International students drive immigration to the moon

Friday 5 May 2023

Australia’s population grew by an all-time high 482,000 in the 2022 calendar year, driven by record high net overseas migration (NOM):

Visa data to March also shows that net temporary migration has soared on the back of record student visa arrivals:

The latest quarterly visa data from the Department of Home Affairs shows how this explosion in international students (including graduate) visas is driving Australia’s record NOM.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.