, with Queensland eclipsing Victoria by almost four to one.
The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were the top two Queensland regions attracting city-dwellers in search of a better lifestyle but the Fraser Coast, Bundaberg and Toowoomba scored highly as well.
The study also found that once people moved from cities to regional areas, many relocated to a different region rather than return to the city.
- External link: Regional Movers Index
