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Living in Australia community views

Access to the natural environment (e.g. rivers, beaches, forests, parks, green spaces)

Epidemiologists tell us that spending time in the natural environment on a regular basis makes a serious positive contribution to our wellbeing and, by extension our creativity, productivity and a host of other things that make for a good and resilient human. An attribute we want to experience and protect at the same time, one’s ability to 'access the natural environment' is often cited among the most important liveability attributes. Read more about .id's views on the importance of 'access to the natural environment' here.

Access to the natural environment in Australia

Greater Importance & Better Experiences

53% of residents selected ‘Access to the natural environment (e.g. rivers, beaches, forests, parks, green spaces)’ as an important attribute when considering what makes somewhere a good place to live, making it the 2nd most important liveability aspect for Australia residents overall. Residents rated their experience of ‘Access to the natural environment (e.g. rivers, beaches, forests, parks, green spaces)’ in their local area 7.9 out of 10, on average, making it the 1st most positively experienced attribute of 16. In comparison to May 2023, residents of Australia reported better local area experiences for Access to the natural environment.

Benchmarks

Importance
Experience
Australia
53%
7.9
May 2023
52%
7.7
Metropolitan Australia: 2024
51%
7.7
Regional Australia: 2024
59%
8.2

Local areas

Importance
Experience
Australia
53%
7.9
South East Queensland (n = 487)
53%
7.5
Melbourne (n = 367)
48%
7.4
Sydney (n = 377)
48%
7.7
Adelaide (n = 207)
52%
8.0
Darwin (n = 229)
53%
8.1
Hobart (n = 232)
66%
8.3
Perth (n = 327)
59%
8.1
The ACT (n = 302)
53%
7.9
Western VIC (n = 178)
64%
8.7
Northern NSW (n = 169)
61%
8.1
Eastern VIC (n = 286)
65%
8.5
Southern NSW (n = 214)
65%
8.8
Central NSW (n = 284)
43%
7.5
Central VIC (n = 185)
58%
8.0
Central QLD (n = 166)
55%
7.7
Regional SA (n = 113)
63%
8.6
Rest of QLD (n = 31)
45%
8.1
Regional Tas (n = 263)
59%
8.3
Regional WA (n = 317)
62%
8.3
Far North Queensland (n = 208)
68%
8.6
Regional NT (n = 122)
47%
8.2

Gender

Importance
Experience
Australia
53%
7.9
Male (n = 1954)
51%
7.8
Female (n = 2943)
55%
7.9
Other (n = 64)
56%
7.0

Age

Importance
Experience
Australia
53%
7.9
18 - 34 (n = 1035)
57%
7.7
35 - 59 (n = 1810)
53%
7.9
60 + (n = 1992)
51%
8.0

Significantly higher
Significantly lower