The attraction and retention of professionals to regional areas

In recent years there has been a net migration from the regions to coastal and metropolitan Australia. Now the attraction and retention of professionals to regional areas is emerging as a major problem for Australia. This paper reports the results of a study to scope the nature, severity and extent of the problem in Queensland. Representatives of a cross-section of professions from five regions were invited to provide information on the issues within their profession. Issues raised included those relating to the professional’s career, family and income. While some of the issues raised were similar, solutions found to work in one region were not necessarily transferable to another. The qualitative information gathered showed that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. A national approach is needed to develop and adapt solutions that match the needs of each region. Such an approach would extend the work undertaken here to quantify the problem and assess the impacts and service delivery issues by region for each of the professions/services.