REGIONAL Victoria recorded the second largest share of movers in the December 2022 quarter according to the latest Regional Movers Index (RMI) by the Commonwealth Bank and Regional Australia Institute (RAI).

According to the data, regional Victoria surged ahead in popularity, enticing the second largest share of people settling in the regions at 33 per cent, up from 21 per cent in 2021.

Net outflows from Melbourne remained relatively steady at 43 per cent, compared to 46 per cent in 2021.

The migration flows from capitals to regions have largely stabilised at an elevated level over the past year to account for an average 12 per cent of total migration flows – up from an average 11 per cent share pre-COVID.

RAI chief executive, Liz Ritchie, said the impact of capital city movers to the regions was having a flow on effect to other regional places, many of which have historically seen limited population growth.

“The areas experiencing significant net migration increases would certainly be feeling the impact on house prices and rents, local services and infrastructure,” she said.

“For that reason, policy makers, industry and regional leaders need to heed these results to ensure adequate planning and resourcing is put in place to accommodate demand both now and in coming decades.”

Commonwealth Bank Regional and Agribusiness Banking executive general manager, Paul Fowler, said there was a slight drop of just 0.8 per cent in the number of people moving from cities to regional towns in the December quarter, well below the typical rate of around eight per cent normally experienced over the holiday season period.

“This confirms that regional hubs are continuing to attract thousands of metro movers,” he said.

“Many are attracted by the opportunities that our thriving regional economies present.

“While it’s been a difficult year for many businesses who have faced significant challenges, including labour shortages and inflationary pressures, industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture are growing strongly, and regional businesses are investing more to sustain increasing demand for their products and services.”

Overall net migration from capitals to regions in 2022 still averaged 45 per cent more than the average in the two years prior to the pandemic.

While city people’s appetite for the regions has not waned, the migration flows in the other direction – from regions back to capitals – continued to pick up from those reduced flows of 2020 and 2021.

In the December 2022 quarter, regional to capital migration accounted for 9.9 per cent of all relocations, up from an 8.5 per cent share a year earlier.

At least 100 people must have migrated to a Local Government Area (LGA) from a capital city in the previous 12 months for an LGA to be included in the report.

Southern Grampians LGA was not included in the December 2022 quarter report.

The RMI launched in 2021 and tracks movements between Australia’s regions and capital cities using Commonwealth Bank data from relocations amongst more than 16 million customers.

This data enables early identification of growth trends and flags places emerging as hot spots needing fresh thinking on housing and infrastructure.