One year ago, the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) led the development of a holistic framework to better plan for and invest in the growth of regional Australia – the Regionalisation Ambition 2032 (the Ambition).

At its heart, the Ambition seeks to ‘rebalance the nation’ to create a more equitable future for the 9.6 million Australians (and growing!) who live in the regions. The Ambition was co-designed and is co-owned by the RAI’s members and the people of regional Australia. A year on, the coalition of support for the Ambition consists of stakeholders across government, industry, community and not-for-profits.

Spanning five pillars, the Ambition is underpinned by 20 targets addressing fundamental aspects of regional living. If achieved, these targets will improve the lives of regional Australians for generations to come and, importantly, create a better Australia. Far from a set and forget plan, the Ambition is dynamic and evolving to meet the needs of our times.

To keep the nation accountable, the RAI is committed to reporting annually on the progress against the 20 targets. This is the first Regionalisation Ambition progress report. The report looks at progress made towards the Ambition’s targets and importantly showcases the great work policy-makers, corporate leaders and championing communities are delivering to shift the targets in the right direction.