City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Ben Taylor, Commerce Ballarat Executive Officer Jodie Gillett, Committee for Ballarat CEO Michael Poulton joined forces to welcome news that Ballarat is one of regional Australia's most desirable places to live.
The findings came from a new Regional Australia Institute report Big Movers: Population Mobility in Australia which identified Ballarat as one of the top regional destination for millennial movers.
The report unpacks population trends around the country and confirms that regional Australia attracted more people than it lost to capital cities during the last Census.
"Our organisations have worked together over many years to position Ballarat as an attractive destination for millennials to move to; a notoriously difficult demographic to convert. The report is a pleasing confirmation our collective efforts are paying off," Cr Taylor said.
"As a destination, Ballarat offers wonderful lifestyle opportunities and world class facilities that are attractive to young professionals and families. Our affordable housing, leading-edge health care, growing job opportunities and accessibility to affordable services and infrastructure equivalent of capital cities, make Ballarat a highly desirable city.
"Millennial movers bring so much to our community in terms of enthusiasm, concern and care and creativity - the traits that we uncovered in the Ballarat Prosperity Framework.
"The report confirms The Ballarat Strategy guiding our thinking and planning for Ballarat's population growth over the next 20 years is accurate. Now is the time for civic leaders to continue to work together with industry, government and our community to ensure we attract people to Ballarat and supercharge our region."
Jodie Gillett, Chief Executive Officer CEO of Commerce Ballarat, said Ballarat's strong and diverse economy provides job opportunities across a wide range of industry sectors which will assist in the recovery from COVID-19.
"Ballarat businesses are creative and innovative, this together with population growth will drive both supply and demand for jobs in Ballarat, particularly in key industries such as health services, information technology, food processing, accommodation and food services, research and education," she said.
Committee for Ballarat chief executive officer Michael Poulton said the report is good news for Ballarat and the region and highlights an awakening realisation of the potential of a regional lifestyle.
"The report highlights the importance of coordinated, long term population settlement planning to ensure regional towns, such as Ballarat, are future proofed for population growth and continue to be a destination of choice, as a place to live a full life," he said.
"The report also underscores why Ballarat's coordinated efforts to push for state and federal funding for key infrastructure is so important.
"As more young adults choose Ballarat it is vital we continue to push for that ongoing investment to ensure our city and region continues to thrive."
The report found:
- In total, more than 1.2 million people moved to regional Australia from a capital city, or moved from one regional location to another
- Across all age groups, regional areas attracted 65,000 more people than it lost to capital cities between 2011 and 2016, the report showed.
- The top three regional destinations for millennial movers - people aged between 20 and 35 years old - were the Gold Coast, Newcastle and Sunshine Coast. Followed by popular regions Greater Geelong, Cairns, Toowoomba, Ballarat, Maitland, Greater Bendigo and Lake Macquarie.
Source: The Big Movers: Understanding Population Mobility in Regional Australia (Regional Australia Institute)
