Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last Wednesday showed that a record number of people migrated to Australia in the year to June 2023, with Australia's overseas-born population exceeding 30% for the first time since 1983.
Australia added nearly 500,000 overseas-born residents last fiscal year, bringing 820 out of a total of 26.6 million foreign-born residents.
Australia's 494,000 more overseas-born population marks a full recovery from pandemic-era border restrictions.
This sharp increase equates to a 6% increase in people born overseas, more than doubling the average annual increase in the decade before the pandemic.
It stands to reason that with so many immigrants, Australia should be enough to fill the vacancy.
But in fact, there is still a serious shortage of people in many industries in Australia!
In the construction industry in particular, the shortage of talent has led to the number of new homes being far from keeping up with the plan.
On the contrary, new immigrants have come in, making more people "homeless".
What exactly has changed in Australia since so many people have come in?
The aging of the population is even more severe
First, Australia's demographics have changed dramatically.
Australians have a longer life expectancy, with an average of 80 years old.
However, Australia's population is ageing as life expectancy increases and fertility is below replacement level.
The challenges faced by the ageing population include greater demand for old-age care and a relatively smaller workforce.
In other words, countries like Australia need to figure out how to sustain more spending with fewer financial resources, or living standards could fall.
If there is an oversized elderly population, the younger generation may not be able to take on the responsibility of supporting them.
With Australia set to become primarily an old-middle-aged country by 2065, a healthy and strong workforce is essential for economic sustainability.
The shape of the age distribution of the population is more important than ever, especially with evidence that Australia's population aged 65 and over will outnumber children over the next decade.
And growing generational inequality threatens young people's future prospects.
Job instability, housing affordability, gender inequality, and climate change are all putting enormous pressure on young people, exacerbating their deep sense of uncertainty about the future.
The population is highly concentrated
Australia's population has also become highly urbanised, with a high concentration of people living along the south-east coastline from south-east Queensland to Victoria.
Australia's cities continue to dominate, growing faster than the overall region. Vital infrastructure (transport, housing, education, health care, and employment) is a major attraction. Although there have been many attempts in Australia's history, population dispersion is not possible.
Cities offer the most educational and employment opportunities, attracting a large number of international migrants.
Sydney and Melbourne attract more than half of Australia's overseas migrants.
Families are also changing, with more and more people living alone and the average number of people per household is declining.
Australian immigration offset the early recession
Australia's population has grown at an all-time high since reopening international borders after the pandemic.
As the Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows, most of Australia's population growth has come from overseas migrants, and has been so since 2005 (except during COVID border closures).
While net overseas migration has increased in the short term, it is expected to decline in the coming years.
Natural population growth (births vs. deaths) has also led to the growth of Australia's population, which is also declining.
Officially, deaths will outnumber births by 2054, meaning that without overseas immigration, Australia's population will begin to decline.
Half of the world's countries have fertility rates below replacement level, and the average number of births per woman will fall further.
Australia is now no longer relying on immigrants from countries such as the United Kingdom to sustain its workforce, but is competing with countries such as Germany, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to attract the right immigrants.
Today's Australia is heavily reliant on immigrants from India and China.
The number of people born in India has increased by more than 90,000, ranking first, and nearly 846,000 people have been born in Australia by June 2023.
The largest number of people born overseas in Australia (962,000) were born in the UK, and 10 years ago there were more than 1 million people born in the UK.
China remains the third largest source of overseas-born residents, with a total of more than 655,000, but fell to 585,000 in 2021 due to border restrictions.
Australian immigrants offset the negative consequences of an ageing population.
Without immigration, Australia's population would begin to decline decades earlier than expected.
State budgets will be adversely affected, and the contribution of migrants to society will be lost.
However, there are pros and cons to everything.
The consequence of Australia's overall easing of immigration has been a serious imbalance in the housing market, with outdated infrastructure simply unable to keep up with the influx of people.
Therefore, the Australian government is now considering reforming the Skilled Migration Points System!
Australian skilled immigration or welcome major reforms, as long as the elite!
As part of the reform of the immigration system, Australia's skilled migration points system may be overhauled for the first time in more than 10 years.
Following the decision to reduce the number of immigrants, the federal government is considering reforming the points system for skilled migrants, which determines who is eligible to stay in Australia.
In a discussion paper, the Government highlighted possible changes to the Marking Test, which will be the first reform of the Marking Test system since 2012.
A review of Australia's immigration system, released in December last year, pointed out that the scoring test should pay more attention to employment-related matters.
The report also calls for testing to provide clearer guidance to potential migrants, focus more on industries with skills shortages, and fully recognise the potential of young people.
ABC reported that in the discussion paper, called the Review of the Points Test, the government recommended:
1. Priority should be given to talented international students who can contribute to the needs of Australian skills.
2. Higher education deserves higher marks because education levels and English language skills mean that immigrants are less likely to be exploited by employers;
3. More points can be awarded for long-term work experience, as it means that temporary skilled visa holders who are refused sponsorship by their employer can continue to liaise with their employer to gain experience to increase their chances of self-nomination through a points test;
4. The scoring test should focus on the skills that Australia needs now and in the future;
5. Scoring tests can better attract young immigrants who will help meet the challenges of an ageing population;
6. The scoring test should fully recognize the potential contribution of the applicant's partner;
7. The transitional arrangements for marking tests need to take into account the balance between fairness and certainty
Australian Home Minister Clare O'Neil recently said that the reformed scoring test will effectively improve the immigration system.
"Our goal is to build a more sophisticated, well-planned and strategic immigration system to better serve Australia," she said. ”
"We are significantly reducing the number of migrants, the largest drop in Australia during non-war and non-pandemic periods," she added. ”
The Labour government wants to return immigration to pre-pandemic levels and plans to cut net migration overseas in half by 2025.
O'Neil emphasized:
“
Our focus is on ensuring that the streamlined migration programme attracts the people who have the skills needed to move Australia forward, which is key to the scoring test. Properly designed scoring tests are critical to restoring permanent residency to the centrality of the immigration system and maximising the benefits of Australia's economy.
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epilogue
Australia's ageing population is becoming more and more severe, and changes in labour market demand have highlighted the reliance on migrants.
Therefore, Australia will vigorously absorb new immigrants!
However, what is more needed are elite people who can contribute enormously to the country's economy.
Therefore, there is no doubt that the government will definitely reform the immigration policy, especially the adjustment of the skilled immigration scoring test.
The goal is clear: to attract highly qualified immigrants with critical skills.
This adjustment of strategy is a response to the need to address the labour market gap immediately, and also shows the urgency of Australia to continue to drive economic growth!