IN a city apartment block of 100 people, at least 40 residents are dreaming of a life by the beach or in the countryside.

The number of city-dwellers looking to escape the big smoke has doubled in the last 18 months, with two-in-five considering a move, according to a national survey by the Regional Australia Institute.

But despite the surge in interest, progress to boost livability in the regions has stalled.

Improvements in key areas of housing, education, migration and healthcare slowed or declined in the last year, according to an annual review released by the think tank last week.

Country Australia was at the centre of both a population shift and the energy transition, but that change cannot come at any cost, the institute’s chief executive Liz Ritchie said.

“We’ve got this incredible once-in-a-generation opportunity with two simultaneous transformations sitting side-by-side,” Ms Ritchie told AAP.

“If we actually plan this out, put money behind both and do this in a way we’ve never done before, we’re going to re-imagine what our country looks like.”

Real progress required keeping track of policy gaps, she said.

Regional building approvals have fallen by 9.4 percent in the year to May, while rental vacancies dropped from 1.5 percent to 1.3 percent in the year to June, according to the report.

The school attainment rate for regional students dropped almost four percentage points to 67 percent.

While there was some good news in healthcare with an increase in the number of full-time medical practitioners in the bush, the allied health sector was in decline.

The proportion of migrants settling in regions dropped two percentage points to 16.5 percent in 2022-23.

Migration has been a source of policy tension as workers are needed to fill jobs in the regions, at a time when separate research shows 49 percent of Australians believe overseas arrivals are too high.

Ms Ritchie said regional Australia was desperate for more workers and migrants were becoming scapegoats for wider issues.

“We’re missing the point, there’s a big wide country,” she said.

“If we’re clever about this and worked with them, showcased and inspired them… we know they’re prepared to move (to the regions).”

The report is a two-year update on the institute’s ambitions to ensure 11 million people can live well in the regions by 2032.

Many communities were taking the lead on their own futures, including in Glen Innes in northern NSW, where a recruitment and settlement program has helped attract more health workers.

Ms Ritchie said it was an example of a much needed ground-up approach.

“We in regional Australia … want a seat at the table.”

By Stephanie GARDINER, AAP