The Rural, Regional and Remote Women 2025 Report is now available
For the first time in 2025, the report benchmarks conditions impacting rural, regional and remote women in Queensland, alongside your wants, needs and where you see hope and optimism in the future.
This year we asked close to 500 Queensland women about how the urban rural divide, access to services, mental health, natural disaster and drought, connection and social inclusion impacted you.
The data tells a powerful story: rural women are the backbone of their communities, sustaining them through work, caregiving, and resilience in response to crisis, yet lack the recognition, resources, and services they need to continue making this immeasurable impact long-term.
Thank you for your responses to the 2025 study. Your valuable insight is making a difference to women across the state.
Key data stories
The digital divide and media consumption shift
- Social media (76.75%) is the primary news source, far surpassing traditional media like TV (53.73%) and newspapers (25%).
- Despite high social media use, access to digital resources and internet services is below average, demonstrating a gap between reliance on digital platforms and actual digital accessibility.
Unpaid and volunteer work: The hidden economy
- Close to a quarter (24.02%) engage in both paid and unpaid work, while another 26.33% work entirely unpaid.
Volunteering is widespread: 36.27% contribute at least 10 hours per week. - More than half 50% of women engage in some form of unpaid labor, either fully or alongside paid work.
Mental health and isolation
- While 53.2% feel highly connected to family, only 18.13% feel highly connected to a professional network.
- More than 93% are concerned about mental health issues in their communities.
Hope and future opportunities
- Despite challenges, respondents are hopeful about opportunities for their families and communities.
Family and support networks are key sources of hope. - While official support services are lacking, women rely heavily on family, friends, and informal networks for help.
Natural disasters: Ongoing recovery and resilience
- Supply chain (80.37%), power and communications disruptions (80.4%), live stock loss (80.77%), transport (84.62%) and road infrastructure damage (86%) were the most common impacts from flood, cyclone, fire and drought in the past five years.
- 9.12% experience disaster-related impacts lasting more than five years, affecting long-term stability.
Economic and service inequality
- Access to critical services (affordable energy, childcare, internet and telecommunications technology and health services) is poor.
- Banking and postal services have some of the worst accessibility scores.
About the research
Over time, the study will provide rich data to help decision makers, corporates, local, state and federal governments, not-for-profits and community groups deliver services, investment and resources for rural, regional and remote women and your communities best suited to your needs and wants. It also means we are able to deliver the best service to our members, responsive to what you’re telling us, and make recommendations to government on policies for rural, regional and remote Queensland women.
We’re working to ensure rural, regional and remote women’s voice is heard where it counts. The 2025 report was officially launched at the RRR Women Conference in Rockhampton.
The study is supported with an industry advisory group to validate and test the data and provide a rich layer of insight and expertise.
See where we used the 2025 data
- FY26 State Budget submission
- Queensland Volunteering Inquiry submission
- Media release: New research shows how rural Queensland women recognise economic and service inequality and what impact it has on hope for the future
Participating in the study is rural, regional and remote women’s opportunity to foreground your wants and needs and have your valuable insight, thoughts and perspective make a difference to women like you across the state.
Update your details to see the findings and be the first to know when the 2026 survey opens.
