Regional Australia Institute report flags barriers to future growth

It also found students in regional areas were closing the gap on educational outcomes with their peers in major cities.

But bottlenecks remain with acute workforce shortages, a drop in building approvals and unsatisfactory access to public transport.

The report found that, overall, "we have moved the dial in the right direction on measures around education, digital inclusion, overseas migration and wellbeing," RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said.

"Today should be seen as a day to acknowledge the accomplishments of the past year," she said.

This progress had begun to "rebalance the nation", Ms Ritchie said.

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Around 9.6 million Australians are settled in regional areas which have seen a steady flow of migration, even during the typical mid-year slump.

Country migration was up by an average of 16 per cent compared to 2018 and 2019 levels.

But ongoing worker and housing shortages were Australia's "Achille's heel", Ms Ritchie said.

Rental vacancies in regional areas was higher than in capital cities with 1.5 per cent of regional houses available compared to 1.1 per cent.

Building approvals had declined significantly in some states. Western Australia had an average monthly approvals drop of 41.4 per cent.

Advertised jobs in regional Australia increased by 2.7 per cent on the previous year.

"The past 12 months haven't been easy, with rising inflation and interest rates. For regional Australia to have made the gains it has in the last year is commendable," Ms Ritchie said.

"We should celebrate the first steps we've taken in this decade-long plan to create a regional Australia that's more prosperous, inclusive, and balanced," she said.

RAI will present the Regionalisation Ambition 2032 Progress Report on September 13 at the Regions Rising National Summit- Shifting our Gaze in Canberra.