Southern States See Surge in Migration Appeal
Australians continue to swap city skylines for regional horizons, with relocations from capitals to regions outpacing moves in the opposite direction by more than one-third (36%), according to the latest Regional Movers Index (RMI).
While Queensland’s Sunshine Coast retained its position as Australia’s most popular destination with the largest share of net internal migration, Regional Australia Institute (RAI) CEO Liz Ritchie said an increasing number of Australians are opting for cooler climates with Victorian and Tasmanian regions recording upticks in annual migration growth.
“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. Grouped together, these areas saw a five-fold increase in net migration over 12 months. Another Victorian local government area (LGA), Colac-Otway, rounded out the top five.”
The RMI, a partnership between the RAI and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), reveals:
- City-to-region migration remains strong: Capital-to-regional moves accounted for 11.5% of all major relocations, outstripping moves in the opposite direction (8.4%).
- Net migration to regions up 11.8%: Regional Australia gained thousands more residents, marking one of the highest levels of regional relocations since the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Sydney and Melbourne lead the move: Sydneysiders made up 53% of net outflows, followed by Melburnians 33%, while Adelaide and Perth also recorded significant jumps.
https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2026/01/regional-movers-index-september-2025.html
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