Without migrants, small regional towns would shrink much faster, report shows
The 2026 Intergenerational Report predicts regional Australia will lose population. This will happen without strong migration policy.
Australia's political parties want to cut migration, but they're missing something crucial: rural and regional Australia needs overseas migrants to survive. The 2026 Intergenerational Report forecasts lower fertility rates, lower migration and faster aging across much of regional Australia.
Cities with over 50,000 people may stay stable. Smaller towns will face decline.
Over half the rural population growth since 2017 came from overseas migration. Most of these migrants were young people aged 25 to 44.
Remove international migrants and small towns shrink fast. Population decline then starts a downward spiral.
Fewer people mean fewer services and fewer jobs. This results in lower incomes and less spending.
Businesses struggle to stay open. The volunteer base for sports clubs, service groups and cultural groups begins to disappear.
Strong policy is needed to boost regional migration. We also need support for workforce and housing.
Without this, the hollowing out will accelerate.
- over half since 2017
- Rural growth from migration
- 25 to 44
- Migrant age group
- over 50,000
- Regional city population threshold
- 2026 Intergenerational Report
- Source
Why it mattersMigration cuts could deepen regional population collapse. This weakens services, businesses and the volunteer networks that help communities survive.
AustraliaIf migration to rural Australia falls sharply, small regional towns face population decline that could make services unviable and rural industries struggle to find workers.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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