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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 in 2025

50% 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 3rd 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 7.6 out of 10, on average, making it the 1st most positively experienced attribute of 16.

Benchmarks

Importance
Experience
Australia 2025
50%
7.6
Regional Australia
51%
8.0
Metropolitan Australia
50%
7.4

Local Area

Importance
Experience
Australia
50%
7.6
Adelaide (n = 207)
46%
7.8
Central NSW (n = 198)
31%
7.9
Central QLD (n = 227)
50%
7.4
Central VIC (n = 218)
53%
7.8
Darwin (n = 199)
48%
7.5
Eastern VIC (n = 219)
65%
8.4
Far North Queensland (n = 220)
53%
7.7
Hobart (n = 168)
60%
8.2
Melbourne (n = 456)
52%
7.1
Northern NSW (n = 218)
55%
8.1
Perth (n = 333)
55%
7.8
Regional NT (n = 147)
38%
7.0
Regional SA (n = 144)
54%
7.9
Regional Tas (n = 145)
61%
8.1
Regional WA (n = 220)
59%
8.2
Rest of QLD (n = 37)
57%
8.4
South East Queensland (n = 531)
44%
7.6
Southern NSW (n = 207)
63%
8.7
Sydney (n = 430)
47%
7.4
The ACT (n = 188)
53%
7.8
Western VIC (n = 195)
56%
8.1

Gender

Importance
Experience
Australia
50%
7.6
Male (n = 1709)
49%
7.6
Female (n = 3037)
51%
7.7
Other (n = 39)
59%
7.0

Age

Importance
Experience
Australia
50%
7.6
18 - 34 (n = 593)
53%
7.5
35 - 59 (n = 1681)
52%
7.6
60 + (n = 2302)
47%
7.8

Significantly higher
Significantly lower