Wellbeing, resilience and liveability can be very different in Australia’s most remote areas compared to the rest of the country. Living remotely has both challenges and benefits – everything from unique opportunities to spend time in unique landscapes and country, to the challenges of long distances to services. In 2020, we’re taking a closer look at this with the support of funding from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and the committees who advise the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum.

The Lake Eyre Basin covers almost one-sixth of Australia, with parts in the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Australia. As of 2016, its total population was 49,435 – meaning that 0.21% of Australia’s population of 23.4 million live in the Lake Eyre Basin. Of these, a little under half (23,728) live in Alice Springs.

In 2020, people living in the Lake Eyre Basin can expect to see letters inviting them to do the survey landing in their letterboxes, and newsletters and emails encouraging them to take part in the survey.

This is part of our broader efforts to encourage people living in remote parts of Australia – of which the Lake Eyre Basin is a major part – to take part in the Regional Wellbeing Survey. The 2020 survey asks a number of questions focused specifically on issues often raised by those living in more remote parts of Australia, including:

• The challenge of social connection when many residents live in remote regions for only a short time
• Long distances to services
• Opportunities for connection to nature
• Physical isolation
• Social opportunities.

We’re looking forward to producing data and report that specifically examine the Lake Eyre Basin, as well as understanding more about what’s important to wellbeing, resilience and liveability in remote areas of Australia more generally.