Migrants in Australia are participating well in Australian society with high levels of English language proficiency, citizenship, employment and business ownership, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The data for 2021 also showed high levels of home ownership and rising levels of societal engagement over time.  

The ABS data shows 82 per cent of migrants who had been in Australia for less than five years were proficient in English, compared with 91 per cent for those in Australia for ten years or more.

Migrants were slightly less likely to earn personal income (70 per cent) compared with the total population of Australia (76 per cent), but were also less likely to receive unemployment benefits (11 per cent compared with 13 per cent).

More than half (59 per cent) of migrants were Australian citizens. Citizenship rates were highest for skilled migrants (64 per cent) and lowest for family migrants (48 per cent).

And the data showed citizenship take-up increased the longer migrants lived in Australia.

It was four per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for less than five years and 77 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for more than ten years.

Most likely to take out citizenship were refugees who had lived in Australia for more than ten years at 89 per cent.

Migrants, including adults, are also embracing educational opportunities in Australia, the data showed.

The proportion of adult migrants enrolled in further education was five per cent, compared with six per cent of the total Australian adult population.

The proportion was highest for refugees at seven per cent and lowest for family migrants (three per cent).

Migrants who have arrived since 2000 were more likely to be enrolled in study the longer they had lived in Australia.

The rate was two per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for less than five years, seven per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for more than ten years.

It was highest for refugees (10 per cent) who had lived in Australia for more than ten years.

The data showed that 20 per cent of migrants enrolled in further education had obtained a qualification, the same proportion as the total Australian adult population.

The rate was highest for skilled migrants (21 per cent) and lowest for refugees (15 per cent).

Across all visa streams, the proportion of migrants who had obtained a qualification in 2019 was lowest for those who had lived in Australia for less than five years.

The proportions were: 15 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for less than five years; 19 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for five to ten years, and; 20 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for more than ten years.

The ABS data also shows strong levels of economic participation among migrants.

Migrants were just as likely as the general population to own a small business at 11 per cent.

But refugees who have lived in Australia for more than five years were more likely own a business at 16 per cent.

While migrants were not earning as much as the general population, they were less likely to be receiving welfare benefits, the ABS data shows.

The proportion of adult migrants who earned personal income was 70 per cent, compared with 76 per cent of the total Australian population.

This was highest for skilled migrants (76 per cent) and lowest for refugees (49 per cent).

By visa stream, the proportions of migrants who earned personal income varied by length of time in Australia with skilled migrants being less likely to earn personal income the longer they lived in Australia.

Family migrants and refugees were more likely to earn personal income the longer they lived in Australia.

For refugees, it was 26 per cent of those who lived in Australia for less than five years, increasing to 57 per cent of those in Australia for more than ten years.

The proportion of migrants who received unemployment payments was 11 per cent, compared with 13 per cent of the total Australian adult population.

This was highest for refugees (31 per cent) and lowest for skilled migrants (8 per cent).

For migrants overall, proportions who received unemployment payments were similar regardless of time since they arrived in Australia.

By visa stream, the proportions: increased for family migrants the longer they lived in Australia, decreased for refugees from almost half (49 per cent) of those who lived in Australia for less than five years to just under one quarter (24 per cent) of those in Australia for more than ten years.

The proportion of migrants who were proficient in English well was 89 per cent with the highest level for skilled migrants at (96 per cent) and lowest for refugees at (71 per cent).

English proficiency tended to rise as time living in Australia increased. English proficiency was 82 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for less than five years and 91 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for more than ten years.

English proficiency was least likely for refugees who had lived in Australia for less than five years (56 per cent).

The ABS data also showed migrants tended to transition from living in rented housing to owning their homes.

The proportion of migrants who owned their home with a mortgage or outright was 62 per cent, compared with 69 per cent for the total population.

Home ownership was highest for skilled migrants (65 per cent) and lowest for refugees (38 per cent).

Home ownership increased the longer migrants lived in Australia, the data showed. The proportions were: 38 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for less than five years and 71 per cent for migrants who had lived in Australia for more than ten years.

The ABS data showed migrants were suffering slightly less from rental stress than the general population.

The proportion of migrants in rented housing who spent more than 30 per cent of their household income on rent was 28 per cent, compared with 30 per cent of all renters in Australia.

This was highest for refugees (46 per cent) and lowest for skilled migrants (19 per cent).

“Overall, length of time in Australia did not decrease the likelihood of migrants paying more than 30 per cent of their household income on rent,” the report said.

The proportions were: 27 per cent for migrants who lived in Australia for less than five years and 30 per cent for migrants who lived in Australia for more than ten years.

Refugees were the exception with proportions decreasing over time.

But the data showed migrants generally paid more of their incomes on mortgages than the general population, with 21 per cent migrant homeowners paying more than 30 per cent of their household income on mortgage repayments, compared with 14 per cent of all Australians.

This was highest for refugees (33 per cent) and lowest for skilled migrants (18 per cent).

Read the full report: Migrant settlement outcomes, 2023 | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)