Migration in Australia – Unsung Economic Driver

Over the next 35 years, migration will drive employment growth and will continue to play a critical role in Australia’s economic future and well-being, according to independent modelling by the Migration Council of Australia.

By 2050, migration will be contributing $1.6 trillion to Australia’s GDP where findings demonstrate that the economic impact of migration flows through into every aspect of Australia’s economy with a profound and positive impact on labour participation and employment, net productivity, national skills base, wages and incomes.

Each individual migrant by 2050, will on an average be contributing approximately 10 per cent more to Australia’s economy than existing residents and further provides savings across the population in expenditures on education, transfer payments and government network infrastructure.

The research also refutes the commonly held notion that migration reduces the capacity of Australians to find work. In reality, migration plays a role in addressing inequality and generating opportunities for lower income workers. Overall the distributional impact of migration on existing Australian residents is highly positive. An improved employment to population ratio drives higher consumption as migrants draw less on government service provision and contribute a net fiscal benefit via taxes paid.

Migrants who initially enter Australia on a student visa pay the full costs of their education, providing a saving to the government budget compared to the subsidised places offered to Australian-born residents.

On an average, migrants are more highly educated than existing residents and this is particularly the case for migrants who initially enter Australia on a student visa and by 2050, 60.4 per cent of the population would have acquired a university education.

Findings from the report paint a comprehensive picture of the interdependence between Australia’s migration framework and economic fortunes.

Extracted from The Economic Impact of Migration and is available at Migration Council of Australia

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