Balanced growth in our regions ...

Sustainable Australia

Australia is a diverse country. Over eight million people live outside our major capital cities. Some regional areas are struggling with pressure on their existing infrastructure, while others are having difficulty attracting enough workers with the right skills.

Investments in regional Australia

The Government is investing $4.3 billion in regional hospitals, health care, universities and roads outside the big capitals to lift living standards, provide the best services and help communities reach their potential.

These investments will improve the liveability of regional cities and towns, making our regions

more attractive places to live, work and raise a family. The NBN will connect our regions with the cities at the same wholesale price for comparable products Australia‑wide.

The Government is introducing a number of new initiatives to encourage increased skilled migration to regional areas, including specifying for the first time 16,000 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme places, fast‑tracking permanent residency for 457 visa holders who have spent two years in regional Australia, introducing Regional Migration Agreements and providing priority processing for regional visa categories.

The Budget provides new funding to support the sustainability of growing regional centres including:

• $29 million to improve strategic planning for regional and coastal high growth centres, reducing red tape for businesses and provide certainty for investment;
• $11 million to support regional cities to promote the benefits and opportunities of living and working there; and
• $10 million to develop a set of sustainability indicators to help improve decision making as it relates to sustainability issues.