Australian immigration surges back in 2025

After experiencing a reprieve last year, the latest net permanent and long-term arrivals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggests that net overseas migration (NOM) has surged back in 2025.

There were 1,128,480 permanent and long-term arrivals in the year to May, offset by 680,860 departures, with both tracking at close to a record high.

As a result, there were 447,620 net permanent and long-term arrivals in the year to May, down only slightly from the peak of 498,270 in February 2024.

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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.