Migrants in Australia fear becoming pawns in a political dispute
In Australia, migrants are expressing concern that they could become the subject of political disputes amid a debate over the scale of migration. As ABC News Australia reports, participants in the Your Say project spoke about the difficulties of obtaining visas, adapting and finding work after relocating.
Barbara Dervodel moved to Australia from Slovenia with her husband Jure in 2017. The couple settled in Mandurah, about 70 kilometres south of Perth. After studying in master's programmes in natural sciences, they spent a year in the country on working holiday visas and obtained permanent residency five years later.
Historian and adjunct researcher at the University of Tasmania Annalise Claydon, who was born in the United States, received Australian citizenship this year after a 14-year journey. She said that while applying for her status, she was afraid to seek help due to concerns about her visa and right to remain. Claydon also voiced concern for temporary residents, who may feel like outsiders in the country they chose as their home.
Debate over migration figures
Alan Gamlen, director of the Migration Hub at the Australian National University, believes that much of the debate about migration is based on myths and misinformation. In his view, claims that the housing crisis was caused by excessive migration, as well as claims that migrants take jobs or live on welfare payments, are false.
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Gamlen criticised politicians' focus on the net overseas migration figure — the difference between the number of people arriving and those leaving the country. In the 2024–2025 financial year, this figure was 305,000 people, compared with 429,000 a year earlier. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2018–2019, it stood at 241,000. The federal government forecasts that the figure will fall to 295,000 in the 2025–2026 financial year.
According to the professor, more attention should be paid to the temporary migration programme, which includes students, working holiday visa holders and temporary skilled workers. According to the Department of Home Affairs, the number of people in the country on temporary visas, including New Zealand citizens, rose from 1.75 million in 2012 to nearly 2.9 million at the end of July this year.
Regional needs
Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said there was a need for a national population settlement strategy for regional areas. According to the organisation's research, migration accounted for 46.2% of population growth in regional Australia in 2025. The largest group of newcomers consisted of people aged 25 to 44.
At the same time, skilled migrants may face difficulties locally. Fares Al-Hilli arrived from Iraq with his wife and two children in February 2022 on a skilled migrant visa and settled in Murray Bridge, South Australia. Due to a lack of local experience, he was unable to immediately find work in his biomedical field and worked at a mushroom factory and as a hydrotherapy pool attendant. In 2024, Al-Hilli became a laboratory manager at a local school.
