The Sunshine Coast has reclaimed its position as Australia’s number one regional migration destination for people moving from capital cities.
The rapidly growing beach haven continues to attract more new residents from major metropolitan areas, outpacing other regional towns like Geelong, Townsville and Bendigo.
That’s according to the Regional Movers Index, which was released on Monday. The index uses Commonwealth Bank customer data to track internal migrations and help identify growth trends in regional centres.
The Sunshine Coast bounced back into top spot after it was overtaken by Geelong last quarter. It was previously No.1 for nine consecutive quarters.
Regional migration in Australia remains strong in general, despite falling to its lowest level since before the pandemic that kickstarted the trend.
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The latest Regional Movers Index shows relocations from major cities to regions continues to outpace moves in the other direction.
“Regional Australia is no longer a second choice – it’s the smart choice,” Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said.
“From career opportunities to community connection, the regions are delivering.”
On the NSW border with Victoria, regional centre Albury recorded a 16-fold increase in net migration from capital cities in the 2024-25 financial year, making it one of the fastest-growing regional hotspots charted by the index.
Albury and its cross-border twin-town Wodonga was once the site of a failed federal government plan to de-centralise major capital cities in the 1970s, but five decades later a more organic migration appears to be taking place.
“The Albury market has gone through the roof,” local real estate agent Andrea Lever said.
Liveability is bringing migrants from capital cities while affordability and rental yields attract investors.
“It’s a great regional city because of where we’re positioned,” the Ray White Albury North managing director said.
Albury is on the Hume Highway connecting Melbourne and Sydney, with trains to both capitals as well as a regional airport.
Other regional centres with strong migration from capital cities include Townsville in north Queensland and Bendigo in central Victoria.
