What Australian cities offer the best ‘habitability’ to immigrants?

The study asked Australian residents to identify the best cities in Australia based on eight factors of habitability, which included whether they were welcoming to residents, their potential for business success, how family-friendly they are, value for money, the lifestyles on offer, the potential for well-paying jobs, their overall climate and resident safety.

The results of the survey, which polled 1,002 Australians, found that Melbourne was ranked as the most welcoming city for immigrants, attracting the highest proportion (36 per cent) of votes. Both Sydney and Melbourne took equal first place as the best cities to start a business, attracting 31 per cent of votes. Sydney was ranked as the top city for well-paying jobs, chosen by 40 per cent of respondents, while Melbourne was the top family-friendly city, chosen by 23 per cent of respondents.

When it comes to value for money, Adelaide was voted as being the best-value city, chosen by one in five respondents (20 per cent) as the city where an Australian dollar goes further. It was followed by an 18 per cent vote for Brisbane, 16 per cent for Melbourne, 12 per cent for Perth, 11 per cent for Sydney, an equal 5 per cent for Hobart and Canberra, and 2 per cent for Darwin. Despite Sydney’s high cost of living, it reached fifth place in this ranking, indicating that respondents did not base their vote necessarily on the cheapest places to live but placed consideration on the infrastructure, opportunities, and other factors associated with the monetary value offered in a city.

Brisbane was voted in as having the best lifestyle, according to one-quarter of respondents (24 per cent), just beating out Melbourne for the honour, at 23 per cent of the vote.

Despite Australia’s globally renowned beach culture and lifestyle, the two highest-ranked cities for lifestyle are defined by their city lifestyle and lack of quintessential Aussie beaches. Sydney came in third, taking in 17 per cent of the votes, followed by 15 per cent for Perth, 10 per cent for Adelaide, 6 per cent for Hobart and 3 per cent for both Darwin and Canberra.

Brisbane also took out the top rank for climate, as chosen by 37 per cent of survey respondents.

Hobart was voted as the safest city, chosen by 23 per cent of respondents and beating out the other cities by a significant margin. Melbourne received 15 per cent of the votes, Canberra captured 14 per cent, and Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth nabbed equal votes at 12 per cent. Just 10 per cent of voters classified Sydney as the safest city, while 2 per cent picked Darwin.

Between them, Darwin and Perth did not achieve the number one spot based on any of the key habitability factors.

The study’s results come at a time when the Australian government’s permanent migration program is increasing its intake to 195,000 placements in the 2023 financial year — an increase from 160,000 in the previous financial year.

Immigration to Australia acknowledged that up to 142,400 skilled visa placements are also being approved to improve the productive capacity of the economy and fill skills shortages in the labour market, including in regional Australia. In addition, up to 52,500 partner visas are being approved to reunite people in Australia with family members from overseas.

For investors, it provides brand-new opportunities to secure tenants.