Australia’s demography is constantly evolving, with a significant portion of its recent permanent migrants being Australian citizens. The latest statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal that, out of the 3 million recent permanent migrants who arrived in Australia between 1 January 2000 and 10 August 2021, 59% are Australian citizens.
Jenny Dobak, ABS head of migrant statistics says the data released on recent permanent visa holders reveals that the majority are now Australian citizens, with those on a Skilled visa the mostly likely to have become Australian citizens (64 per cent), followed by those on a Humanitarian visa (61 per cent).
Ms Dobak noted that the new figures also offer new insights into permanent migrants’ visa history.
“We can see the majority of permanent migrants were granted a permanent visa as their first visa (1.7 million or 58 per cent),” said Ms Dobak adding, “This was higher for Humanitarian migrants (93%), and those on Family visas (75%).”
“1.3 million permanent migrants were first granted a temporary visa before becoming a permanent migrant – most commonly a Temporary Student visa,” she said.
Australia’s multicultural society is reflected in the various nationalities of its permanent migrants, with China, India, and the United Kingdom being the top three countries of birth.
The ABS report also highlights that the majority of permanent migrants are of working age, with around two-thirds being aged between 20 and 44 years old. Additionally, a significant proportion of permanent migrants hold a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification, indicating the valuable contributions they can make to the Australian workforce and economy.
Overall, Australia’s demography continues to be shaped by a variety of factors, including migration, birth rates, and ageing populations.
The majority (71%) of permanent migrants were employed. This figure was higher for Skilled migrants (81%).
“In terms of top occupations, 10% of migrants from the Family visa stream and 14% of migrants from the Humanitarian visa stream were employed as Carers and Aides.”
“For migrants from the Skilled visa streamk, the most common occupation was as Business, Human Resource and Marketing Professionals at 10%,” Ms Dobak said.
7.7 per cent of the permanent migrants are working as health professionals whereas 7 per cent are working in the fields related to caring and aid.
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