Record immigration figure is smashed as one group of overseas visitors floods into Australia
- Working visas hit record high
- Most are British backpackers
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A record number of working visas have been issued to holidaymakers with the figure surpassing 200,000 for the first time.
The huge influx poses a political challenge for the Albanese government, which has promised to cut high levels of migration amid a housing shortage, and raised concern the inflow is fuelling consumer demand and keeping prices high.
The charge is being led by a surge of British backpackers into Australia which have almost doubled in number over the past three years as they take advantage of loosened rules brought in by the former Morrison government.
Those changes raised the maximum age of visa holders from 30 to 35, allowed three-year stays and no longer required 88 days of regional work, meaning overseas visitors could stay put in the cities if they so wished.
This has led to 47,000 British working travellers calling Australia home this November, up from 31,000 last December and 21,000 the year before.
Home Affairs in June reported there had been a 300 per cent increase in applications for third-year visas.
Australia in November also hosted a record number of working holidaymakers from France, 23,700 and Ireland, 21,800.
There were also 14,800 were from Japan, 13,400 from Taiwan, 13,200 from Italy and 12,700 from South Korea.
A record number of working visas have been issued to holidaymakers with the figure surpassing 200,000 for the first time
The thousands of revellers, many of them working visa holders, that flooded onto Sydney's eastern beaches for Christmas Day partying presented striking visual evidence of the influx.
Former immigration department official Abul Rizvi said the changes Scott Morrison introduced had 'stomped on the accelerator' for working visas, but the strong labour market and other deals had also helped open the flood gates.
'Over the last decade, we have signed up for a large number of new working holidaymaker agreements with a lot of countries,' he told Nine newspapers.
'What it's done, fundamentally, is structurally increased the level of net migration under a normal labour market.'
Immigration has become a politically sensitive issue as Australia continues to suffer a housing crisis with the continued high number of international students is also putting pressure on rents in Australia's big cities.
Labor had aimed for a net overseas migration intake of 395,000 during the last financial year, down from a record 528,000 previously.
The thousands of revellers, many of them working visa holders, that flooded onto Sydney's eastern beaches for Christmas Day partying presented striking visual evidence of the influx (pictured, a group of friends at the beach)
However, Mr Rizvi, a former immigration department deputy secretary, estimated 450,000 to 475,000 people were likely to have moved to Australia in 2023-24.
'Especially people from Europe and China and in Southeast Asia, where the labour market has weakened more quickly than in Australia,' he said.
'What we had was a higher-than-expected return of Australian citizens, and we also had a higher-than-expected net arrival of Kiwis.'
Treasury's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast released this month showed 340,000 migrants arriving in Australia in 2024-25.
That's significantly higher than the 260,000 level forecast for this financial year in the May Budget.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said higher-than-expected immigration for 2024-25 meant Australia would struggle to house its burgeoning population despite the pledge by the Albanese government to build 1.2million homes over five years.
'With dwelling completions remaining well below the government's target for 240,000 a year this implies no progress in reducing the housing shortage this year,' he said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers blamed higher-than-expected immigration on too few people leaving Australia permanently.
'It has peaked, it's coming down, it's coming down slower than was anticipated in the Budget really for one main reason and that's because there's been fewer departures,' he said.
'The Treasury has been more or less bang on when it comes to arrivals, but departures have been slower.
'People are hanging around for longer and that's meant that the number is coming down more slowly and you see that updated.'
