Geelong stays near top of regional movers list

GEELONG remains one of regional Australia’s most popular destinations for people hunting a lifestyle change, new migration data shows.

The Regional Australia Institute this week released its quarterly Regional Movers Index for June, which showed Geelong was the third-most popular region in the country for attracting new residents.

The Greater Geelong area, which includes the Bellarine, attracted 8.3 per cent of all people that moved to regional Australia in the 12 months to June – about two-thirds of which moved from capital cities, and a third from other regions.

Geelong’s figures were proof of a wider trend that RAI chief executive officer Liz Ritchie said showed the pull of the regions was growing for city dwellers seeking a happier, cheaper and better quality of life

“In 2020, 67 per cent of people thought regional living would give them more time for themselves. In 2023, this jumped to 74 per cent.

“At the same time, net dissatisfaction with city life is up, and more people are now worried about cost-of-living pressures in the city.

“It clearly shows that the love affair with regional living is far from over and highlights the importance of resourcing the social and physical infrastructure that these growing places urgently need.”

Commonwealth Bank executive general manager for regional and agribusiness banking Paul Fowler said jobs, lifestyle and housing continued to be the main drawcards to regional Victoria.

“Mobility around the country continues to be supported by employment opportunities in the regions.

“Growth in local economies and opportunities in sectors such as wholesale trade, manufacturing, health and education will continue to entice people to regional areas.

“We expect regional areas to continue to attract city movers as commercial businesses in core sectors and agribusinesses alike step up their push for workers.”

Only the Sunshine Coast (16.6 per cent) and Gold Coast (9.4) had a higher share of total migration to regional Australia, with the Gold coast leapfrogging Geelong in the most recent data.

Geelong’s total net internal migration inflow was 28.9 per cent higher than the same period last year.

It was also down 17.4 per cent on the March quarter – largely due to seasonal data trends.

But the rapid growth is slowing according to the RAI data, with Geelong’s growth rate down 28.8 per cent on the same period to last year.