Brisbane gets migration fillip during pandemic

Brisbane has gained 14,488 residents over the year and 16,322 since pandemic started
Brisbane gets migration fillip during pandemic
Jonathan ChancellorAugust 4, 2021

Australia’s capital cities experienced a net loss in population through internal migration in the first three months of 2021, the most significant amount in 20 years.

“This was the largest net loss on record since the series started in 2001, surpassing the previous record net loss set in the September 2020 quarter (11,200),” the ABS report advised.

The data highlights how the pandemic has changed Australian migration patterns.

Brisbane saw the biggest net gain of people, either from elsewhere in Queensland or interstate during the March quarter.

NSW was the leaving point for most of those moving to Queensland.

Sydney had net losses of 5100 to NSW ­regions and some 3100 interstate.

Most of Melbourne’s departures were to regional Victoria.

Brisbane gained 14,488 residents over the year and 16,322 since the pandemic started.

Melbourne lost 32,203 residents from internal migration over the 12 months and 34,366 since pandemic started. 

Sydney lost 31,646 over the year and 39,733 from start of pandemic. 

The data came as Queensland's Deputy Premier Steven Miles advised that almost 50,000 residential lots were in the process of being unlocked in south-east Queensland.

“Our strong health response to the COVID-19 pandemic has created a spike in interstate migration which has put pressure on land supply across the state,” he told the budget hearing.

“While COVID has certainly spurred an increase in interstate migration, we would expect to see further increases over the coming years in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The state government policy is that all local government areas should have four years’ worth of approved lots, ie land that is ready to go to market.

But Brisbane has just 2.9 years of approved lot supply, Noosa has 1.1 years, the Gold and Sunshine coasts 1.9 years each, Redland 2.9 years, and Moreton Bay 3.2 years.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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