Growing Victoria's potential

The opportunities and challenges of Victoria’s population growth

In this paper, we provide a snapshot of Victoria’s growth and look at how to turn this growth into great outcomes.

We explore:

• how to make the most of Victoria’s regions
• what level of density is right for a growing Melbourne
• how we ensure we have the right infrastructure in place at the right time

Key findings

• In the year to June 2018, Victoria grew by 138,000 people to 6.4 million.
• Most of Victoria’s population growth happens in Melbourne.
• The outlook for the future of regional Victoria’s economy is positive.
• Employment in regional Victoria is expected to increase, especially in industries like healthcare, social assistance, education and training.
• Investment should focus on a region’s strengths and reducing disadvantage, instead of relieving Melbourne's population pressure.
• Melbourne will still be less crowded than other cities, even with population growth in 30 years.
• As the city grows, using higher density living and working can offer more choices and easier access to important infrastructure and services.
• Encouraging growth in established areas, instead of new areas, would save money on infrastructure.
• Encouraging density in areas with good transport and services is more efficient and makes better use of existing infrastructure.