Kayla and the great SA exodus: Why South Aussies are moving interstate
Kayla Itsines has joined a growing list of the state’s top talent who are choosing to leave SA. So what’s happening?
SA News
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Should I stay or should I go? It’s a dilemma every successful South Australian is forced to face at some point in their career.
They are either thinking – or being told – that a move interstate or overseas could lead to even bigger and better things.
Our latest SA export is fitness guru Kayla Itsines, who on Thursday told her more than 16m followers on Instagram that she and her young family had “officially” shifted to Queensland.
The announcement had followed speculation by The Advertiser that a move appeared to be imminent.
The Sunshine State is where the 32-year-old and her former partner – and fellow SA expat who now lives in Queensland too – Tobi Pearce, 30, will re-establish and run Sweat, the business they co-founded in 2015.
Sweat became a multimillion-dollar success before they sold it and it suffered a reversal of fortune – reporting an after-tax loss of $10m in the 12 months to the end of May 2023 – that they are planning to turn around.
While Itsines told her fans she had not sold her house in Adelaide and would make regular visits to see family, her story is an example of SA’s “brain drain” to interstate and overseas.
The news that Itsines had decided to make the move came after advanced technology company VAILO’s founder Aaron Hickmann, 32, announced he and his family were also leaving SA for the Sunshine State.
“Taking this step will help us increase our footprint in other states while supporting ongoing research and development in South Australia,” he told The Advertiser.
While VAILO will remain at its soon-to-be finished headquarters at Wayville, Mr Hickmann – a former SA Young Entrepreneur of the Year – and his family are leaving their home in Unley Park to pursue lucrative opportunities in Queensland as it prepares to host the 2032 Olympic Games.
Of course, Itsines, Pearce and Hickmann are not the only ones to have left SA.
In 2017, property developer Con Makris uprooted his company headquarters to Queensland, pinpointing Adelaide’s “small-town” mentality.
There is also the looming possibility that SA may lose Santos, founded here in the mid 1950s; if a merger with Perth-based Woodside Energy were to go ahead, the headquarters would most likely be in Western Australia rather than here.
Acting treasurer Kyam Maher said South Australia was undoubtedly the best place to live, work and play.
“Our regions are second to none and major events like Gather Round, LIV Golf and the VAILO Adelaide 500 are creating such a buzz, while boosting our visitor economy and promoting us to the world,” Mr Maher said.
“Our economy is shooting the lights out. In 2022-23 we recorded the highest growth in Gross State Product of all states, and second highest in the nation. And amongst our many achievements, the Business Council of Australia ranked SA the best place in the country to do business.
“There’s never been a better time to find a job – SA’s unemployment rate remains at near record lows at 3.9 per cent.
“There are now 959,300 people employed in South Australia, 53,000 more than at the time of the state election, in seasonally adjusted terms.
“A pipeline of major infrastructure projects will improve liveability further and create jobs, as will our focus on future industries, from shipbuilding to hydrogen.”
BRUCE DJITE: SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S UNFULFILLED POTENTIAL
Committee for Adelaide’s former chief executive and now Property Council SA executive director Bruce Djite, who was born in the US to African parents, said SA still had “much unfulfilled potential”.
“To keep young talent here the state needs to offer more everyday vibrancy – imagine South Australia during Fringe or Gather Round all year round,” he said.
“We need to deliver more housing diversity and choice by materially increasing supply in all areas, but especially where the best and brightest want to live,
“There also needs to be an abundance of higher paying jobs and exciting careers.”
Mr Djite said while there were “amazing benefits” to travelling and living abroad, young talent should “seriously consider spending significant portions of their careers” in SA.
“The state is on an exciting trajectory with the next 30 years looking much brighter than the past 30 years,” he said.
“It’s imperative that we not only retain but also attract the best and brightest talent if we are to have a legitimate chance on delivering on the state’s exciting future.”
PAUL VASILEFF: WHY ADELAIDE’S IN VOGUE
But not all of our top talent decide to “up and leave”.
A leader in his field, the fashion designer behind Paolo Sebastian couture, silk scarfs and high-end shoes, Paul Vasileff, is a South Australian who has had the world at his feet for years.
The label he founded in 2007 as a teen quickly became a global force, his designs worn by international superstars and royalty such as Kim Kardashian and Zara Tindall.
The eyes of the world were also on him when he dressed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon for a White House state dinner in October.
Vasileff studied at the world-renowned Instituto Europeo di Design in Milan in 2010 and has shown in Paris numerous times.
He could easily have moved overseas to pursue his chosen career early in the piece.
However, the now 33-year-old chose to stay in his home state and build his brand in Adelaide, where he has a premises on Gouger St.
“I’ve been so fortunate to have the most amazing support base of family and friends behind me and I’m such a home body,” Vasileff said, adding: “I’ve always know that Paolo Sebastian would need to be Adelaide based – even if I was told it wouldn’t be possible,
“Being based out of Adelaide has certainly come with its challenges (because we are) a brand with an international sales focus. At times we are so far removed from the rest of the fashion world, in terms of distance.”
Vasileff said the advantages of being based in Adelaide outweighed any negatives.
“We have such a supportive community, a beautiful and clean city filled with amazing friendly people,” he said.
“It’s easy to get around and you have the ability to switch off.
“There are so many skilled and talented people here and they deserve jobs too so that’s why I made it my mission to remain here and to just make it work.”
Proud to be showcasing “what Australian fashion is about and what we are capable of” out of Adelaide, he is also an ambassador for SA in more ways than one; when international clients come to town just to see him, Vasileff has a list of must-visit tourist attractions and hospitality venues at the ready.
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