Regional Queensland is a popular destination amongst students and the state boasts benefits of stunning beaches, a relaxed way of life and a deeper sense of community. Universities and school class sizes are smaller in the towns of regional Queensland, and students benefit from individual attention and building a strong support network from the friends and industry connections they make. Many institutions have focused industry placements to prepare students to be job ready upon graduation.

And what’s more, the Australian government has announced recent changes to visas to encourage skilled migrants to regional areas to boost the economy and help fill the skill shortage gap. So, moving to a regional area is the ideal way to go if you’re planning on applying for a permanent residency. Read on to get some tips about regional Queensland, as well as courses available and potential places you could travel to.

Keen to experience a strong quality of life?

The cost of living is lower than big cities, particularly the cost of renting/buying a place. There is evidence to show that people moving to regional areas are in favour of having the same quality of life at a much more affordable cost. And with a lower cost of living, you can benefit from creating a lifestyle of doing the things you love to do, more often.

Be connected to your local community.

The sense of community is stronger in regional areas. Become involved in community groups and clubs as people are friendly and keen to involve other like-minded people. Communities are close knit and people make an active effort to involve others. You can deepen your understanding of the Australian culture and people and become more involved in sports, arts and events in your local community.

Make your friends envious with awe inspiring weekends away

Unwind and truly relax on weekends away in beautiful, remote Queensland beaches. Queensland is home to Australia’s most stunning beaches; you can be sure to make friends a little jealous with spectacular beach shots. From Gold Coast to Far North Queensland, you will be spoilt for choice with many untouched beaches to discover and explore.

Like to be active in everyday life?

Queensland is the place to pick up surfing, swimming, snorkelling or diving. Due to pretty fantastic weather all year around, people are naturally more active, out and about in everyday life. It’s hard not to be outside when southern Queensland has an average high of 28 degrees and low daily average of 20 degrees in summer months.

Benefit from additional visa points

Are you up to date with visa changes? Visas 491 and 494 are the provisional visas that will replace the visa 489 and 187. Consider living in a designated regional area for 5 years. After 3 years of living and working in the area, you'll be eligible to apply for permanent residency. The Australian government is aiming to boost economy in regional areas and to ensure that specialist skills found in metro cities are also in regional areas. If you're planning to apply for permanent residency, living in regional Queensland is a fantastic way to go.

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Where to study in Queensland?

1) Sunshine Coast

Experience an amazing quality of life, on the sunny Sunshine Coast. If you like the feel of the sun on your skin, be close to the beach, life on Sunshine Coast will feel like a paradise for you. The University of Sunshine Coast is a popular university, with courses in Business, Communication, Education, Science, and Nursing just to name a few. USC has campuses across Queensland including Gympie, Fraser Coast, Caboolture and Moreton Bay. USC has a strong focus on health research with their Centre for Healthy Activities, Sport and Exercise (CHASE), which undertakes research on preventative health, rehabilitation and sports performance. Study to become an enrolled Nurse in Australia by studying a Bachelor of Nursing Science. USC’s strong selling points are their focus on industry with 800 hours of nursing placement experience and understanding about cultural differences in healthcare. The Bachelor of Nursing Science degree combines soft skills of communication with practical theory and knowledge with subjects like Anatomy and Physiology. Want to kick start your study plans in 2020? Speak to your local IDP counsellor today.

2) Toowoomba

Toowoomba is 90 minutes from Brisbane and home to 160,000 inhabitants. It is famous for gardens and parks; with many great spots to take a picnic including Japanese style gardens. It’s a great place for markets - Farmers and other interesting bric a brac markets. Whilst Toowoomba is a smaller town, it has all the charm of a bigger city with good coffee places and cafes to suit big city foodies. The laneway trend of great coffee places is also present in Toowoomba with the opening of cafes like Ground up Expresso Study in Toowoomba at the University of Southern Queensland and benefit from small class sizes and individual attention. There is the option to live on campus and become more involved in extra activities offered by the university. Study Education at the University of Southern Queensland and find the teaching specialisation that best suits you, from Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, STEM, TESOL, Early Childhood, Education Leadership to Online learning. Study at USQ and benefit from 110 days of professional experience in different locations including rural settings.

3) Rockhampton

CQ University has many locations in Australia including 2 campuses in Rockhampton, where you can study Diploma, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and master's degrees in choosing the Bachelor of Business or Accounting degree, you can choose from majors in financial planning, Marketing, Property and Social innovation. Upon completing the Bachelor of Business/Accounting possible career outcomes could be in human resource management, taxation, banking, auditing or financial planning. Study Diploma of Hospitality Managemen and benefit from the practical experience of CQU’s on campus training kitchen, Wilby’s restaurant. Upon completing the diploma, you could work as a tour operator, events planner, restaurant manager or hotel manager. Keen to know more about hospitality courses? Find the course best suited to you.

4) Townsville

Study with James Cook university (JCU) and benefit from small class sizes helping you to reach your potential academically and make meaningful friendships. JCU has a strong focus on industry, placing 5,000 students each year in Education Queensland, Queensland Health or the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority. This program ensures that students are job ready at the time of graduation. Study Nursing and Mid-Wifery and benefit from practical placements in a diverse range of rural settings, where you will develop understanding for indigenous health working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The Bachelor of Nursing is a 3-year program, studying on campus, whilst the Master of Nursing is a 24-month course part time and is available online. There are 3 areas of specialisation, Leadership and Management, enabling you to take on a Managerial Nursing role, Advanced practise; delivering specialised patient care or Education; whereby you would be skilled to educate others in a clinical or non-clinical environment. Study Marine Science and benefit from real-life experiments and research trips to the Great Barrier Reef and the JCU Orpheus Island Field Station. Use State-of-the-art-technology and learn how to make sense of big data and how to maintain fishing and aquaculture industries. If you’re interested in studying in Australia, and need some assistance, call us on 1800 664 700 speak directly with an IDP counsellor who can help you plan the next steps in your study plans. We can help you find the ideal course in Australia, and best of all, our services are free of charge.