Post-pandemic “migration wave” is easing in Australia, with one expert dismissing claims international students are impacting the domestic housing market.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released data on international arrivals and departures over the past 12 months, with the country seeing a slight increase in travelers.
Australia saw an 11.3 percent increase in total arrivals from the previous year, offset by a 12.1 percent increase in departures.
Short-term visitor arrivals and resident returns also each increased by more than 10 percent compared to the previous year.
“On the way back to normal”
“Net overseas migration is declining at a faster rate than it increased post-pandemic,” Professor Alan Gamlen of the Australian National University told AAP.
“The first splashes have taken place and we are close to returning to normal.”
The federal government, however, hopes to reduce net migration to 260,000 during this financial year.
It also aims to limit the number of international students to 270,000 from 2025, with critics saying they are becoming scapegoats for the national housing crisis.
But Gamlen dismissed rumors that migration in Australia was out of control, saying decisions were being made based on “fear and prejudice”.
“The reality of what’s happening here is that we are still in a period of disruption from the largest disruptive event to human migration,” he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But we are simply not in an out-of-control migration situation. This is a false narrative about migration that we see all over the world.”
The number of student arrivals in October 2024 was 22.2 percent lower than pre-COVID-19 levels in October 2019.
Data on international student numbers showed 39,530 arrivals to Australia in October 2024, an increase of 740 on the corresponding month last year.
Gamlen said which falsely claimed that international student migrants had affected the domestic housing market.
“There are other factors that push it has nothing to do with migration,” he said.
“This perpetuates this political debate which goes completely off the rails and focuses on issues that do not exist.
“As a result, we make policies and decisions that affect the lives of millions of people, billions of dollars based primarily on fear and prejudice rather than facts.”
Total overseas arrivals peaked in January 2020
The highest total number of overseas arrivals in the last decade stood at 2.26 million in January 2020, up from 2.12 million in January 2024.
The highest number of departures was 2.19 million in December 2019, with 2.03 million most recently in December 2023.
Short-term resident departures represent the highest percentage change over the past 12 months, with an increase of 13.9 percent.
New Zealand accounted for 21% of all visitor arrivals between October 2023 and October 2024, ahead of China and the United Kingdom.
More people arrived in Australia as residents or short- or long-term visitors in the last 12 months than left the country.
