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Special Article - Australia's regional population growth 1996-2001


Special article published in Australian Demographic Statistics, Australia, (Cat. No. 3101.0) March Quarter 2002

POPULATION CHANGE

Australia's estimated resident population at June 2001 was 19.5 million people. This represents an increase of 1.2 million people (or 6.4%) since June 1996, with an average annual growth rate of 1.3%. All states and territories experienced population growth between 1996 and 2001, with the exception of Tasmania which experienced a small decrease in population.

Of Australia's 624 Local Government Areas (LGAs), almost two-thirds (65%) gained population in the five years to June 2001 while the remaining LGAs (35%) decreased in population.

GROWTH IN CAPITAL CITIES

At June 2001, capital city SDs were home to nearly two-thirds (64%) of Australia's population, as in 1991 and 1996. Growth in the combined capital city SDs occurred at an average annual rate of 1.3% between 1996 and 2001 compared with 1.2% between 1991 and 1996.

Between 1996 and 2001, the largest growth occurred in Sydney (up 273,600) and Melbourne (up 205,500). For the same period the fastest average annual growth occurred in Darwin (up 2.5%) and Brisbane (up 1.7%).

Outer suburban growth

Much of Australia's growth between 1996 and 2001 occurred in the outer LGAs of capital cities. Large increases in population were recorded in the Sydney LGAs of Liverpool (C), Blacktown (C), Baulkham Hills (A), Wyong (A) and Camden (A), while the largest growth within Melbourne occurred in the fringe LGAs of Casey (C), Hume (C) and Mornington Peninsula (S).

Outer suburban areas within other capital cities also experienced significant growth in the five years to June 2001, such as Doolandella-Forest Lake and Parkinson-Drewvale in Brisbane, Onkaparinga (C) and Tea Tree Gully (C) in Adelaide, Wanneroo (C), Swan (C) and Rockingham (C) in Perth, Palmerston (C) in Darwin, and Ngunnawal and Nicholls in Canberra.

Inner city growth

Australia's inner city areas, especially in the larger cities, grew rapidly in the five years to June 2001. The LGA of the City of Sydney recorded Australia's highest average annual growth rate (up 18.1% per year), while the LGAs of Perth (up 7.3% per year) and Melbourne (up 5.6% per year) also experienced rapid growth between 1996 and 2001. The inner-Brisbane SLAs of Fortitude Valley - Inner and City - Inner were among the fastest-growing SLAs in Queensland over this period.

GROWTH ALONG THE COAST

Generally, the largest growth outside capital city SDs occurred in coastal Australia. Lake Macquarie (C), Tweed (A), Shoalhaven (C) and Hastings (A) in New South Wales, and Bass Coast (S) and Surf Coast (S) in Victoria experienced significant growth between 1996 and 2001. The City of Gold Coast in Queensland recorded the largest population increase of all LGAs in Australia between 1991 and 1996 and the second largest increase between 1996 and 2001, while growth also continued in the Queensland coastal areas of Maroochy (S) and Caloundra (C). In South Australia, Alexandrina (DC) and Victor Harbour (DC) continued to experience population growth, while in Western Australia the coastal LGAs of Mandurah (C), Busselton (S), Broome (C) and Albany (C) experienced growth.

GROWTH IN REGIONAL CENTRES

Population growth occurred in a number of regional centres in the five years ending June 2001. Centres such as Maitland (C) and Queanbeyan (C) in New South Wales, Greater Geelong (C), Greater Bendigo (C) and Ballarat (C) in Victoria, Cairns (C) in Queensland, Port Lincoln (C) in South Australia, and Albany (C) in Western Australia experienced growth over this period.

LARGEST GROWTH AND LARGEST DECLINE

Eight of the top ten growth LGAs in Australia between 1996 and 2001 were in the capital city SDs. The two LGAs to experience the largest growth were Brisbane (C) which grew by 74,000 people and Gold Coast (C) which grew by 69,000 people.

Six of the top ten largest declines in LGAs in Australia between 1996 and 2001 were in the balances of the states. However, the two largest declines occurred in Greater Dandenong (C) in the Melbourne SD which declined by 3,300 people and Marrickville (A) in the Sydney SD which declined by 2,500 people.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS WITH LARGEST POPULATIONS

			ERP AT 30 JUNE				CHANGE
			1991	1996	2001p		1991-96		1996-2001p
National rank(a)	LGA	Part of State	no.	no.	no.		no.	%(b)	no.	%(b)
LARGEST INCREASES
1	Brisbane (C)	Brisbane	769,087	824,489	898,480		55,402	1.4	73,991	1.7
2	Gold Coast (C)	Qld Balance	282,329	356,441	425,418		74,112	4.8	68,977	3.6
3	Liverpool (C)	Sydney	101,360	124,292	159,627		22,932	4.2	35,335	5.1
4	Casey (C)	Melbourne	117,001	148,957	181,990		31,956	4.9	33,033	4.1
5	Blacktown (C)	Sydney	218,200	239,818	266,072		21,618	1.9	26,254	2.1
6	Baulkham Hills (A)	Sydney	121,044	125,598	146,644		4,554	0.7	21,046	3.1
7	Wanneroo (C)	Perth	46,631	64,999	84,374		18,368	6.9	19,375	5.4
8	Maroochy (S)	Qld Balance	81,766	108,072	127,402		26,306	5.7	19,330	3.3
9	Sydney (C)	Sydney	7,281	13,846	31,788		6,565	13.7	17,942	18.1
10	Pine Rivers (S)	Brisbane	90,453	106,277	122,447		15,824	3.3	16,170	2.9
LARGEST DECLINES
1	Greater Dandenong (C)	Melbourne	133,666	131,796	128,509		-1,870	-0.3	-3,287	-0.5
2	Marrickville (A)	Sydney	80,867	79,876	77,375		-991	-0.2	-2,501	-0.6
3	Whyalla (C)	SA Balance	26,382	24,371	22,209		-2,011	-1.6	-2,162	-1.8
4	Duaringa (S)	Qld Balance	10,553	9,232	7,659		-1,321	-2.6	-1,573	-3.7
5	Canterbury (C)	Sydney	134,584	138,715	137,258		4,131	0.6	-1,457	-0.2
6	Waverley (A)	Sydney	61,066	65,137	63,741		4,071	1.3	-1,396	-0.4
7	Ashburton (S)	WA Balance	7,922	7,379	5,991		-543	-1.4	-1,388	-4.1
8	Launceston (C)	Tas. Balance	65,370	63,896	62,510		-1,474	-0.5	-1,386	-0.4
9	Coolgardie (S)	WA Balance	5,824	5,651	4,301		-173	-0.6	-1,350	-5.3
10	Mount Isa (C)	Qld Balance	24,507	22,386	21,187		-2,121	-1.8	-1,199	-1.1