Australian cities are orphans. Responsibilities for management of their economy (in terms of taxation, planning, infrastructure provision, regulation and economic development) fall between all tiers of government. Official statistics tend not to recognise the importance of cities, with economic data often not published at that level, or when published given secondary importance. This is despite the fact that even during the recent mineral exploration boom, Australian cities have provided the bulk of growth in Australia’s economy.

For the past eight years SGS Economics & Planning have produced estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for each major capital city and region across Australia. This is the sixth year the estimates have been published in this format. Our research into understanding the distribution of economic growth has filled a key void in economic policy.

The remainder of this document is set out as follows:

Section One provides a summary of results, comparing the economic outcomes for each region;

Section Two provides a de.tailed discussion of the economic performance of each capital city; and

Section Three provides a detailed description of the methodology.