And with increasing skill shortages in remote and regional areas, a new study out of Queensland has tried to determine the main factors keeping the migrants in the two major cities.
Earlier this year, the Federal Government flagged a plan for diverting up to 45 per cent of permanent migrants to visas which would force them to spend a number of years in regional areas or smaller states, like South Australia.
The plan raised questions about how the government could force migrants to stay in the regions without running into legal disputes over restricting freedom of movement.
