Decentralising Growth: Why Regional Australia Must Be Part of the Nation’s Future
Australian Prosperity Institute Editorial
Jesse J. Fleay, Editor-in-Chief, Research and Policy
Ethan Urch, Director, Media and Strategy
Australia will not solve its housing pressures, stagnant wages—nor energy costs—by stacking more people into the same postcodes. A fairer, smarter, stronger country spreads opportunities and services more broadly.
The plain problem
In Australia, most social and economic growth is squeezed into a few capital-city corridors. That drives up housing costs and rent, commute times—and strains hospitals and schools—pricing out young families. Meanwhile, many regional centres have room to grow but lack the last-mile ingredients—housing, transport frequency, specialist care, and reliable digital and energy infrastructure. The result: demand up where supply can’t keep pace; capacity idle where people would move if basics were in place.
The opportunity—if we design it
A balanced map makes the whole nation more resilient. Regions can host renewable-energy zones, advanced manufacturing, agritech, care work, and tourism. First Nations consultants, partners, and contractors will have significant opportunities to shape local, state, and federal planning to better suit the needs of all Australia’s lands, peoples, and cultures. If governments and businesses pair jobs with homes, services, and fast links to cities, the level of economic wealth and opportunities in Australia can increase. Done well, decentralisation lowers household costs, cuts congestion, and builds shock-absorbing capacity across the country.
What it takes to decentralise Australia
Decentralisation is not only possible, it is critically relevant if Australia is to prosper. While a national conversation is necessary to progress with decentralisation—as it requires dedicated community, business, and government partnerships—the Australian Prosperity Institute has identified five critical steps to make a start.
Homes with services, not just lots on a map: we believe that we can link new housing to guaranteed baselines: a clinic, a primary school, childcare providers, frequent transport, sustainable water, and digital capacities. For new areas, or for areas that are developing, these should be funded and scheduled up front.
Fast, reliable connections: Intercity rail and coach frequencies can synchronise to working hours. Governments increasingly need to build capacity in addressing the state of Australia’s roads, air links, and other transportation demands.
Energy and industry anchors: Renewable energy and its storage capacities must meet new or updated infrastructure, with local job pathways. Governments must begin to prepare industrial precincts, support small manufacturers, and prioritise networks which link ports to rail.
People pipelines: TAFE and university placements must align to regional skill gaps. Remunerated placements represent fair pay for fair work, and skilled migration must be met genuinely with a fair level of housing and services for new Australians.
Fair relocation settings: The Australian Prosperity Institute concludes that modest, time-bound incentives; such as stamp-duty relief, rent support, and moving grants; must be linked to actual settlement and available work. Without a series of federal, state, and local government plans, these incentives will not achieve a measured decentralisation of Australia’s population.
Commitments and game-changers
Regional Compacts: For each growth hub, a signed plan between federal, state, and local governments is critical. Those serious about decentralisation at the planning and implementation levels must be transparent and accountable for setbacks, deadlocks, and challenges on the road to Australia’s prosperity.
Sequenced Approvals: Housing approvals may only achieve results when service benchmarks are funded. Australia’s classrooms, clinics, hospitals, and other services can meet patient and client demands if they are well connected through transport networks, including safe roads, trams, trains, and buses.
One-Stop Delivery Units: Small, empowered teams can cut red tape for housing, grid upgrades, and industrial tenants, which must have Commonwealth-level tracking and accountability.
Procurement that locals can win: Breaking large contracts into contestable packages requires honest apprenticeships and training incentives, to up-skill local talent and interest in local supply provision. Every tier of government in Australia must commit to a local jobs and contracting network, with fair, merit-based competitive contracts.
The bottom line
Australia’s prosperity will not be built by deepening the divide between its capitals and its regions, but by connecting them. Decentralisation is not a nostalgic ideal, it is a modern economic necessity. If we align homes with services, jobs with infrastructure, and planning with accountability, we can expand the national economy without inflating costs or eroding quality of life.
The evidence is clear: regions are ready to grow, but governments and industry must deliver the missing pieces. Housing, transport, energy, education, and healthcare are stronger when they are planned and maintained together, rather than carried out in isolation. Each dollar invested in a balanced national map returns social and economic dividends many times over, while reducing pressure on overstretched capitals.
The Australian Prosperity Institute calls for an Australia where prosperity is distributed—not concentrated—and where regional ambition is matched with effective national coordination. The challenge is not whether we can decentralise, but whether we will do so with purpose and partnership. An Australia which invests only in its capitals has a limited future. An Australia that builds its regions builds resilience, productivity—and promise—for every Australian, in every postcode.
