Regions do home work as well as city

THE scale of working from home during COVID-19 restrictions may lead to population growth in areas such as Greater Geelong, the Regional Australia Institute says.

Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said location was no longer a barrier for work.

“Over the last few months, we’ve all had to change how we work and this has allowed staff and employers to see that location is no longer a barrier for where we choose to work,” Ms Ritchie said.

“Now is the time to work together with industry, government and regional communities to ensure regionalisation of the workforce. If location is no longer a barrier, it’s possible that the trend line over the next decade could see an even greater swing to regions.”

Ms Ritchie said analysis showed more people moved from capital cities to regional areas than moved the other way between 2011 and 2016.

“From 2011 to 2016, our two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, lost more residents to regions than they gained,” she said.

The institute’s report, Regionalisation of our Nation — The Big Movers, found 11,000 people moved to the Golden Plains and Surf Coast shires in the five years to 2016.

The report reveals Greater Geelong is rising up the ladder of regional migration, with 53,000 people moving to the area in the decade to 2016.

In the five years to 2016, 5550 people aged 20-35 moved to Geelong, while 8471 in the age bracket moved away.

Further growth is on the horizon with 53sq km of land at Batesford and Lovely Banks expected to be home to 112,078 residents by 2050.

Armstrong Creek’s population is due rise to 25,274 by 2041, according to demographer Id population experts.

An RAI report published last year found Geelong’s population could hit 1.12 million by 2056 under a high regional growth scenario.

In the five years to 2016, Melbourne saw a net loss of 21,609 to regional Australia.

Between 2011 and 2016, more than 1.2 million people either moved to or moved around regional Australia, according to the RAI report.

Last month an independent panel gave “strong support” to Geelong council’s settlement strategy that targets Batesford and Lovely Banks.

The report noted “two large growth areas” were likely to “provide the bulk of Geelong’s medium-long term growth”.