Migrant settlement outcomes

Latest release

Insights into economic, education, health, housing, and citizenship outcomes of permanent migrants in Australia

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Reference period
2025
Release date and time
30/06/2025 11:30am AEST

New data in this release:

  • access to health services (2023)
  • higher education enrolments and completions (2021)
  • long-term health conditions (2021)
  • personal income including income received from government payments (2022-23
    financial year).

Data sources

This release relates to permanent migrants in Australia. The data were sourced from the following:

 For further information, refer to the Methodology 

Arrival periods

In this release, permanent migrants are grouped on the basis of the time since they arrived in Australia. These arrival periods are:

  • arrived within the previous 5 years (migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years)
  • 5 to 10 years since arrival (migrants who lived in Australia for 5 to 10 years)
  • more than 10 years since arrival (migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years).

The arrival periods are dependent on the data sources from which they are produced. For example, the arrival period for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years using 2021 Census data is 2017 to 10 August 2021, whereas using 2019 data, this arrival period is 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2019.

Australian citizenship

The following section contains data sourced from ACMID. 

In 2021, more than half (59%) of permanent migrants were Australian citizens. Australian citizenship was:

  • highest for Skilled migrants (64%)
  • lowest for Family migrants (48%).

Citizenship take-up was higher for permanent migrants who had lived in Australia for longer. It was:

  • 4.2% for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years
  • 77% for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years
  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (89%) who lived in Australia for more than 10 years.
  1. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000.
  2. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  3. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  4. Includes other permanent migrants.

Education

The following section contains data sourced from the Higher Education Information Dataset (HEID) available in PLIDA. Please refer to the Methodology for more information on the enrolment admissions and course types included in the data presented. Please note that this data is not directly comparable to previous releases of this publication due to changes in scope and definitions as outlined in Methodology 

Enrolled in further education

In 2021, for those aged 15-64 years:

  • 7.3% of permanent migrants were enrolled in further education (208,279 people)
  • 7.5% of the total Australian population were enrolled in further education (1,251,294 people).

By visa stream, enrolment was:

  • highest for Skilled migrants (8.5% or 144,651 people)
  • lowest for Family migrants (5.0% or 44,351 people).

Enrolment proportions were higher for permanent migrants who had lived in Australia for longer.  It was:

  • 5.8% for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (33,876 people)
  • 8.4% for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years (121,916 people)
  • highest for Skilled migrants (9.6% or 85,290 people) and Humanitarian migrants (9.5% or 13,168 people) who lived in Australia for more than 10 years.
  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.
  3. Includes other and undetermined permanent migrants.

Completed further education qualifications

In 2021, for those aged 15-64 years:

  • 1.9% of permanent migrants completed a qualification (52,516 people)
  • 1.7% of the total Australian population completed a qualification (282,133 people).

By visa stream this was:

  • 2.3% for Skilled migrants (39,110 people)
  • 1.2% for Humanitarian migrants (3,115 people)
  • 1.2% for Family migrants (10,251 people).

Proportions who completed a qualification were:

  • highest for Skilled migrants (3.2% or 10,970 people) who lived in Australia for less than 5 years
  • lowest for Humanitarian migrants (0.4% or 167 people) who lived in Australia for less than 5 years.
  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. As a proportion of persons aged 15-64 years.
  3. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.
  4. Includes other and undetermined permanent migrants.

Economic participation

The following section contains data sourced from personal income and government payments data available in PLIDA. Please refer to the Methodology for more information on sources of income included in these statistics.

Receiving personal income

In the 2022-23 financial year, the proportion of those aged 15-64 years who received personal income was:

  • 83% for permanent migrants
  • 79% for the total Australian population
  • highest for Skilled migrants (88%)
  • lowest for Humanitarian migrants (60%).

By visa stream, the proportions of permanent migrants who received personal income varied by length of time in Australia. It was:

  • higher for Skilled migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (90%), compared with those in Australia for more than 10 years (87%)
  • lower for Family migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (75%), compared with those in Australia for more than 10 years (81%)
  • lower for Humanitarian migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (36%), compared with those in Australia for more than 10 years (68%).
  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Employee wages and salary, Own unincorporated business income, Superannuation income, Investment income, Other income (for example transfer or trust income; controlled foreign company income; net foreign pension and annuity income; and foreign investment and life insurance income).
  3. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.
  4. Includes other and undetermined permanent migrants.

Own unincorporated business income

In the 2022-23 financial year, the proportion of those aged 15-64 years who earned own unincorporated business income was: 

  • 14% for permanent migrants
  • 11% for the total Australian population.

By visa stream this was:

  • 14% for Humanitarian migrants and Family migrants
  • 13% for Skilled migrants
  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (16%) who lived in Australia for more than 10 years
  • lowest for Humanitarian migrants (8.8%) who lived in Australia for less than 5 years.

 

  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.
  3. Includes other and undetermined permanent migrants.

Total median income

The data in this section relates to total income. This includes personal income and government payments. Please refer to the Methodology for more information.

In the 2022-23 financial year, the total median income of those aged 15-64 years was:

  • $66,262 for permanent migrants
  • $61,171 for the total Australian population
  • highest for Skilled migrants ($79,442)
  • lowest for Humanitarian migrants ($39,423).

By visa stream, median income varied by length of time in Australia. It was:

  • higher for Family migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years ($58,416), compared with those who lived in Australia for less than 5 years ($47,238)
  • higher for Humanitarian migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years ($45,747), compared with those who lived in Australia for less than 5 years ($25,183)
  • similar for Skilled migrants regardless of length of time in Australia, with a median total income of approximately $79,000.
  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Government payments, Employee wages and salary, Own unincorporated business income, Superannuation income, Investment income, Other income (for example transfer or trust income; controlled foreign company income; net foreign pension and annuity income; and foreign investment and life insurance income).
  3. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.
  4. Includes other and undetermined permanent migrants.

Receiving unemployment payments

In the 2022-23 financial year, the proportion of people aged 15-64 years who received unemployment payments was:

  • 4.3% for permanent migrants
  • 6.4% for the total Australian population
  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (20%)
  • lowest for Skilled migrants (1.7%).

By visa stream, proportions who received unemployment payments varied by length of time in Australia. It was:

  • lower for Humanitarian migrants who had lived in Australia for more than 10 years (15%) compared with those who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (42%)
  • higher for Skilled migrants who had lived in Australia for more than 10 years (2.4%) compared with those who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (0.1%).

 

  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Jobseeker Payment, Jobseeker Allowance, and Newstart Allowance.
  3. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.
  4. Includes other and undetermined permanent migrants.

Socio-economic index

The following section contains data sourced from ACMID and Census. 

The data in this section relates to quintiles of the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) at Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) from the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA). Quintiles are constructed from neighbouring deciles. For example, Quintile 1 is constructed from Decile 1 and Decile 2. Lower quintile SA1s have greater levels of disadvantage and a lack of advantage compared with higher quintile SA1s. For more information on how to interpret the presented statistics, refer to Understanding SEIFA.

In 2021, the proportion of permanent migrants living in Quintile 1 SA1s for IRSAD was 15% compared with 19% of the Australian population. By visa stream, this was:

  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (44%)
  • lowest for Skilled migrants (7.9%).

A higher proportion of permanent migrants who arrived within the last five years lived in Quintile 1 SA1s for IRSAD. This was:

  • 19% for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years
  • 13% for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years
  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (55%) who lived in Australia for less than 5 years.
  1. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000.
  2. Refers to Quintile 1 areas of the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) at Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) from the Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA).
  3. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  4. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  5. Includes other permanent migrants.

Health

The following section contains data sourced from the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data available in PLIDA and from ACMID and Census data.

Age and entry requirements

Rates of service use may vary based on age, intended field of occupation and visa eligibility criteria. The migrant population has a younger age profile than the overall Australian population, and some visa applicants are required to undertake health screening assessments before arrival. As such, note that migrants may be less likely to interact with a health service than the overall population while in Australia

More information about visa eligibility and occupational requirements can be found in Working in Australia. More information about pre-arrival health screening can be found in Meeting our health requirement.

Note too that this data refers to migrants who arrived since 2000 and to a younger population than the overall Australian population. Statistical adjustments can be made to health data to account for the effect of age. The data in this release, however, is unadjusted.

Broad type of service

Broad type of service (BTOS) refers to a grouping of MBS services that relate to certain provider groups or services. More information is available in Methodology 

In 2023:

  • 82% of permanent migrants attended a GP
  • 86% of permanent migrants accessed at least one service. 
  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Includes other and undetermined permanent migrants.
  3. Includes therapeutic nuclear medicine.

By visa stream, GP attendance in 2023 was:

  • 81% for Skilled migrants
  • 84% for Family migrants
  • 86% for Humanitarian migrants.
  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.

Mental health treatment plans

This section only includes data on Medicare-subsidised GP mental health treatment plans. It does not include data on the overall use of mental health services nor the prevalence of mental health conditions. Note that Humanitarian migrants may access mental health care through various other pathways including specialist trauma-informed care through the Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (PASTT). More information is available in Methodology 

The proportion who received GP mental health treatment plans in 2023 was:

  • 3.9% for permanent migrants overall (131,573 people)
  • 3.7% for Skilled migrants (72,946 people)
  • 4.2% for Family migrants (44,550 people)
  • 4.4% for Humanitarian migrants (13,965 people)
  • 4.8% for the total Australian population (1,294,529 people). 

A similar proportion of permanent migrants received GP mental health treatment plans in 2023 regardless of length of time in Australia. 

  1. Persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later.
  2. Includes migrants with unknown year of arrival.

Non-hospital specialist consultations

Medicare-subsidised referred specialist attendances are included in the broad types of service (BTOS) specialist attendances group. This section specifically looks at Medicare-subsidised referred specialist attendances that have occurred in non-hospital settings, such as private consulting rooms and private outpatient clinics. 

Across all visa streams, obstetrics and gynaecology was the most widely accessed non-hospital specialist consultation in terms of number of services in 2023. This was:

  • 3.6% of Skilled migrants (72,504 people receiving 159,479 services)
  • 4.5% of Family migrants (47,210 people receiving 103,794 services)
  • 2.4% of Humanitarian migrants (7,445 people receiving 16,416 services).

 

Non-hospital specialist consultations – 5 most widely accessed by number of services in 2023
RankSkilledFamilyHumanitarian
1Obstetrics and gynaecology - 3.6%Obstetrics and gynaecology - 4.5%Obstetrics and gynaecology - 2.4%
2Psychiatry - 1.3%Ophthalmology - 2.7%Cardiology - 3.1%
3Ophthalmology - 2.2%Psychiatry - 1.2%Ophthalmology - 2.8%
4Dermatology - 2.2%Cardiology - 2.7%Psychiatry - 1.6%
5Cardiology - 2.1%Gastroenterology - 2.3%Gastroenterology - 1.9%

Type of long-term health condition

In 2021, the proportion of permanent migrants who reported one or more long-term health conditions was 18%. This was:

  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (22% or 61,674 people)
  • lowest for Skilled migrants (16% or 279,660 people).

The proportion with one or more long-term health conditions was higher for permanent migrants who lived in Australia for longer, in keeping with the strong link between age and incidence of long-term health conditions. The proportions were:

  • 12% for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (46,425 people)
  • 21% for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years (363,791 people).

The most commonly reported long-term health condition among permanent migrants was asthma (4%), whereas among the total population of Australia, it was a mental health condition (9%). By visa stream, the most commonly reported conditions were:

  • asthma for Skilled migrants (3.8% or 67,532 people)
  • diabetes for Family and Humanitarian migrants (3.9% and 5.7%, or 37,413 and 16,128 people respectively).
  1. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000.
  2. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  3. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  4. Includes other permanent migrants.

English proficiency

The following section contains data sourced from ACMID. 

In 2021, the proportion of permanent migrants who were proficient in English, that is they only spoke English or spoke English well or very well, was 89% for migrants overall. English proficiency was:

  • highest for Skilled migrants (96%)
  • lowest for Humanitarian migrants (71%).

Proficiency was higher for permanent migrants who had lived in Australia for longer. It was:

  • 82% for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years
  • 91% for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years
  • lowest for Humanitarian migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (56%).
  1. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000.
  2. Speaks English not well or not at all.
  3. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  4. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  5. Includes other permanent migrants.

Housing

The following section contains data sourced from ACMID and Census. The data relates to people in occupied private dwellings, excluding visitor only and non-classifiable households.

Housing tenure

In 2021, the proportion of permanent migrants who owned their home with a mortgage or outright was 62%, compared with 69% for the total population of Australia. Home ownership was:

  • highest for Skilled migrants (65%)
  • lowest for Humanitarian migrants (38%).

Home ownership was higher for permanent migrants who had lived in Australia for longer. The proportions were:

  • 38% for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years
  • 71% for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years.
  1. Owned outright, owned with a mortgage, or purchased under a shared equity scheme.
  2. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000.
  3. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  4. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  5. Includes other permanent migrants.

Housing affordability

One way of examining housing affordability is to look at households whose spending on housing is likely to impact on their ability to afford other living costs such as food, clothing, transport and utilities. A common threshold applied is the proportion of households spending greater than 30% of their income on housing costs. For more information on housing affordability, refer to Rent affordability indicator or Mortgage affordability indicator.

Rent affordability

In 2021, the proportion of permanent migrants in rented housing who spent more than 30% of their household income on rent was 28%, compared with 30% of all renters in Australia. This was:

  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (46%)
  • lowest for Skilled migrants (19%).

Overall, a slightly higher proportion of permanent migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years were paying more than 30% of their household income on rent. The proportions were:

  • 27% for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years
  • 30% for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years.

However, for Humanitarian migrants a lower proportion of permanent migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years were paying more than 30% of their household income on rent. The proportions were:

  • 55% for Humanitarian migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years
  • 40% for Humanitarian migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years.
  1. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000, and who lived in rented dwellings.
  2. As defined by the Census variable Rent affordability indicator (RAID).
  3. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  4. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  5. Includes other permanent migrants.

Mortgage affordability

In 2021, the proportion of permanent migrant homeowners with a mortgage who paid more than 30% of their household income on mortgage repayments for their dwelling was 21%, compared with 14% of people in Australia who owned their home with a mortgage. This was:

  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (33%)
  • lowest for Skilled migrants (18%)
  • similar regardless of time since migrants arrived in Australia.
  1. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000, and who lived in dwellings owned with a mortgage or purchased under a shared equity scheme.
  2. As defined by the Census variable Mortgage affordability indicator (MAID).
  3. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  4. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  5. Includes other permanent migrants.

Housing suitability

This section presents data on people in dwellings where one or more extra bedrooms are needed to accommodate the people who usually live there, as defined by the Census variable Housing suitability (HOSD), based on the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS). However, CNOS does not take into consideration that for many cultures, living in multi‑generational extended families is a cultural norm.

In 2021, the proportion of permanent migrants who lived in dwellings that required one or more extra bedrooms was higher for migrants (11%) than the total population of Australia (6.8%). This was:

  • highest for Humanitarian migrants (34%)
  • lowest for Skilled migrants (7.6%).

The proportions of permanent migrants living in dwellings that required one or more extra bedrooms were lower for those who had who lived in Australia for longer. It was:

  • highest for migrants who lived in Australia for less than 5 years (17%)
  • lowest for migrants who lived in Australia for more than 10 years (8.9%).
  1. Includes persons whose Settlement Data date of arrival was 1st January 2000 or later, but who reported a Census year of arrival in Australia prior to 2000.
  2. Housing that required one or more extra bedrooms to accommodate the people who usually lived there, as defined by the Census variable Housing suitability (HOSD), based on the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS).
  3. Arrived 1 January 2017 to 10 August 2021 (Census Night).
  4. Includes migrants with year of arrival not stated and not applicable.
  5. Includes other permanent migrants.

Data download

Migrant settlement outcomes, 2025

Data files
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Post release changes

24/10/2025

  • Minor wording and formatting changes throughout the release and in the data downloads
  • Addition of indicators from Medicare Benefits Schedule data
  • Update of education information for the 2021 calendar year
  • Update of receiving personal income information  for the 2022-23 financial year
  • Update of receiving unemployment payment information for the 2022-23 financial year
  • Median total income has been added as a new indicator. This includes government payment data as well as personal income data from tax returns

01/12/2025

  • Correction to arrival years in the graph and table for unemployment payments, GP mental health treatment plans and GP attendances and in the data download for Table 5a Migrant settlement outcomes, Health service access by visa stream, 2023. No data has changed.

Methodology

Scope

Permanent migrants who had an arrival date of 1 January 2000 or later and were recorded in the Estimated Resident Population (ERP).

Geography

Data published at national level.

Source

  • Administrative data sourced from Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA)
  • Census of Population and Housing
  • Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset (ACMID).

Collection method

Data are compiled from:

  • Census data collected from the Australian population every 5 years
  • Census data and Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) linked with the Department of Home Affairs Settlement Database.

Concepts, sources and methods

Permanent migrants include:

  • Skilled migrants
  • Family migrants
  • Humanitarian migrants
  • Other and undetermined migrants.

History of changes

  • Addition of Medicare Benefits Schedule data
  • Update to education, personal income, and unemployment payments data
  • Addition of median total income. This includes government payment data as well as personal income data from tax returns.
View full methodology