Regional population data is updated once a year. Information for June 2020 already shows that border closures have had different effects across NSW, most notably in how the decline in the number of 15 to 29-year-olds unfolded across the state.
The Far West region saw the largest percentage decline - a slight acceleration of an existing trend of decline over the past decade.
The 2.0% decline in 15 to 29-year-olds in Greater Sydney followed 17 consecutive years of growth for this age group.
Not all regions had a decline in the number of young adults. The number of young adults increased by almost 1% in the South East and Tablelands.
But these changes are even more marked when looking at smaller areas.
The decline in the number of young people in metropolitan areas has been driven largely by the drop in overseas migration. In Auburn-North for example, net overseas migration for 15 to24-year-olds fell 60% between 2018–19 and 2019–20.
For regional areas such as Queanbeyan-East, a change to internal migration by young adults has led to fewer people living there, undoubtedly reflecting effects of COVID-19 restrictions. In other regional areas such as Bellingen, internal migration of young people has led to growth in 15 to29-year-olds. This may reflect young people returning home when COVID-19 restrictions hit, or fewer young people leaving those areas.