Rural Australia is under increasing social, economic and environmental pressure—and there is a perception of rural Australia struggling to adjust. 

All people have mobility choices, to move towards a community that is attractive; to stay in a community that is attractive relative to the cost of moving elsewhere; or to move away from a community that is unattractive. The critical question is: Who moves; who doesn't; and why? Surprisingly, patterns of mobility are not random. Those who move tend to be younger, to have higher levels of education, and to have traveled overseas more frequently and for longer duration.

Eight small Queensland towns participated in the research and provided both quantitative and qualitative information through interviews, surveys and census data.