Net overseas migration

Net overseas migration is arrivals minus departures. A year with 700,000 arrivals and 400,000 departures is a net figure of 300,000, and the headline never shows the two sides separately.

A person is counted once they are in Australia for 12 months out of any 16, which is the ABS 12-in-16 rule. Someone who arrives in March is not counted in that year's figure until their stay passes the threshold, so the measure trails the border by more than a year.

Because the 12-in-16 rule can only be applied in hindsight, recent figures are modelled first and finalised later. A number quoted close to its reference period is preliminary, and the final figure can move.

Each year's figure is that year alone. It is not the number of people in the country on a temporary visa, which is a standing population and a different measurement entirely.

Net overseas migration was 305,570 in 2024-25, the most recent complete financial year, on ABS figures for years ending 30 June. On a rolling twelve-month basis the figure most recently quoted is 292,100 for the year ending 31 March 2026.

Arrivals minus departures. A person is counted once they have been in Australia for 12 months out of any 16, the ABS 12-in-16 rule, so the measure trails the border by more than a year. In 2024-25 the net figure was 305,570.

No. Net overseas migration is an annual flow: 305,570 for 2024-25. The number of people in Australia on a temporary visa is a standing population: 1,825,403 at 31 August 2026, excluding New Zealand citizens, visitors and crew. They are different measurements and neither is more correct; they answer different questions.

On a financial-year basis it peaked at 538,340 in 2022-23, a post-border-reopening catch-up. On a rolling twelve-month basis the highest figure was about 556,000 in the year ending September 2023. It has fallen since, to 305,570 in 2024-25.

Because three different things are all called net overseas migration: a financial year ending 30 June, a rolling twelve months ending in any month, and a forward planning level. For example 305,570 is the 2024-25 financial year while 292,100 is the year ending 31 March 2026. Both are correct and they are not interchangeable.

Yes, sometimes substantially. The 12-in-16 residence rule can only be applied in hindsight, so recent figures are modelled first and finalised later. A figure quoted close to its reference period is preliminary. The 2024-25 figure of 305,570 comes from the ABS 2024-25 release.

The stated planning levels are 245,000 for 2026-27 and 225,000 from 2027-28. These are forward planning levels rather than measured outcomes, and they are not comparable with the 305,570 recorded for 2024-25 until those years are complete and measured.