Research Note no.56 2003-04
Regional migration: a new paradigm of international migration(1)
Professor Graeme Hugo, Consultant
IRS Contact Catherine Böhm
Social Policy Section
24 May 2004
Introduction
The spatial distribution of Australias
population is not only shaped by internal population movements. It is
also greatly influenced by the extent to which immigrants settle in a
different spatial pattern to that of the resident national population.
Job opportunities, skills, work experience, areas of settlement of fellow
countrymen and migrant networks all play a critical role. This Research
Note summarises the settlement patterns of the Australian population and
describes recent efforts to encourage migrants to settle in regional areas.
Settlement patterns
A shift in interstate population
distribution has occurred in Australias post-war population away from
the south-eastern states to the northern and western parts of the country.
In 1947, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania accounted
for 78.4 per cent of the population, but by 2001 these states had only
68.7 per cent of the total. Queensland increased its share of the population
from 14.6 per cent to 18.7 per cent and Western Australia from 6.6
per cent to 9.8 per cent.
While much of this shift has been
due to interstate population movements, it is also due to a propensity
for immigrants to settle in particular states. A comparison of the Australia-Born
and Overseas-Born columns in Table 1 shows that immigrants have settled
disproportionately in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia
and this has been an influential factor in shaping the distribution of
the national population. It should be noted, however, that there has been
a striking increase in the proportion of recently arrived migrants settling
in Queensland (Table 1- Persons Arriving In Last 5 Years column).
The relative contributions of net
international migration, net interstate migration and natural increases
to changes in state and territory populations are shown in Table 2. In
South Australia and Tasmania net international migration gains were not
enough to counter-balance the net outflow from interstate migration.
Settlement by migrants in urban
and rural areas shows the under-representation in non-metropolitan categories
is much greater among recent arrivals than among immigrants of longer
standing, especially in rural areas (Table 3).
Regional migration initiatives
The last few years have seen a more
concerted effort than at any time since the settlement of displaced persons
after the Second World War to influence where immigrants settle. A raft
of State Specific and Regional Migration (SSRM) schemes now enable employers,
state/territory governments or relatives to sponsor prospective skilled
migrants to designated areas. Mechanisms include the:
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme
- State/Territory Nominated Independent Scheme
- Skilled Designated Area Sponsored Visa Categories
- Skill Matching Database
- Skill Matching Visa
- Regional Established Business in Australia, and
- Two-stage Territory Sponsored Business Owner, Investor and Senior
Executive visa categories.
Other initiatives include:
- temporary residence concessions for regional Australia, including
a greater role for regional certifying bodies in supporting sponsorships
in these areas
- changes to the general skilled migration category. In order to encourage
a greater proportion of overseas students to consider studying and eventually
settling in regional Australia, adjustments have been made to the points
test and eligibility criteria
- the introduction of a two-stage process (that is, a provisional visa
and then a granting of permanent residence once a business is fully
established) for the business skills categories. In addition, there
is a much greater emphasis on state and territory government sponsorship
and support at both stages (with immediate permanent residence only
available for high calibre business migrants who have state/territory
government support).
The overall number of SSRM scheme
settlers was 7921 by 2002-03. Continuing initiatives are likely to see
further increases over the next few years.
The current debate
State Specific and Regional Migration
(SSRM) schemes are currently at a key point in Australia. There is a strong
commitment on the part of several state governments (South Australia,
Tasmania and Victoria) and the federal government to increase the number
of permanent settlement visas issued under these initiatives. Moreover,
the Labor Opposition has committed to developing measures to ensure that
at least 45 per cent of Australias new settlers go to rural and regional
areas.
Some have been sceptical of Australias
regional migration schemes. For example Birrell shows that most regional
migrants have settled in capital cities, especially Melbourne.(2)
(Although Melbourne is not eligible for receiving migrants in all SSRM
categories, it can receive those under the larger regional-linked Skilled-Designated
Area Sponsor and, to a lesser extent, the State Sponsored Skill categories).
Temporary migration
Australia has entered a new paradigm
of international migration with the new large-scale acceptance of temporary
workers. This movement should be included in consideration of state-specific
migration schemes because:
- the temporary migration is highly selective of very skilled persons
- it is likely that such migrants make a significant economic contribution,
and
- a substantial proportion of the temporary residents eventually settle
in Australia.
The Department of Immigration, Multicultural
and Indigenous Affairs has indicated that the Regional Migration Scheme
will include some new initiatives to direct temporary entrants as well
as permanent entrants to states like South Australia. These include temporary
residence for doctors who agree to go to an area of need and temporary
resident concessions for regional Australia which allow a greater role
for regional certifying bodies to support sponsorships.
Conclusion
Attempts to influence where migrants
settle in Australia have had only marginal influence on the distribution
of migrants in Australia. Migration theory and past experience point to
recent migrants concentrating in areas where there are substantial communities
of fellow countrymen and abundant job opportunities. Programs to divert
migrants will always have difficulty. However, with entry requirements
relaxed for people in peripheral areas, substantial numbers of potential
migrants who are unable to qualify for settlement under the national migration
regulations will be attracted to SSRM schemes. The effectiveness in terms
of redistributing the population and assisting the development of regional
areas and peripheral states will depend on the definitions of regional
and eligibility (if metropolitan Melbourne continues to be included, it
will attract the bulk of the new immigrants), and on the extent to which
SSRM scheme settlers stay in their original location.
The eventual impact of the SSRM
schemes is difficult to predict and cannot be based purely on past experience.
It has mainly been the skill and family elements in the immigration program
that have been the subject of such schemes, but it may be possible in
the future to consider the humanitarian part of the program.
- This Research Note is one of a series of extracts derived from, A
new paradigm of international migration: implications for migration
policy and planning for Australia, Research Paper,
no. 10, Parliamentary Library 200304.
- B. Birrell, Redistributing Migrants: the Labor Agenda, People
and Place, vol. 5, no. 4.
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