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Population drift to city reverses as state welcomes 2000 southerners a week

If you wondered why house prices were booming in Queensland official data has given a reason – about 2000 people a week moved to the state during the June and September quarters as Sydney and Melbourne experienced an exodus of people.

Feb 02, 2021, updated Feb 02, 2021
More than 270,000 people shifted to Queensland over five years

More than 270,000 people shifted to Queensland over five years

And Queensland regions appeared to have reversed the drift of people to the city.

According to Conus Consultancy’s Pete Faulkner, over the course of the first three quarters of 2020 regional Queensland added a net 12,000 new residents.

“Compare that to an average for the same period from 2015 to 2019 of just 3700,” Faulkner said.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a net gain for Queensland in the September quarter of 7000 people, a result which came as capital cities faced a record-breaking number of departures for regional and interstate destinations. The state had a total 22,000 arrivals in the quarter, slightly fewer than the 24,000 in the June quarter. That was offset by 17,000 leaving the state in the June period and 15,000 in the September quarter.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a net 11,200 left Australia’s capitals for the regions.

In net terms, Queensland gained the most people from New South Wales (+4000). Greater Brisbane had a net gain of 3200, about the same as the June quarter, and the biggest gain of all the capitals.

Sydney had the greatest loss with 7800 leaving in the September quarter and Victoria suffered its biggest net loss since 1995. The data showed that a large number of Melburnians moved to regional Victoria where the pandemic restrictions were less severe. The figures were for a period before the lockdowns in Victoria were lifted in November.

There was a net loss of 7400 people for Greater Melbourne in the September 2020 quarter, compared with 8000 in the previous quarter. Melbourne had a net loss of 4700 people to the rest of the state, compared with 5900 in the previous quarter

Faulkner said the figures also revealed that the shift from regional Queensland to Brisbane had slowed to a trickle during the September quarter.

“The regions of Queensland lost just 200 residents to Greater Brisbane (on top of 900 in the June quarter) which is down from a 1300 loss in the same quarter a year ago,” Faulkner said.

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The Queensland regions also gained 1500 from Greater Sydney and another 1100 from Greater Melbourne.

“Regional NSW and Victoria added another 900 and 400 respectively to the Queensland regions’ gains,” Faulkner said.

 

 

 

 

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