Shaping a Nation: Population growth and immigration over time - Settlement Council of Australia

The Treasury and the Department of Home Affairs have recently released a comprehensive report on Australia’s population growth and immigration over time, titled ‘Shaping a Nation.’ This report examines the benefits that population growth and migration bring to Australia, while remaining alive to the challenges brought by a larger population.

This report is packed with extensive statistics, building up from 1900s until recent years. Some of the most intriguing numbers are:

• Migrants to Australia are younger than average the resident population – around 84% of migrants arriving in 2015-16 were aged under 40 years, compared to only 54% of the resident population.
• From July 2011 to July 2016, employment in Australia increased by 738,800. Immigrants accounted for 613,400 of the total increase, population growth 98,900 and changes in employment participation only 26,500. Migration has had a very large effect on the age structure of employment with most new immigrant workers (595,300) being under 55 years.

The report also highlights the importance of good settlement stating “Effective settlement services and multicultural policies have assisted migrants to gain employment, learn English if needed, improve their skills, and practice in the community. This helps migrants, their families, and the broader Australian society.”

This report provides a quick and easy reference for policy makers and service providers needing information on Australia’s population growth and immigration.

The report can be accessed here.