In This Blog:
- ➤ What Is a Tree Change in Australia?
- ➤ What Does Tree Change Mean in Australia?
- ➤ What is the difference between tree change and sea change?
- ➤ Is Tree Change Still Happening in 2026, or Did It Fade After COVID?
- ➤ Why Are Australians Leaving Sydney and Other Capital Cities? (The Regional Move Boom Today)
- ➤ Which Australian States Are People Moving To?
- ➤ Is Tree Change Only for Retirees and Baby Boomers? Who Are Tree Changers?
- ➤ What Does the Regional Population Boom Mean for Business Owners and Staffing?
- ➤ What Should You Weigh Up Before Making the Move?
- ➤ How Remote Staff Helps Regional and Tree-Changing Business Owners Build Their Team
- ➤ FAQs
- ➤ Business Opportunity in Regional Migration
More and more people are moving from Australia’s capital cities to regional towns than the other way around. The Movers Index pins that number at nearly 30% more, and up from 26% in the previous comparable period. They’re calling it Tree Change.
What is tree change? And what is this regional migration Australia’s trekking toward?
This was once a pandemic and a post-pandemic oddity of an occurrence. But no longer. It’s becoming a recurring demographic and migration pattern.
Are you among those making the move? Do you run a business in regional Australia and you’ve been given the heads-up to absorb the incoming population? Either that, or you’re only now reading about it, and you’re getting ready.
What does Tree Change mean for your business, and what does its acceleration have to do with staffing in towns now welcoming this population influx?
What Is a Tree Change in Australia?
A tree change in Australia means moving from a capital city or urban area to a regional or rural community, usually in search of more space, lower living costs, and a different pace of life. It’s often associated with leaving the city for a smaller town or regional centre, rather than moving somewhere completely remote.
What Does Tree Change Mean in Australia?
Tree Change is a coined phrase that means relocating from a capital city or urban area to a regional or rural setting. Reasons can include anything from affordability to a shift from a fast- to slow-paced lifestyle, from business or financial practicality to something as simple as a change of scenery.
“Tree” and “change” because it’s a relocation from a concrete “jungle” to one where jungle grows actual trees, and much, much more of them. Where there are more canopies than high-rises and grey lanes.
Not Necessarily Off-Grid
This doesn’t mean resettling to some obscure town where the population’s so small, everyone knows each other by name. Although this does happen, and it’s becoming quite the attractive option for Aussies who now want a simpler, quieter, away-from-it-all kind of life.
What tree change spans is everything from a commuter-belt regional centre, whether it’s right inside a capital or an hour away from it, to a genuinely rural town hours away.
What is the difference between tree change and sea change?
A tree change means moving from the city to a regional or rural area for more space, a quieter pace, or a different way of life. A sea change is similar, but the move is specifically to a coastal area, usually for the beach, climate, and seaside lifestyle. In short: tree change = city to the country; sea change = city to the coast.
Is Tree Change Still Happening in 2026, or Did It Fade After COVID?
Yes, it’s still happening. It faded shortly after COVID, before picking up again.
The March 2026 Numbers
The Regional Movers Index for that quarter came in as the strongest since tracking started back in 2021:
- Up 20.1% on the December 2025 quarter
- Up 4.7% compared to the same time last year
- For every person moving back into a capital city, almost 30% more made the opposite move
- Sydney alone accounted for 55% of everyone who left a capital city that quarter
Given what rent looks like in Sydney right now, the last bullet point above shouldn’t come as a surprise.
A Growing, Constant Momentum
Back in September 2025, capital-to-region moves were already running 26% ahead of the reverse. But some reporting from around that time called it a slowdown, even claiming it had dropped to its lowest point since COVID.
Then March 2026 landed and beat every previous quarter on record.
So which version is true? Both, really. Tree change has quiet stretches, and it has surges. What matters is the direction over the long run, and that direction has been pointing upward for years now.
Did You Know?
The term “tree change” has been around longer than most think, and has been used decades before it became more prominent during COVID and after. Thus, marking it as something more than a pandemic-born trend or a short-lived movement.
One More Number That Backs This Up
Close to one in three Australians say they’re planning to buy, invest in, or rent something in a regional area, according to Westpac’s Home Ownership Report.
A third of the country’s actively thinking about a life outside the capitals.
If you’ve been working off the assumption that tree change was a pandemic thing that’s since cooled off, the data says otherwise. It built momentum, and 2026 is the strongest proof of that yet.
Why Are Australians Leaving Sydney and Other Capital Cities? (The Regional Move Boom Today)
Housing costs are at the top of most of the whys.
More than half of everyone leaving Australia’s capital cities came from Sydney alone: 55%, as of March 2026. Considering what renters are paying in Australia’s most populous city, it’s really not much of a surprise. The same is true of the rest of the big cities
- Sydney: AUD$824/week in rent
- Melbourne: AUD$675/week in rent
- Brisbane: AUD$726.75/week (about AUD$725 to 730/week) in rent
Australians are now stashing away at least 33.4% of their pre-tax income for rent, nationally. The threshold’s 30%, which defines “rental stress.” One can only imagine how “stressed” big-city dwellers are at present.
Not to mention how, on top of that, household budgets are absorbing somewhere around $176 in cost of living, additionally. Higher, once more, than in previous years. And cutting spending’s not doing much to ease the strain on families or businesses.
Regional Property Costs Meaningfully Less
Here are a few examples:
- Aberdeen, NSW Hunter Valley: median house price around $495,000
- Seymour, VIC: median house price around $455,000
- Atherton, QLD: median house price around $466,000
A fraction of what the same budget gets you in Sydney or Melbourne.
What Do Tree Changers Want? (Not Just Rent Prices and Lifestyle)
Australia wasn’t quick to adopt remote work during COVID. But it has been among the strongest to do so since. Remote and hybrid work diminished the need to live near or inside a capital city in order to be as close to offices as possible. A company or site based in Sydney or Melbourne will have employee addresses away from the city centre, or even outside the city border.
Trading Rush Hours For More Grounded Living
Lifestyle is consistently a reason for the migration. Too much traffic. Too much noise. The daily grind and rushing to and fro. So many people and so many things happening all around.
The opposite, which has to do with quality of life and the green, quiet appeal of regional living, along with stronger community ties, is luring more people out of metropolitan hubs.
Cost is usually the most important reason, followed by the pace of everyday living. The latter, the more meaningful, lasting motivation.
Illustration: Tessa’s an owner of a small marketing consultancy in Sydney’s inner west. After 10 years, she’s ready to move their headquarters; rent has doubled in three years. Not just office space, but residential, too. Three of her five staff have asked for hybrid work schedules, since they’ve moved out of Sydney to find cheaper residential spaces.
She scouted around and did the math, finally deciding on Bendigo as their new main operations hub.
Which Australian States Are People Moving To?
Top Regional Migration Hotspots
Once again, the golden rays are on the Sunshine Coast, the coastal region in southeast Queensland. Net migration here has increased, and continues to increase, taking the top spot away from Greater Geelong a year prior. Both remain the two most consistently popular destinations for migration.
But the fastest growth isn’t happening in the places you’d expect:
Queensland’s share of Australians moving from capital cities to regional areas grew from 19% in the June 2024 quarter to 28% in the June 2025 quarter. It’s the second most popular destination behind New South Wales at 32%.
Home prices in regional Western Australia rose, inevitably, and faster than anywhere else in the country:
6.1% higher in just three months.
Movers Are Noticing the Migration, Too
Movers or moving companies are realigning their routes as they anticipate wide regional relocations other than the famous three: Sunshine Coast, Greater Geelong, Lake Macquarie (Regional Australia Institute).
The biggest percentage increases are coming from smaller regional areas like East Pilbara and Albury, which aren’t the places that used to top the list in previous decades.
Direct Channel
Have questions? Drop our team a line anytime.
Is Tree Change Only for Retirees and Baby Boomers? Who Are Tree Changers?
This is the common assumption, and it’s, in fact, a misconception. Here’s what the data shows about who’s relocating out of capital cities in Australia:
Research rebuts the stereotype that migration out of urban hubs is confined to retirees. It’s never been the case, even historically.
What’s the demographic consistently pointed to in terms of the ongoing urban exodus?
Families, and more and more today, millennials:
- Millennials are the single largest cohort moving from capital cities to regional Australia; 59% up from pre-COVID’s %49
- People aged 24-40 are at the head of the tree change movement Australia
Is Tree Change Appealing to Young Australians?
Millennials are now in their late 20s to early 40s, meaning many are buying their first home or raising young children. Some families today are their generation’s first tree-changers and want that change of scenery, culture, and community atmosphere.
Migrants have also been contributing meaningfully to regional population growth. In some regions, migrants account for over 50% of local growth. Between 1996 and 2016, that was just 26%.
“Tree changer” isn’t a synonym for “retiree.” Today’s Australian families, millennials, and migrants are moving to the regions by choice. Some are downsizing, avoiding the high costs of city living. But many long for a lifestyle change, away from the hustle and bustle of the capitals.
What Does the Regional Population Boom Mean for Business Owners and Staffing?
The regional population boom is tagging alongside it a labour problem, and trailing behind that, a housing one.
Regarding the first, here are findings that describe a business environment absorbing population growth without the workforce to match it (COSBOA, CommBank Small Business Perspectives Report):
- 87% of regional small businesses that tried to recruit in the past year had difficulty filling roles (skilled trades and specialist occupations)
- 87% reported rising business expenses
- 18% of businesses expect profit to improve in the year ahead (rising costs)
- Over 50% say the lack of housing is making it harder to hire and keep staff
- 77% reported business-related stress or anxiety in the past year
Are Regional Businesses Still Struggling to Find Staff?
National data answers that with a yes: there’s a worker shortage, and it’s sharper in these very areas. Areas outside the capitals.
Jobs and Skills Australia‘s fill rate figures show regional areas filling open roles at 59.4%, compared to 66.7% in metro areas.
Regional Population Growth and the Economy
The difference between these figures will only grow wider over time. Country areas are feeling the weight more because they can’t simply hire someone from the next suburb or across town like businesses in big cities can.
Regional business owners are dealing with rising local demand, a shrinking pool of available workers, and a housing shortage that affects both new residents and the staff local employers are trying to hire.
What To Do: Split your open roles into two lists. One for work that requires someone on-site in your town. The other, for everything else: admin, bookkeeping, customer service, marketing coordination, and scheduling.
The second list is where you have the most flexibility to hire right now, with offshore market pools turning up with faster responses.
What Should You Weigh Up Before Making the Move?
Think, plan, think again, and re-plan. Here’s what you need to know as you contemplate moving to regional Australia.
Housing Supply
Tight in popular regional destinations. Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Albury, and Wodonga have vacancy rates at an alarming 1%. The notion of affordability isn’t what it is because of simple supply and demand.
The less housing available, the more rents rise.
Internet Connectivity Has Improved, But Not Everywhere
Some areas are catching up. Coverage still differs depending on location. The bright side is that the NBN regional rollout and programs like the Regional Connectivity Program ($370.3 million awarded across 300 projects) are evidence that infrastructure is being supported, though some parts continue to deal with mobile black spots and patchy coverage.
Government Incentive Programs Exist In Some States/Regions
Relocation support exists in a number of regions, like state-based regional business support grants. Check what’s available in the state you’re considering to make sure such programs are still running, or if changes have been made to them.
Income and Client-Base Disruption
Moving your business means developing new connections with new communities. You’ll be adjusting to how people hire, work, how much they charge for work, what the norms are when it comes to business transactions, etc.
How Remote Staff Helps Regional and Tree-Changing Business Owners Build Their Team
The migration concern from cities to the regions is an opportunity. Hiring locally is proving difficult. Hiring from cities is costlier now, because of their own ongoing worker shortages.
Regional business who are ahead of their competitors by miles are hiring offshore professionals through managed providers like Remote Staff.
Remote Staff has been pairing regional Australian SMBs with remote professionals for over 18 years. We’ve been monitoring the worker shortage, as well as population migration, for over a decade. We know where the squeeze is with staffing, and which industries.
With our team’s support, you don’t need to wait months before making a decision on your final hires. We do the vetting and make sure you have candidates who know the role, carry the experience, and are ready to join your team today. Since we value long-term relationships, you’re placed with professionals who’ll grow with your business for the long run.
Even better, as your business expands, we’ll be with you as you continue to bring in new offshore specialists at every new stage of growth.
We’re also here to help you with compliance. Here are articles that talk about Payday Super Rules Guide and Modern Slavery Australia.
FAQs
Why are more Australians leaving cities for regions?
Rising rent and mortgage costs in major cities are the biggest reason. Next is quality of life (slower, quieter pace against capital city rush), and finally, an increase in the adoption of remote and hybrid work.
People also prefer less congestion, more space, and stronger community ties, which aren’t typically found in bigger cities.
Where is the cheapest but nicest place to live in Australia?
If you’re looking for a regional town, Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Orange, and Launceston are the top picks. They offer more affordable homes without giving up everyday conveniences.
If you’d rather stay in a capital city, Adelaide is widely considered Australia’s most affordable. Just remember that “cheaper housing” isn’t everything and is subjective (differing prices per location). Consider job opportunities, healthcare, and other essential services on top of where the cheapest rent is.
Is housing available in regional areas where Australians are moving to?
Not always. This is one of the growing concerns that arrives with an influx of city dwellers into the regions. Vacancy rates below 1% are becoming the norm in several fast-growing towns and non-urban places, including Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Albury, and Wodonga.
Affordability (and quality of life) is drawing Australians out of the metropolitan cities. But the regions aren’t up for the demand, or are only trying to adapt to this new reality. And since demand is high while vacancies are low, rent is higher compared to recent years, though still comparably lower than rent in capital cities.
Does a growing local population translate into more business for existing regional shops and services? How can population change affect business?
Generally, yes, but not automatically, and not for all businesses. Regions with strong population growth, like Geelong, are seeing business numbers rise together with the growing population.
Businesses that are doing better now (in the context of migration) are those that have the staff and capacity to serve the increasing demand. At the same time, only businesses where populations spend locally are the ones reaping the benefits.
How long does relocating a business to a regional area take? How hard is it to move a business?
There’s no fixed timeline. The time it will take and how difficult it will be (or otherwise) depends on how the business operates, along with business size. Service-centred or digital businesses can typically complete the move within a few months; the main work has to do with people, such as client and staff communication.
Such businesses that don’t rely on heavy machinery, physical inventory, or infrastructure are generally faster and easier to move. Businesses with a storefront or that are infrastructure-dependent will take longer.
Related Read: With the surge in regional migration in Australia is a shortage of professionals. Learn about how to outsource Property Management Virtual Assistants.
Business Opportunity in Regional Migration
…but only if you approach it the right way. And that’s “ready.” Ready with staffing, with the capacity to handle the influx, without going above your operating limit.
This relocation is happening, and it’s more than an overflow being absorbed by non-urban areas. It’s a culture and a lifestyle shift, and will continue to be, as cities become too crowded, too loud, too expensive.
Whether you’re a business owner in regional Australia or are moving your business from capital cities, strategy is where it’s at. And staffing the smarter way, when hiring locally is becoming more and more difficult as shortages play out.
Ready your operations with a remote workforce of professionals who can join your team today. Call us or Request a Callback.
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Vaune Everis Cura has always been a writer in the truest sense, drawn to the art both as a personal creative pursuit and as a profession. Her experience penning content across digital marketing spaces and collaborating with business owners and market shapers has broadened her craft to include strategic direction and SEO insight. Having spent years with the InterContinental Hotels Group before stepping boldly into freelancing, she understands that at the centre of it all are genuine, meaningful brand–customer relationships built on purposeful, human content.
