New data from the Regional Australia Institute confirms what many of us in regional leadership have been feeling on the ground: people are continuing to move to regional Australia—and they’re staying.
According to the RAI’s figures, since 2019 the population of regional Australia has grown by 6.3%. This is no short-term spike—it’s a steady shift. A quiet, determined rebalancing of how and where Australians choose to live, work, and build their lives.
As Chair of RDA Murray and a long-time advocate for regional communities, I welcome this growth. It brings opportunity, diversity, and renewed energy into our towns and regional centres. But it also brings pressure.
Housing, infrastructure, workforce, services, digital connectivity—these are the foundational pillars of any community. And right now, many regions are playing catch-up.
We’re seeing health services stretched, rental markets tightening, and essential service providers—like teachers, nurses, childcare workers—struggling to find homes or secure long-term placements. Local governments are working hard to keep pace with demand, but planning systems and funding mechanisms aren’t always built to respond quickly or flexibly at the regional scale.
This is exactly why many of us in the regional advocacy space continue to call for a National Population Plan—a long-term, coordinated strategy to ensure we’re not only responding to where growth is happening, but shaping how it unfolds.
What would a National Population Plan do?
A strong plan would help align investment across housing, infrastructure, employment, and education. It would support cross-border collaboration (so essential in regions like ours along the Murray), and ensure that smaller towns aren’t left behind as regional capitals grow.
Importantly, it would empower regions to shape their own futures—with the right data, resources, and autonomy to plan for the communities they want to become.
This isn’t about central control—it’s about enabling smarter, more locally driven decisions, backed by a national framework that ensures fairness, equity, and sustainability.
Learning from the past, planning for the future
We’ve seen what happens when population shifts outpace planning. Communities can become fragmented. Infrastructure lags. Opportunities are missed. And trust in decision-makers erodes.
Let’s not repeat those mistakes.
The shift toward regional living is one of the most promising social and economic transitions in recent memory. But for it to truly deliver on its potential, we need to think bigger than just reactive service delivery or short-term grant programs.
We need a joined-up national conversation about where and how growth happens—and how we make sure that growth strengthens, rather than strains, the fabric of our communities.
A stronger regional Australia means a stronger nation
When we invest in regional communities, we invest in Australia’s future. But that investment needs to be coordinated, inclusive, and forward-thinking.
A National Population Plan won’t solve every challenge—but it’s a vital first step in ensuring we don’t lose momentum or miss this moment.
When the regions are strong, so is Australia.
