Central and Far West

The Central West SA4 consists of a few regional centres, those being Orange, Bathurst, Mudgee & Lithgow. Other areas are growing at a relatively slow pace or staying at similar levels in population over the forecast period. Primary focus is on Orange and Bathurst, as these areas are providing the bulk of development within this SA4. The SA4’s ERP at the start of the forecast period is 213,471 and reaches 246,327 at the end of the forecast period.

Bathurst takes up about 4 SA2s, with two SA2s containing growth fronts. The East has the Laffing Waters precinct field with new greenfield development and infill in established greenfield areas. Whilst Bathurst – West SA2 has established residential areas with the Eglinton expansion. Orange on the other hand, consists of 3 SA4s. There are growth corridors in Orange – North SA2 and a small portion within Orange and Orange Surrounds SA2. There are a few growth fronts seen with Mudgee and its western surrounds.

For other portions within the SA4 such as Forbes, Grenfell or Cowra, all receive a small amount of growth.

The Far West and Orana SA4 is a tale of two regions - Dubbo, and everywhere else. As a whole, this is the only SA4 within NSW that sees a gradual population decline in the latter half of the forecast period going from a population of 117,178 in 2021 to 116,806 by 2046. 

Dubbo itself comprises four SA2s: Dubbo - East, Dubbo - South, and Dubbo - West. Growth is mainly concentrated in Dubbo - South and Dubbo - West, with significant greenfield growth in these corridors to continue throughout the forecast. We also see densification occurring in the Dubbo CBD with apartment developments under construction and more in the pipeline. We see the population in these three SA2s grow from 41,014 in 2026 to 48,125 by 2046. 

Outside of Dubbo there are almost no active development fronts, with some smaller-scale development happening in Wellington, Narromine, and Gilgandra. All SA2s outside of the three in Dubbo see a population decline over the forecast period. Most notably we see the Broken Hill SA2 continuing its historical rate of decline going from 17,661 people in 2021 down to 16,520 by 2046. 

We set the context for our local area forecasts with a presentation of our state- and regional-level forecasts for New South Wales.

Access the presentation slides (including our forecast data for each region), and a short recap or the full webinar presentation on-demand. Learn what's driving change and how much growth will go to each region of the state over the 25 years to 2046.

The population forecast for New South Wales

The following forecast information presents the numbers for the Central and Far West region.

Learn more about the different options to access these forecasts for Local Government Areas (LGAs), suburbs, custom catchments or the entire state or nation here.