Migrants sent $21 billion out of Australia in 2024
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A migrant remittance is simply money that a migrant worker earns in one country and sends to people in their home country.
Significant net migrant remittance outflows are an economic cost to the host country.
They are a net leakage from national income, domestic demand, and the tax base. As a result, they weaken the economic and fiscal return from immigration.
Australia is a major remittance-sending country because it has a large migrant workforce, many migrants support families overseas, and wages in Australia are high relative to origin countries.
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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.