Australia set for biggest expansion in population since federation due to migrant influx

Record high numbers of migrants are adding to housing and infrastructure pressures, the opposition has claimed, as government figures reveal our overseas population surged by a record 352,060 between January and August this year alone.

Record high numbers of migrants are adding to housing and infrastructure pressures while creating a backlog of visa application, the opposition has claimed, as government figures reveal our overseas population surged by a record 352,060 between January and August this year alone.

The data also found that August, 2023, saw a record 34,260 new migrants arrive, the greatest number to arrive that month since 2008.

Of the more than 352,000 new arrivals recorded by the ABS, some 279,030 or nearly 80 per cent, came on student visas.

At this rate, Australia would be well on track to exceed the 315,000 migrants forecast over the 2023-24 fiscal year in last May’s budget.

The numbers were revealed as Australians are finding it increasingly difficult to buy or rent a property, with Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy telling a Senate committee Wednesday that “the rapid recovery in migration is adding to pressures in the housing market.”

Dr Steven Kennedy said the rapid increase in migrants is adding pressure to the housing market. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Rental vacancies are at a historic low of 1.06 per cent according to data from real estate analyst firm PropTrack, which has also found that housing affordability is as bad as it has been for 30 years.

At the same time, the number of new properties being built is slowing, with the Institute of Public Affairs finding that in the 12 months ending in August housing approvals had plummeted by 23 per cent.

An IPA study earlier this year found that as many as seven out of ten new dwellings were filled by overseas students over the past financial year.

Figures also revealed the government was struggling to process a backlog of applications for skilled and family stream visas, with the number of unprocessed claims expected to top 500,000 by the end of the year.

Australia is bringing in 1.5 million migrants over the next four years.

Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs, said “migration has and will continue to play a vital role in Australia’s economic and social life, but any intake must be properly planned for to ensure that the costs in our communities are minimised”.

“The federal government is bringing in 1.5 million migrants over the next four years, which is the largest expansion to our population since Federation, and there no plan for the schools, roads, hospitals, and houses that we will need,” Mr Wild said.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said, “with arrivals to Australia at record levels, the housing and rental crisis continues to grow”.

“Labor is on track to be responsible for the largest influx of new arrivals in Australia’s history and they have no plan for where these people will live, or how to manage the increased demand on government services and the environment.”