New figures show young Australians are making the move up north to the sunshine state in incredible numbers.

Queensland had its highest net gain since 2004, with 30,000 moving here from interstate.

Demographer Bernard Salt predicted it a lifestyle shift.

“In fact this is something that has been in train for quite some time,” he told Scott Emerson.

“The southerners … have in fact always had a preference for moving up the eastern seaboard to south-east Queensland.

“The shift over the last 12 months shows something else is driving this, this isn’t just retirees moving north.”

He said the data shows younger Australians are making a different choice.

“When you look at the numbers that were released yesterday, it’s 25-45 year-olds, these are young people, with a job, with kids, with work skills who will want to buy a house, want to put their kids into schools.

“This is a different demographic surging north and complementing the retiree traffic.”

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