Douglas Shire named one of the hottest spots in the country for moving to
Growth index
Douglas Shire is officially a “regional growth hotspot” after making a first appearance in the latest survey of where Australians are relocating to across the country.
The Douglas region has come in as the second-highest growth region in the country for people moving to regional centres across the past year to March in the latest Regional Movers Index.
Douglas Shire recorded a 408 per cent increase in the number of people moving here from regional areas and a 100 per cent increase in people moving here from cities compared to the same time last year, coming second only to the Meander Valley in Tasmania.
Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said this sort of data was “extremely valuable” to help governments and institutions develop longer-term growth policies.
“We’re not just tracking movement but providing early indications of where regional growth is emerging, so government, investors, industry and communities can respond before pressure builds,” she said.
“It helps identify the places that are emerging as hotspots that may need new thinking around housing and infrastructure.”
The RMI was started by the thinktank, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Bank, following an uptick in the number of people moving from cities to regional areas after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Douglas Shire’s large rise across the year to March prompted the RAI to list it as a “regional growth hotspot” in the report.
Net internal migration is worked out by subtracting the number of people who leave Douglas Shire from the number of people who move here.
The Sunshine Coast is the regional location where the most Australians are currently relocating to.