Regional population: City residents continue to move to regional areas

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a massive spike in the number of people moving out of the cities, with South Australia taking up three of the top five LGAs experiencing the strongest annual growth.

Mount Gambier, in the state's southeast, was number one with inward migration during the 2021/22 financial year nearly double (90 per cent) what it was in the previous year.

Port Augusta, also in SA, was second at 63 per cent, followed by Moorabool (in Victoria) at 54 per cent.

In fourth position was Yorke Peninsula, located around an hour's drive from Adelaide, where migration grew by 50 per cent. Bathurst, in the Central West of NSW, rounded up the top five with a growth of 39 per cent.

The latest Regional Movers Index reveals migration from capitals to regions is moderating from the elevated flows that prevailed during 2020 and 2021.

Following a five-year high in the March 2022 quarter, the number of people moving from capital cities to regions fell by 16.5 per cent during the June quarter.

This quarterly fall is significant, although it partly reflects ordinary seasonal patterns in people movement - the June and December quarters tend to have reduced flows from cities.

Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said the easing of movement to the regions should take the pressure off housing demand and provide breathing space for regions to plan for the future.

"Investment in creating a sustainable model for regional Australia to accommodate the changing nature of our populations trends is needed," she said.

"Now is the time for a new National Population Plan at the federal level, that considers future settlement patterns to ensure regional communities have the services and infrastructure they need to help them grow."

Millennials, counted here as people aged 24 to 40, account for the single largest cohort of people moving from capitals to regions.

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Pre-COVID they accounted for 48 per cent of all movers to regional areas nationally, this has increased to 51 per cent.

All other cohorts have experienced a decline in moving to the regions since COVID hit. Pre-pandemic they accounted for 20 per cent of moves, this has dropped to 17 per cent.