As 2024 draws to a close, it’s important to reflect on the year that was, the learnings we have gathered and to take stock of what lies ahead.
As the CEO of the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) my role is wide and varied. But at its core, it is to advocate for the 9.78 million (and growing!) people who call it home and to help ignite thought-leadership and action in those who can make critical change.
The future of regional Australia is bright, but unless it gets the attention it requires, that metaphoric light will fade - to the detriment of the entire nation.
So, what lies ahead? Market research shows the number of city-dwellers looking to relocate to the regions has doubled over the past 18 months. Yes, doubled. The results of nation-wide survey shows 40% of capital city residents are considering a move to regional Australia, up from 20% in May 2023. They are looking beyond the city lights at what a new life might offer.
Amid that ongoing societal transformation, the regions are also embarking on the biggest economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution – the net zero transition, resulting in increasing demand and need for services and infrastructure in regional communities.
Despite this, regional Australia has gone backwards when it comes to regional housing, education and migration over the last 12 months. The regional rental vacancy rate dropped to 1.3% this year. Regional building approvals have declined 9.4%. The regional school attainment rate has decreased. The proportion of overseas arrivals settling in the regions has fallen.
The disconnect between these two realities needs action, and now.
Two years ago, the RAI launched its Regionalisation Ambition. A 10-year framework, to help shape a more prosperous, productive and inclusive regional Australia. Underpinning that framework is 20 key targets – like increasing the rental vacancy rate, improving the school attainment rate, as well as lifting access to medical practitioners and increasing the workforce participation rate. The Ambition recognises that for meaningful change to occur, you can’t just solve one issue, you need to solve many, because they’re all interconnected. You can’t build the extra houses the regions need unless you have skilled workers, you won’t have skilled workers, unless you’ve got access to education. It’s the only holistic, national vision for the regions and the RAI has vowed to report on it every year to track and measure the status of those 20 targets.
The Year Two Progress Report on the Regionalisation Ambition shows of the 17 targets measured over the past year, 10 have moved in the right direction. This should be celebrated, as these are big, wicked issues that have hamstrung the regions for decades, and to turn the dial on them is an incredible feat and shows the power of government, industry, business and community coming together to drive meaningful change.
However, without improvements in regional housing, education and migration regional Australia will stall. They are vitally important building blocks for ensuring the regions can participate in our nation’s future.
The work of the Federal Government in these areas is acknowledged – notably through the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Australian Universities Accord and the Regional Migration Settings Review. This, along with the Regional Investment Framework, is providing a foundation, but now we must build the structures to deliver reform.
How? The RAI has long called for a national population plan, to demonstrate the best future population settlement across the regions that delivers optimal social, economic and environmental outcomes – redefining the place to call home.
Our research tells us that a community co-investment framework would bring government, industry and regional communities together to align investment, particularly relating to the net zero transition. It could help deliver legacy projects, like regional housing, to ensure the communities doing the heavy lifting in this transformation are treated justly. Migration settings that support both regions and migrants could help communities better support new arrivals and likewise demonstrate that there is a career, lifestyle and benefit beyond Sydney and Melbourne. Further, now is the time for a placed-based decision-making model to help turn rhetoric into action. A system that would shift federal, state and territory decisions to a local level, empowering regions and ensuring a more transparent and fair approach to funding decisions.
The regions’ rising prominence on the national stage has been a key turning point in Australia’s story in 2024. And in 2025, a federal election year, regional Australia has the potential to land a leading role, shaping the discussion and vision of what our nation will look like into the future. This is further bolstered by data in the latest Regional Movers Index (RMI) report, which shows net migration to regional Australia is now sitting 80% above the pre-COVID average. As a nation, we must acknowledge that we are in a new era of migration where regional Australia is at the forefront.
The future is shining bright in regional Australia and the more people who recognise that, who advocate for that, who vocalise that, the bigger that light will grow.
Finally, I would like to thank you for being part of the 2024 regional story. The team and I wish you a restful, fun, and safe holiday. We look forward to shining the light in 2025.
Liz Ritchie, RAI CEO.