The state had been experiencing a loss of people aged 15 - 24 however a report released on Friday indicated positive signs about the retention of young people and increased arrivals.

University of Tasmania Institute for the Study of Social Change researcher Dr Lisa Denny said better knowledge of who is moving to Tasmania and why may help the state to continue to appeal to younger cohorts.

Dr Denny said there is currently little knowledge of what is driving the recent change.

“The increased growth rate Tasmania experienced in 2017 appears to have been an anomaly, which risks becoming a once-off if the appropriate infrastructure and services required to cater to a growing population driven by migration are not provided,” Dr Denny said.

Dr Denny said likely drivers of increased migration from interstate include climate, cost of living and congestion pressures in bigger cities and the phenomenon of Tasmanians returning home.

John Austen, 35, who returned to Tasmania this year after spending nine years living in Canberra said it was always his goal to return home.

“I love the Hobart city environment, the water, the proximity of the natural environment as well as the arts and food culture,” Mr Austen said.

“Before moving, I was specifically looking for opportunities to move back,” he said.

Josh Lees, 29, moved from Sydney to Tasmania in search of a better lifestyle and cleaner air.

“For me, Sydney is becoming a bit of a beast at the moment. It’s overpopulated, and the infrastructure isn’t keeping up,” Mr Lees said.

“It feels like Tasmania is one of the last places let as far as Mother Earth is concerned,” he said.

“You can feel it, taste it and touch it in Tasmania, especially in Hobart and there’s not a lot of places you can do that anymore.”

Dr Denny said without hard and detailed data on why people are moving to Tasmania the state is less able to sustain and build on the current momentum, particularly if this population growth impacts on liveability.

“Given the prime minister has charged the state and territory governments to ‘better understand the growth in particular locations’ and ‘impacts of the pressure points’ to inform an enduring national framework for population planning, it is time to start better understanding the drivers of population change in Tasmania”, Dr Denny said.