Sydney is running a "population deficit" with the rest of the country, new census figures show.
The figures for population movement released on Monday show that although Sydney benefited from an enormous inflow of migrants (399,620) in five years leading up to the census, it lost population to every region of the country.
Sydney sent 27,670 locals to Melbourne, many more than the 19,100 Melbourne residents who moved to Sydney.
It sent 21,480 locals to Brisbane, many more than the 15,570 Brisbane residents who moved to Sydney.
It sent 27,166 to regional Queensland, many more than the 19,100 regional Queenslanders who moved to Sydney, and 10,200 to Perth, many more than the 8660 Perth residents who returned to Sydney.
The exodus was particularly pronounced in regional NSW, which benefited from an outflow of 105,060 Sydneysiders, easily surpassing the flow of 62,470 moving from regional NSW to the city.
The picture painted by the Bureau of Statistics is of a city that has become the primary destination for immigrants who displace locals who move to other parts of Australia and other parts of the state.
The census shows a similar phenomenon in Melbourne, which in the five years leading up to the census gained residents from overseas and every region of Australia but one. That region was rural and regional Victoria, which gained 76,210 ex-Melburnians, easily exceeding the 59,220 who moved to Melbourne.
So great were the outflows from Sydney and Melbourne to the rest of NSW and Victoria that those regions became two of the fastest growing in the nation, gaining a net 17,570 and 28,720 new arrivals from the rest of the country.
The other regions to grow at the expense of the rest of the country were Greater Brisbane (25,440), regional Queensland (14,620), Greater Melbourne (10,670) and Greater Perth (5910).
The regions to lose locals to the rest of Australia were Greater Sydney (77,590), Adelaide (9470), regional Western Australia (5480) and regional South Australia (3060).
In The Age and Sydney Morning HeraldCensus 2016: Australians flock to Melbourne as locals head out
Melbourne gained an extra 485,220 residents in the five years to the 2016 census, the overwhelming bulk of them imports from the rest of the country or overseas.
While most came from overseas (365,240), Sydney accounted for 27,670, more than any other Australian city, setting up a flow that was only partly offset by the 19,100 Melburnians who headed north to Sydney.
Brisbane sent 17,000 of its residents to Melbourne, a flow partly offset by the 13,700 Melburnians who moved in the other direction.
The next most important sources of new Melburnians were regional Queensland (16,730), regional NSW (15,350), Perth (14,190) and Adelaide (12,110).
The figures, in the second wave of census data released by the Bureau of Statistics on Monday show that all but one Australian region sent substantially more people to Melbourne than Melbourne sent to it. The exception is regional and rural Victoria, described by the Bureau as "rest of state".
A record 76,210 Melburnians moved to other parts of Victoria in the five years leading up to the census, comfortably more than the 59,220 regional Victorians who moved to Melbourne.
Melbourne was the only significant source of regional Victoria's population growth.
The picture painted by the Bureau is of a city that attracts immigrants and Australians from other states who displace locals who move to other parts of Victoria.
Its a phenomenon long established in NSW where Sydney takes the lion's share of immigrants who displace locals who move to other parts of the state.
In the five years leading up to the census 105,060 Sydneysiders left for regional NSW, more than offsetting the 62,470 regional residents who moved to Sydney.
So great was the outflow from Sydney and Melbourne to regions in the lead-up to the census that regional Victoria and regional NSW became two of the fastest growing regions in the nation, gaining 17,570 and 28,720 net arrivals from the rest of the country.
The other regions to grow at the expense of the rest of the country were Greater Brisbane (25,440), regional Queensland (14,620), Greater Melbourne (10,670) and Greater Perth (5910).
The regions to lose locals to the rest of Australia were Greater Sydney (77,590), Adelaide (9470), regional Western Australia (5480) and regional South Australia (3060).
In The Age and Sydney Morning Herald