The city Aussies are fleeing in droves – and where they’re flocking

Sydneysiders are leaving the city in droves while more residents from around the country are flocking to Brisbane, according to new data.

Around 30 per cent of people who moved within Australia last year relocated to Sunshine State, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.

While Brisbane picked up an additional 13,452 people through interstate migration, Sydney lost a whopping 36,000 to the regions and other parts of the country.

The ABS data shows that Melbourne lost about 5,000 people through internal migration, with almost half heading to regional Victoria.

It also shows that a significant portion of those who left greater Sydney and greater Melbourne relocated to Brisbane or regional Queensland.

Of the 608,929 people who moved last year, almost 183,000 chose to live in Queensland. 

Around 107,496 came from another state or a territory. 

The Gold Coast has continued to be a magnet for people migrating from other parts of Australia. 

University of Queensland demographer Aude Bernard said Sydneysiders have been making the move further north since the 1970s.

She said internal migration has ramped up since the Covid pandemic, explaining that house prices are a major factor.

‘The increased attraction of Queensland is in part due to the greater importance of lifestyle considerations since Covid, but also housing price differentials, although the gap between Sydney and Brisbane is decreasing,’ she told The Australian. 

‘Our research shows a 10 per cent increase in housing prices is associated with a 4.45 to 5.7 per cent increase in outflows (from an area).’    

Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said ‘a societal shift is under way’.

‘With high house prices and cost-of-living pressures biting, many people are realising the regions can offer the lifestyle they want and the jobs they’re after, minus big-city problems – like long commute times, tolls and traffic,’ she said.

New overseas migration data revealed that almost a million more people arrived Down Under than left since the beginning of 2022.

By the end of last year, the Australian population reached 27 million.