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Country Resource - Australia
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Australia

AU
  • Population....................................................................25,466,459 (July 2020 est.)
  • Population growth rate .................................................................1.4% (2020 est.)
  • Birth rate..................................................12.4 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)
  • Death rate.................................................6.9 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.)
  • Net migration rate...............................8.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.)
  • Ethnic groups.......English 25.9%, Australian 25.4%, Irish 7.5%, Scottish 6.4%, Italian 3.3%, German 3.2%, Chinese 3.1%, Indian 1.4%, Greek 1.4%, Dutch 1.2%, other 15.8% (includes Australian aboriginal .5%), unspecified 5.4%. Data represents self-identified ancestry, over a third of respondents reported two ancestries (2011 est.)

CIA World Factbook

AustraliaChineseLanterns JonathanODonnell Flickr
Profile
February 15, 2018

Australia: A Welcoming Destination for Some

Immigration has driven economic and social development in Australia for more than two centuries. Even as more than one-fourth of the country’s population is foreign born and Australia ranks third among top refugee resettlement countries worldwide, controversy surrounding its hardline treatment of asylum seekers arriving by boat has cast a shadow on its reputation as a welcoming country, as this article explores.

Recent Activity

AfghanMotherChildUNHCR MathiasDepardon
Top Ten
December 18, 2018
Children on the Frontlines

Hardline migration and asylum policies in the United States and Australia in 2018 hit turbulence when their effects on the most vulnerable—young children—provoked widespread public revulsion and prompted a retreat, at least temporarily. Still, public outcry over the treatment of child migrants and asylum seekers often runs up against the intractability of the problems facing governments and the lack of good solutions.

AustraliaChineseLanterns JonathanODonnell Flickr
Profile
February 15, 2018
Australia: A Welcoming Destination for Some

Immigration has driven economic and social development in Australia for more than two centuries. Even as more than one-fourth of the country’s population is foreign born and Australia ranks third among top refugee resettlement countries worldwide, controversy surrounding its hardline treatment of asylum seekers arriving by boat has cast a shadow on its reputation as a welcoming country, as this article explores.

Nauru NWright UNHCR
Feature
September 21, 2016
The Australia-Cambodia Refugee Relocation Agreement Is Unique, But Does Little to Improve Protection

Two years on, the Australia-Cambodia refugee relocation agreement—the first of its kind involving a traditional resettlement country relocating refugees to a country with no resettlement track record—has proven to be underwhelming in its outcomes. Only five refugees have been voluntarily relocated under the deal, of whom just one remains in Cambodia. This article explores where the deal went wrong and what lies ahead for Australia’s detained asylum seekers.

Cover Top10 5Citizenship
Top Ten
December 14, 2015
Governments Increasingly Restrict Citizenship

Citizenship came under fire in new ways around the world in 2015, with attempts to both restrict who is eligible to become a citizen and who can be deprived of citizenship. Driven by fears of international terrorism, a number of countries proposed or passed legislation making it easier to narrow citizenship and broadening the range of offenses for which individuals can be stripped of their citizenship.

Cover Top10 10InvestorVisas
Top Ten
December 7, 2015
Shine Wears Off Investor Visa Programs as Questions about Economic Benefits and Fraud Lead to Reforms

A number of countries in 2015 redesigned their immigrant investor visa programs in response to questions about their economic benefits or allegations of fraud. The reforms have in some cases made such programs far more costly and encouraged investment in higher-risk assets. Applications for such visas have fallen signficantly in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as policymakers may have overestimated demand.

Cover Top10 3Borders UNHCR
Top Ten
December 18, 2014
Border Controls under Challenge: A New Chapter Opens

In 2014 governments in Europe, North America, and Australia reacted to significant mixed flows of humanitarian, economic, and family-stream migrants with a range of new policies. These came as some migrants presented themselves to authorities for processing rather than trying to evade U.S. or European border controls, with the knowledge that backlogs and little political will for the removal of vulnerable populations might allow them to stay for extended periods.

Top Ten
December 1, 2012
Major Immigration Countries Take a Crack at Addressing Thorny Issue of Immigrant Detention

The U.S. and Australian governments have long grappled with unwanted entries by unauthorized migrants and would-be asylum seekers. Both nations undertook efforts in 2012 to reform immigration detention policies and procedures that have generated significant scrutiny and criticism.

Feature
July 11, 2012
Australia's Boat People: Asylum Challenges and Two Decades of Policy Experimentation

For two decades, Australia has experimented with different asylum policies in response to an increase in refugees and asylum seekers entering the country. A look at the country's challenges in managing a hotly contested political and public debate.

Feature
June 13, 2012
Visas for Entrepreneurs: How Countries Are Seeking Out Immigrant Job Creators

For economic and political reasons, more governments are turning to visas to admit select groups of highly skilled immigrants (especially in high-tech and high-growth fields) to their countries to boost entrepreneurship and enhance job creation. A look at the challenges, opportunities, and increasing popularity of these entrepreneur visa programs.

Top Ten
December 1, 2011
Immigrant Detention under Scrutiny in Australia, United Kingdom, and United States

Public backlash against the detention systems of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States mounted in 2011 with allegations of unacceptable living conditions, abuse, prolonged detention, and government waste.

Pages
coverthumb_covid19 global mobility 2020
Reports
April 2021

COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically curtailed cross-border mobility in 2020, affecting travelers and migrants around the world. This report presents a first-of-its-kind analysis of the many thousands of travel restrictions and border closures imposed by governments to curb the spread of the virus. It examines how these policies evolved, varied across countries and regions, and what these trends may mean for the future of international movement.

coverthumb_bridge fimer ground
Reports
March 2021

A Bridge to Firmer Ground: Learning from International Experiences to Support Pathways to Solutions in the Syrian Refugee Context

Ten years into Syria's conflict, Syrians remain the largest refugee population worldwide. As they face limited prospects for resettlement or safe return, how can host countries and donors promote resilience for refugees and host communities alike? This report offers examples of creative policy solutions in the areas of protection, social protection, education, livelihoods, and health care from displacement contexts in 16 countries.

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Reports
December 2020

New Approaches to Climate Change and Migration: Building the Adaptive Capacity of Mobile Populations

The link between climate change and migration is a complex one. Whether individuals move or stay in place can be voluntary or involuntary, a proactive strategy or last resort, and is part of a bigger story of global mobility and personal networks. This report examines this complicated relationship, highlights limitations of climate response measures to date, and presents an alternative, flexible approach based on the involvement of affected communities.

coverthumb_pandemic economies jobs migration
Reports
November 2020

Managing the Pandemic and Its Aftermath: Economies, Jobs, and International Migration in the Age of COVID-19

Around the world, governments are grappling with how to combat the COVID-19 pandemic while also managing the economic fallout of policies put in place to stop the virus’ spread. Global migration has dropped sharply amid border closures and travel restrictions. This reflection takes stock of policy responses to the pandemic thus far, and of the challenges (and some opportunities) on the horizon for migration systems, labor markets, and integration of newcomers.

Coverthumb_TCM Start Up Visas
Reports
July 2019

Start-Up Visas: A Passport for Innovation and Growth?

Over the last decade, a number of governments have launched start-up visa programs in the hopes of attracting talented immigrant entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas. With the track record for these programs a mixed one, this report explains how embedding start-up visas within a broader innovation strategy could lead to greater success.

Coverthumb TCM Competitiveness CouncilStatement
Reports
July 2019

Equipping Immigrant Selection Systems for a Changing World of Work (Transatlantic Council Statement)

As technological developments—from automation to artificial intelligence and machine learning—reshape the world of work, governments face the challenge of updating how they attract, select, and retain economic-stream immigrants. This report, concluding a series on building migration systems for a new age of economic competitiveness, lays out the key considerations for "future-proofing" immigrant selection systems.

Coverthumb TCM Competitiveness Australia
Reports
May 2019

The Evolution of the Australian System for Selecting Economic Immigrants

Since the mid-1990s, Australia has moved away from a focus on family reunification to place greater emphasis on workers coming via temporary and permanent channels. The evolution of the country's points-based model for selecting economic migrants and move to a predominately employer-driven system offer lessons for other countries that seek to develop a tailored and targeted immigration selection system.

Coverthumb TCM Competitiveness SelectionSystems
Reports
April 2019

Competing Approaches to Selecting Economic Immigrants: Points-Based vs. Demand-Driven Systems

National systems for selecting skilled foreign workers have evolved in two directions: Points-based systems in which governments select economic immigrants based on labor and human-capital considerations and demand-driven ones that rely heavily on employer involvement. This report explores these two models—and their convergence—and offers tips for designing selection systems that are flexible, transparent, and effective.

coverthumb tcm australia
Reports
November 2015

The Southeast Asia-Australia Regional Migration System: Some Insights into the “New Emigration”

This report dispels the perception that flows between Australia and the ASEAN region are headed in one direction: to Australia. Using unpublished administrative data, the authors sketch a complex picture of skilled Australian emigration to ASEAN, significant temporary movements of skilled workers in both directions, and close connections between the two regions even after migrants permanently return to their country of origin.

coverthumb TCM Cities NatlPolicy
Reports
July 2014

Giving Cities and Regions a Voice in Immigration Policy: Can National Policies Meet Local Demand?

Employer-sponsored immigration and subnational visa programs are the two major routes to channel new immigrant arrivals toward particular destinations where their labor is thought to be in high demand. This report assesses regional nomination programs in Australia and Canada, and the efficacy of employer-sponsored immigration in meeting the needs of cities and regions.

Pages
coverthumb MPIE Seasonal Workers Policy Brief
Policy Briefs
February 2020

Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges

Seasonal worker programs in the European Union have a long history, but have yet to find the sweet spot of working for migrants, employers, and countries of destination and origin alike. This policy brief explores some of the challenges common to these programs—drawing on examples in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand—and highlights promising practices.

Coverthumb MPIE SponsorshipInvestment
Policy Briefs
December 2019

Refugee Sponsorship Programs: A Global State of Play and Opportunities for Investment

From Argentina to New Zealand and points beyond, a growing number of countries have begun exploring refugee sponsorship as a way to expand protection capacity at a time of rising need, involving individuals and communities more directly in resettlement. This brief takes stock of what both new and well-established programs need to succeed, and outlines opportunities for private philanthropic actors to support them.

Coverthumb GlobalCompact SkillPartnerships
Policy Briefs
September 2018

Reimagining Skilled Migration Partnerships to Support Development

While partnerships to facilitate skilled migration have had mixed success in the past, the Global Compact for Migration is advancing a new approach that may change this. This policy brief compares this new partnership model with the traditional one, highlighting the questions policymakers will need to answer if they are to encourage mobility, sustain employer engagement, and see development benefits in countries of origin.

Coverthumb_FamilyMigrationBrief
Policy Briefs
April 2018

It’s Relative: A Crosscountry Comparison of Family-Migration Policies and Flows

As policymakers in a number of countries, the United States among them, debate limiting family-based immigration, this issue brief explores family-migration trends and policies in the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other European countries. Family admissions play a key role, even in countries that prioritize economic or other immigration streams.

Cover HLD Hugo
Policy Briefs
September 2013

What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility

Circular migration has typically been viewed with skepticism by migrant-rights advocates and wary publics alike. But many experts and policymakers in the migration field — and some in development — have come to recognize that well-managed circulation that is respectful of migrants' human and labor rights can bring benefits to countries of origin and destination, as well as to migrants themselves. For countries of origin, circular migration can relieve labor surpluses; for destination countries, it can provide the flexibility to quickly overcome skills shortages while adapting to long-term labor market shifts. For migrants, circular migration offers the opportunity to earn higher wages and gain international experience.