With Australia's population reaching 25-million, and 87 per cent of skilled migrants choosing to settle in Melbourne and Sydney, the government says it wants to spread new arrivals across the country.
Speaking from Melbourne, Citizenship Minister Alan Tudge says many regional areas and some states, such as South Australia, desperately want workers.
"They simply can't get people to do the work. The Warrnambool shire president for example spoke to me earlier and said they have got 1,000 vacancies. That is how many workers they want just down in Warrnambool, just a few hours from here."
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been in discussion with the government about occupations that should be available to regional employers wishing to sponsor skilled migrants.
Its Chief Executive, James Pearson, says regional employers are finding it harder to fill vacancies due to cuts in the number of occupations listed for visas.
"One example of where we are struggling is in the tourism sector. Now tourism covers a lot of different occupations. In a world where we know that attracting the tourism dollar is becoming more and more important it's a real pity."
C-E-O of the Settlement Council of Australia, Nick Tebbey, says rural and regional Australia offers a wealth of opportunities for migrants.
"The ability to be closer to the land. Potentially more affordable housing stock. And for a lot of people the idea of being part of a small, close-knit community is really attractive."
But he says migrants aren't being informed of what is on offer outside the big cities.
"We are not doing enough to market that the opportunities are in fact there. And that is why most migrants know about Sydney and Melbourne and tend to gravitate towards the bigger cities."
For months the federal government has been building a case to impose much stricter conditions on skilled visa-holders, referring often to a desire to force people to spend far more time in regional centres.
Mr Tebbey is reluctant to suggest tighter visa conditions are the answer.
He believes that with proper support and a commitment to improving infrastructure, transport and economic opportunities, the government can ensure the retention of migrants in regional locations.
"If we start talking about imposing stricter conditions on a broader class of migrants, it becomes a dangerous and difficult prospect. Certainly in Australia freedom of movement is a crucial part of our society and we wouldn't want to be necessarily restricting that."
The Regional Australia Institute is pleased the federal government is looking at the issue.
Its Chief Executive, Jack Archer, wants workforce shortages in rural areas to be made a priority for skilled migration.
"Currently the migration system doesn't do a good job of prioritising the workforce shortages in these rural areas. It tends to respond better to the workforce shortages that are identified in our larger cities."
He says the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa has been used by migrants who want to settle in the bigger cities as a means to enter Australia.
He says the country needs to get better at identifying skilled migrants who want to make the regions their home long-term.
"They may be refugees. They may be people from the Philippines. People from lots of countries overseas have a rural background, are interested in rural industries and want to live in those sort of places. And we are not doing a very good job at targeting those people at the moment."
Jack Archer says changes to the migration system should include activating local communities so they are part of helping migrants settle and integrate.
He believes that would help migrants lay down roots outside the cities.
