• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

Feature article published in Australian Demographic Statistics, December Quarter, 2002.


AUSTRALIANS ON THE MOVE

Between 1996 and 2001, 6.8 million people age 5 years and over (42.4%) changed their place of residence in Australia. Of all the people who moved during this period, 5.9 million (86%) moved within the same state or territory, 767,900 people (11%) moved interstate and for a further 157,300 people (2%) their move was undefined.

	1991-1996(a)			1996-2000(a)			2000-2001(b)
Type of move	no.	%		no.	%		no.	%
Moved
Same SLA	2,148,177	14.1		2,205,049	13.7		1,198,451	6.8
Other SLA and same SD	2,512,333	16.5		2,670,668	16.6		1,171,253	6.7
Other SD same state	1,007,400	6.6		1,004,048	6.3		368,301	2.1
Moved interstate	768,903	5.0		767,932	4.8		286,338	1.6
Type undefined	130,453	0.9		157,264	1.0		79,930	0.5
Total moved	6,567,266	43.1		6,804,961	42.4		3,104,273	17.7
Did not move	8,661,112	56.9		9,253,360	57.6		14,446,309	82.3
Total(c)	15,228,378	100.0		16,058,321	100.0		17,550,582	100.0

(b) For persons aged one year and over.

(c) Census count at the end census date excludes overseas visitors, not stated and not applicable responses.

Source: 1996 and 2001 Census of Population and Housing, data available on request.

Net interstate migration

According to population estimates there were 1,844,800 interstate moves made between 1996 and 2001. Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia were the only states or territories to have registered a net gain through interstate migration, with Queensland recording the largest net increase (92,200). This figure has decreased by over 50% from the net increase recorded for Queensland between 1991 and 1996 (201,000 people). For the five-year period 1996 to 2001, net losses due to interstate migration were recorded for all other states and territories, with New South Wales recording the largest net loss (-66,500).

The net losses recorded for New South Wales and South Australia between 1991 and 1996 were higher than their respective losses recorded between 1996 and 2001. Victoria experienced a significant change from the previous five-year period when it recorded the largest net loss due to interstate migration (-107,800). In the period between 1996 and 2001 this state recorded a net gain of 6,400 people. The Australian Capital Territory was the only state or territory to have recorded a decrease in net interstate migration between 1996 and 2001 (-4,600) after having recorded a net interstate migration gain in the five years from 1991 to 1996 (1,100).

	1991-1996		1996-2001
New South Wales	-71,770		-66,549
Victoria	-107,832		6,444
Queensland	201,038		92,188
South Australia	-23,108		-12,894
Western Australia	11,526		2,886
Tasmania	-9,136		-15,043
Northern Territory	-1,831		-2,170
Australian Capital Territory	1,113		-4,642
Total(a)	. .		. .

Source: Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0).

Interstate migration flows

The general pattern of movement over the last two decades has been northward, away from south-eastern Australia. According to ERP estimates in 1996-2001, this movement resulted in Queensland receiving the most significant net gain (92,200). All states and territories experienced a loss to Queensland, with New South Wales losing the largest number of people (-59,600) accounting for 65% of Queensland's total net interstate migration gain.

	STATE/TERRITORY OF ARRIVAL
State/territory of departure	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Total(a)
	'000
New South Wales	. .	123.6	249.7	34.2	42.5	13.6	15.5	55.9	535.3
Victoria	118.0	. .	104.2	39.1	37.4	15.5	13.0	11.7	339.0
Queensland	190.1	91.8	. .	27.3	34.8	14.1	23.6	13.4	395.2
South Australia	35.3	45.3	32.8	. .	18.1	4.5	15.4	4.6	156.0
Western Australia	40.2	38.3	36.8	16.7	. .	8.2	13	4.5	158.0
Tasmania	14.6	21.4	19.8	5.2	9.2	. .	2.0	2.0	74.2
Northern Territory	13.8	12.1	26.5	16.8	13.7	1.7	. .	2.5	86.9
Australian Capital Territory	56.7	12.8	17.6	3.8	4.7	1.5	2.2	. .	99.3
Total(a)	468.8	345.4	487.4	143.2	160.9	59.1	84.8	94.7	1,844.8
Net gain/loss	-66.5	6.4	92.2	-12.9	2.9	-15.0	-2.2	-4.6	. .

Source: Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0).

Population turnover and redistribution

Population turnover measures gross moves in relation to the size of the population. The level of population turnover between 1996-2001 varied considerably across states and territories as the arrivals and departures for each state and territory were much larger than indicated by the net balance between them. For example, the interstate loss of -66,500 from New South Wales between 1996 and 2001 was actually the difference between 468,800 arrivals and 535,300 departures (1,004,000 gross moves). These gross movements can be used to describe interstate mobility in terms of population turnover and redistribution.

The highest population turnover occurred in the Northern Territory (89%) as the gross moves (171,700) were nearly the same as the total population at the mid point of the later census year.

Another way of looking at interstate migration is to assess how effective migration has been in redistributing the population. This index, known as the migration effectiveness ratio (MER), compares the total net gain or loss to the gross moves (Bell 1995, p109)¹. For 1996-2001 Queensland had the highest MER (10.4%), gaining 10 people out of every 100 interstate moves in and out of Queensland. Tasmania also recorded a relatively large MER (-11.3%), indicating that Tasmania lost 11 people for every 100 interstate moves in and out of the state.

						Migration
					Population	effectiveness
	Arrivals	Departures	Net	Gross	turnover(a)	ratio(b)
	no.	no.	no.	no.	%	%
New South Wales	468,779	535,328	-66,549	1,004,107	15.6	-6.6
Victoria	345,416	338,972	6,444	684,388	14.6	0.9
Queensland	487,374	395,186	92,188	882,560	25.2	10.4
South Australia	143,150	156,044	-12,894	299,194	20.0	-4.3
Western Australia	160,917	158,031	2,886	318,948	17.3	0.9
Tasmania	59,115	74,158	-15,043	133,273	28.2	-11.3
Northern Territory	84,778	86,948	-2,170	171,726	89.2	-1.3
Australian Capital Territory	94,664	99,306	-4,642	193,970	61.9	-2.4
Total(a)	1,844,797	1,843,797	. .	3,689,594	19.5	. .

(b) Net migration divided by gross migration expressed as a percentage.

Source: Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0).

MOVEMENT BETWEEN STATISTICAL DIVISIONS

Net internal migration gains between 1996 and 2001, for persons age 5 and over, were mostly recorded by SDs along the eastern coastline of Queensland and New South Wales and the south-west corner of Western Australia. The capital cities of Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin also recorded net internal migration gains. On the other hand, net internal migration losses mainly occurred in the rural inland and remote areas of Australia and in the capital cities of Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra.

Sydney recorded the largest net migration loss between 1996 and 2001 (-60,600), with the next largest loss recorded by Northern New South Wales (-8,300). Every SD in Tasmania experienced significant net migration losses, and losses were also recorded in all but one SD in South Australia. The largest rate of net migration loss was recorded in North West in Queensland (-13.6%), with the next largest loss recorded in the Pilbara in Western Australia (-13.3%).

	Intrastate	Interstate	Total	Rate(b)
State
Statistical division	no.	no.	no.	%
New South Wales
Sydney	-36,287	-24,341	-60,628	-1.6
Hunter	12,452	-4,475	7,977	1.4
Illawarra	14,148	-3,484	10,664	2.9
Richmond-Tweed	8,044	-3,156	4,888	2.4
Mid-North Coast	11,615	-5,261	6,354	2.4
Northern	-3,172	-5,100	-8,272	-4.7
North Western	-4,034	-2,665	-6,699	-5.8
Central West	-2,193	-3,037	-5,230	-3.1
South Eastern	2,013	254	2,267	1.3
Murrumbidgee	-903	-4,116	-5,019	-3.4
Murray	-1,099	-2,948	-4,047	-3.7
Far West	-584	-1,552	-2,136	-8.8
Victoria
Melbourne	-2,513	13,365	10,852	0.3
Barwon	6,087	-891	5,196	2.2
Western District	-2,422	-851	-3,273	-3.3
Central Highlands	2,191	-599	1,592	1.2
Wimmera	-1,957	-471	-2,428	-4.8
Mallee	-3,463	58	-3,405	-4.0
Loddon	2,986	-675	2,311	1.5
Goulburn	157	-515	-358	-0.2
Ovens-Murray	-368	-98	-466	-0.5
East Gippsland	-1,664	-1,292	-2,956	-3.8
Gippsland	966	-1,240	-274	-0.2
Queensland
Brisbane	17,347	32,853	50,200	3.3
Moreton	16,084	36,595	52,679	8.2
Wide Bay-Burnett	-4,377	4,889	512	0.2
Darling Downs	-2,052	2,623	571	0.3
South West	-2,404	6	-2,398	-9.3
Fitzroy	-6,176	556	-5,620	-3.2
Central West	-1,381	-156	-1,537	-12.6
Mackay	-5,792	836	-4,956	-4.0
Northern	-271	1,537	1,266	0.7
Far North	-6,540	1,001	-5,539	-2.7
North West	-4,438	-276	-4,714	-13.6
South Australia
Adelaide	5,281	-8,990	-3,709	-0.3
Outer Adelaide	4,541	486	5,027	4.7
Yorke and Lower North	-320	44	-276	-0.6
Murray Lands	-1,429	-307	-1,736	-2.6
South East	-1,738	-456	-2,194	-3.6
Eyre	-761	93	-668	-2.1
Northern	-5,574	-1,089	-6,663	-8.4
Western Australia
Perth	5,801	3,264	9,065	0.7
South West	10,236	1,021	11,257	6.5
Lower Great Southern	-230	-112	-342	-0.7
Upper Great Southern	-1,702	-72	-1,774	-9.5
Midlands	-2,020	-230	-2,250	-4.4
South Eastern	-5,353	-425	-5,778	-10.8
Central	-1,919	-250	-2,169	-3.8
Pilbara	-4,547	-568	-5,115	-13.3
Kimberley	-266	-206	-472	-1.7
Tasmania
Greater Hobart	3,734	-6,132	-2,398	-1.3
Southern	-1,434	196	-1,238	-3.7
Northern	145	-3,103	-2,958	-2.3
Mersey-Lyell	-2,445	-3,552	-5,997	-5.7
Northern Territory
Darwin	2,016	-1,182	834	0.9
Northern Territory - Bal	-2,016	-3,555	-5,571	-6.2
Australian Capital Territory
Canberra	19	-2,094	-2,075	-0.7
Australian Capital Territory - Bal	-19	4	-15	-4.4

(b) Percentage of the mean of the 1996 and 2001 usual residence populations.

Source: 2001 Census of Population and Housing, data available on request.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information on population mobility including return migration, reasons for moving, age, sex and birthplace of movers and Indigenous mobility see Chapter 3 in Population Growth and Distribution (cat. no. 2035.0) due for release on 16 June 2003. This publication also contains information on population distribution, population growth and decline and final population estimates by statistical local areas for each state and territory.

¹ Bell, M. 1995 Internal Migration in Australia 1986-91: overview report, Bureau of Immigration Multicultural and Population Research, Canberra.