"The numbers coming from metropolitan Melbourne have never been huge in Bendigo, but they tend to be enough for the growth rate to be around 1 to 1.5 per cent," he said.

"Some of that is natural growth, a lot is due to internal migration and some international migration, accounting for about 1000 extra people per year."

Dr Byrne's remarks come following data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that showed 8000 people left Greater Melbourne in the June quarter, compared to 2200 in the previous quarter.

Movement from Melbourne to regional Victoria almost doubled, as about 3000 more people migrated to the regions in June.

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A La Trobe University statistician, Dr Byrne said the latest figures are a watershed movement for internal migration and can be attributed to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I wouldn't expect the numbers to stay that way," Dr Byrne said.

"The shock of the coronavirus pandemic is going to have after effects.

"People may not be willing to go back to Melbourne until they are certain they won't be locked down again.

"I wouldn't think it will be until the end of next year or 2022, before people are confident."

The June quarter net migration loss from Melbourne was the largest on record.

The impact of tertiary education closures could explain some of the unprecedented migration trend, Dr Byrne said.

"Education and employment are the main drivers of these new migrations to the regions," he said.

"About five per cent of university students Australia wide go to a metropolitan campus, but have their home address in a regional centre.

"When you add in people employed in Melbourne but living in the regions, those two groups together can account for the changes we have seen."

In net terms, Victoria only gained 100 people from Western Australia and lost 2100 people to Queensland.

A net loss of people to NSW was recorded for the first time since June 1997.

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Dr Byrne said migration typically takes weeks and months to facilitate, with June's figures perhaps not the peak of Melbourne's population spilling into the regions.

"Moving to the regions is also age dependent," he said.

"There is typically an outflow of 15 to 25 year olds from the regions seeking opportunities in employment and education.

"As people get older, there tends to be a smaller inflow of people."

In the early 2000s, that inflow stemmed mainly from north western Victoria, Dr Byrne said.

The complete ABS dataset can be found here.