The state that Australians are fleeing in droves –  with many heading in the same direction

Australians are leaving NSW by the tens of thousands, with many heading for sunnier skies and warmer climates in Queensland, new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed.

A net of 30,000 people fled NSW in the 12 months to March 31 this year, while just over 31,000 people streamed into the Sunshine State via interstate in the same period.

At the same time, Victoria (-5644), Tasmania (-1994), Northern Territory (-2745) and ACT (-1752) also experienced negative interstate migration.

However, NSW experienced a net population increase of 156,000 people over the same period, with the boost coming from foreign immigration.

The state had a positive “natural” population increase of 33,000 – of 96,000 births and 63,000 deaths.

At the same time, it welcomed 234,010 overseas arrivals, while another 80,000 headed abroad.

NSW experienced a population growth of 1.9 per cent over the twelve-month period, with all states experiencing a net increase.

Western Australia (2.8 percent) experienced the largest population growth, followed by Victoria (2.4 percent), Queensland (2.3 percent) and the ACT (2 percent).

At the same time, Australia’s total population grew by 2.2 percent (563,000) to 26.5 million inhabitants.

“Thirteen months after international borders reopened, net overseas migration accounted for 81 percent of growth, adding 454,400 people to the population in the year to March 2023,” ABS head of demography Beidar Cho said.

A net of 30,000 people fled NSW in the 12 months to March 31 this year, while more than 31,000 people moved interstate to Queensland

NSW experienced a net population growth of 156,000 people over the same period, with the boost coming from overseas immigration

Just over 680,000 overseas migrants arrived in Australia over the period – a 103 per cent increase on the previous year – while at the same time 226,000 overseas migrants departed.

“This pattern, particularly the low number of student departures, is a catch-up effect following closed international borders, as international students return with only a small number of student departures as very few students arrived during the pandemic,” the ABS said.

‘It is expected that this effect will be temporary, as the number of departures will increase in the future as temporary students will leave in the usual numbers.’