Sydney Losing 15,000 People Every Year: ABS

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has recently released figures on migration to and from Australian cities. It shows that Sydney is losing as many as 14,900 people every year, while Melbourne and Brisbane had significant gains.

Urban Task Force CEO Chris Johnson believes Sydney's skyrocketing living costs could be behind the mass migration.

"It seems that Sydney's rising housing costs are leading to a steady flow of people out of the city," he said.

"Last financial year according to the ABS, Sydney had a nett loss through internal migration of 14,900 people while Melbourne gained 4,000 people and Brisbane gained 3,500 people."[tweet_box]"The proposed Greater Sydney Commission will need to take some accountability for minimising the flow of people out of the metropolitan area"[/tweet_box]"There is a steady stream of people leaving Sydney with most of these people going to Melbourne or Brisbane. It is important that strategic planning for population growth in NSW understands the nett flow of internal migration. The recently released data from the ABS now gives planners more accurate data on internal migration," Mr Johnson said.

Out of the total loss from Sydney, the ABS figures also include those moving interstate (6,900) as well as those only moving away from the Sydney metropolitan area (8,000).

"The proposed Greater Sydney Commission will need to take some accountability for minimising the flow of people out of the metropolitan area. The main demographic group that moves out of the city is the 25 to 35 year olds who are the very people that a dynamic city needs within its workforce," Mr Johnson said.

"The best way to reverse the outflow of people from Sydney is to increase the supply of new housing through a planning system that encourages growth."