Australia’s social and cultural diversity are enhanced by desert and remote communities that provide unique opportunities and experiences unlike any other in Western countries today. To fully appreciate and understand what remote communities bring to Australia, we need to improve our demographic resources. The objective of this presentation is to explore the possibilities of demographic data collection and residential mobility of people and the implications of these for the sustainability of remote Indigenous communities. We will draw on research previously conducted in New Zealand and new research planned in remote South Australian communities to explore population shifts and community mobility.