One in 10 Australians live in communities of less than 10,000 people.79 Located across Australia, these areas have small populations and often low or declining growth rates.
In 2016, there were:
• 88 small towns with a population of between 5,000 and 10,000 people
• 526 small towns with 1,000 to 5,000 people
• more than 1,000 rural communities with a population of less than 1,000 people.80
Small Towns, Rural Communities and Remote Areas can be close to major regional and metropolitan centres, acting as commuter and feeder communities to larger centres and enjoying relatively high levels of infrastructure and services.
Conversely, some remote communities are hundreds of kilometres from the nearest regional centre, with limited access to everyday infrastructure that delivers potable water, reliable telecommunications and choice in transport.
Some Small Towns have a declining population.
They face the challenge of maintaining existing infrastructure assets with a dwindling financial capacity to do so. Others have a static population but need to renew and maintain legacy infrastructure.