5 February 2024

'Make the Move' campaign to entice essential workers to regional areas

| Jarryd Rowley
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A new campaign has been launched by the NSW Government.

Chris Minns and the State Labor Government have announced a campaign that they hope attracts essential workers to rural areas. Photo: Chris Roe.

The NSW Government has launched a campaign that encourages essential workers to relocate to regional NSW.

The ‘Make the Move’ campaign will tell the positive stories of nurses, police, teachers, firefighters and midwives who have made the transition from metropolitan areas to regional areas.

The campaign follows the government’s promise to boost essential staff in these locations.

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The Make the Move campaign captures the everyday experiences and benefits that regional living can provide, such as swapping long city commutes for more time walking the dog, taking a dip before dinner, or coaching a junior sporting team. These stories will be shared over the next few months on radio, in print, on digital and social media channels and at bus shelters.

The campaign hopes to encourage essential workers living in Sydney to consider a move to regional NSW to help boost the local workforce to ensure communities have the best services and care possible.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the government was serious about ensuring people in regional NSW had access to quality critical services and stated that a robust workforce was a pivotal way of ensuring that.

“Regional NSW has so much to offer, and this campaign aims to show essential workers the opportunities and benefits that become available when they make the switch from the city.

“Moving to a new place can be daunting, but this campaign is part of a broader program that is helping essential workers relocate to the regions with practical support to help them settle into their new communities.”

Part of the Essential Worker Attraction Program, the Make the Move campaign is among a suite of NSW Government initiatives aimed at encouraging essential workers to move to the regions, such as The Welcome Experience, which provides essential workers and their families with practical and tailored support to help them relocate and connect with their new communities.

Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said the ‘Make the Move’ campaign showed there was much more to living in regional NSW than fresh air, easy commutes and wide-open spaces.

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“There are great cafes and restaurants to explore, art and cultural events to enjoy and sporting clubs ready to roll out the welcome mat,” she said.

“Make the Move shares the experiences of those who have already taken the leap and found the change has given them more time to do the things they are passionate about, as well as the opportunity to have a big backyard and raise a family within a close-knit community.

“With more than a third of the state’s population living in regional NSW, boosting the workforce to ensure regional communities have better access to quality services is really important.”

The campaign follows the NSW Government’s announcement this week that rural health worker recruitment and retention have surged by a fifth in the past six months after the government doubled the support available under the Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme from $10,000 to $20,000.

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