A majority of Australia is considered regional for migration purposes. Regional migration promotes growth and prosperity in locations outside of the Australian capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. For migrants, locating to regional or remote areas of Australia offers lifestyle and job opportunities and in some cases a pathway to permanent residence.
Locations outside of capital cities or city centres can not only be considered regional but also remote. However, there are differences between the two.
What are the differences between regional and remote Australia?
Regional
Regional is any area outside of major metropolitan centres. For migration purposes, the Department of Home Affairs developed two designated regional migration area categories: category 2 and category 3.
Category 2 refers to cities and regional major centres including:
- Perth
- Adelaide
- The Gold Coast
- The Sunshine Coast
- Canberra
- Newcastle / Lake Macquarie
- Wollongong / Illawarra
- Geelong
Category 3 refers to regional centres and regional areas outside of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and category 2 cities and regional centres.
For a full list of designated regional areas in Australia, visit the Department of Home Affairs website.
Remote
Remote areas are often isolated and characterised by limited access to resources, services and infrastructure. Remote areas are generally situated far from urban centres.
Remote areas of Australia include:
- The Nullarbor Plain, South Australia and Western Australia
- Cape York, Far North Queensland
- Kimberly Region, Western Australia
- Pilbara Region, Western Australia
- Macquarie Island, Tasmania
How close can you get to the capital cities while still being regional?
When it comes to migration, regional doesn’t necessarily mean out of the way. The Department of Home Affairs’ category 2 list features locations that are not at all far from the capital cities.
For instance, Geelong is a little over an hour away from Melbourne’s CBD, while you can get from Brisbane to the Gold Coast in under an hour.
While most regional areas are further afield from the capital cities, many have evolved to be city centres themselves. Long gone are the dusty country towns once synonymous with regional Australia. Many of the bigger regional centres can now rival many suburbs of the major capital cities.
The evolution of these regional centres presents an attractive proposition for migrants. Regional areas in close proximity to the major capital cities offer urban living combined with better job opportunities and more affordable cost of living.
Regional migration has helped and will continue to help these regional areas flourish.
Most popular regional locations for migrants
The purpose of migrating to Australia differs from person to person. Whether one is migrating as part of the skilled migration program or as an international student, the region they ultimately migrate to will be the one that best suits their needs.
Popular regional locations for migrants varies from year to year. Factors such as employment opportunities and access to quality education are some of the factors that can impact the popularity of a regional area.
The following regional locales tend to make the list for most popular regional areas most years:
- Adelaide, South Australia
- Gold Coast, Queensland
- Geelong, Victoria
- Perth, Western Australia
- Hobart, Tasmania
- Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Are remote areas popular for migrants?
While most remote areas of Australia can be far out of the way, remote areas of Australia offer affordability, a slower pace and community spirit.
Many of these remote areas offer opportunities for overseas workers where there is no local talent to fulfill labour shortages. As such, Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs) have been established to assist in promoting these remote areas. Remote areas currently with a DAMA in place include:
- East Kimberely, Western Australia
- Far North Queensland
- Northern Territory
- Pilbara, Western Australia
- Goldfields, Western Australia
- Orana, New South Wales
To learn more about Designated Area Migration Agreements visit the Department of Home Affairs website.
Migrating to regional or remote areas of Australia offers many opportunities for migrants and the regional or remote areas themselves.
To learn more about regional migration or any aspect of migration, contact the team of registered migration agents at Visa Solutions Australia.