Globalization and changes in Australian international migration

Abstract

Australian international migration has undergone a massive transformation in the last decade, in part as a result of globalization. Although Australia has long been a country of immigration with a relatively high proportion of its residents foreign-born, the nature of international migration shaping the country has undergone profound change in the era of globalization. This paper outlines some of the major dimensions of this change in international migration. The links between globalization and migration are complex and two-way but there can be no doubt that processes which have accelerated international exchanges of goods, information, ideas, trade and finance and led to an internationalization of labour markets have been associated with shifts in Australian migration. This change has had a number of components which have increased the complexity of the international migration influencing Australia. The changes examined include the increasing significance of skill-related migration compared with other forms, increasing non-permanent migration, the increasing nexus between temporary and permanent migration, the increasing movement of Australians out of the country, the significance of student migration and the increasing significance of migration in influencing Australia’s relationship with its Asia-Pacific neighbours. These changes have profound implications for Australia’s contemporary and future demography.