{
  "title": "Net overseas migration, Australia",
  "description": "Arrivals less departures over twelve months, ABS financial years ending 30 June. A FLOW, not a standing population.",
  "url": "https://mindiam.com/figures/net-overseas-migration",
  "dataUrl": "https://mindiam.com/figures/net-overseas-migration/data.json",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Mindiam",
    "url": "https://mindiam.com"
  },
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "lastRevised": "2026-10-06",
  "measurementType": "flow",
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2021-22",
      "periodBasis": "financial year ending 30 June",
      "value": 207910,
      "unit": "people per year",
      "note": "Borders reopened during this year."
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-23",
      "periodBasis": "financial year ending 30 June",
      "value": 538340,
      "unit": "people per year",
      "note": "The peak on a financial-year basis, a post-border-reopening catch-up."
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-24",
      "periodBasis": "financial year ending 30 June",
      "value": 429160,
      "unit": "people per year"
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-25",
      "periodBasis": "financial year ending 30 June",
      "value": 305570,
      "unit": "people per year",
      "note": "The most recent complete financial year."
    }
  ],
  "referencePeriods": {
    "latestFinancialYear": {
      "period": "2024-25",
      "value": 305570
    },
    "rollingTwelveMonths": {
      "period": "year ending 31 March 2026",
      "value": 292100
    },
    "rollingRecord": {
      "period": "year ending September 2023",
      "value": 556000
    },
    "planningLevels": {
      "2026-27": 245000,
      "2027-28": 225000
    }
  },
  "definition": [
    {
      "heading": "It is a net figure, not an arrival count",
      "text": "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."
    },
    {
      "heading": "It counts residence, not border crossings",
      "text": "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."
    },
    {
      "heading": "It is revised, sometimes substantially",
      "text": "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."
    },
    {
      "heading": "It is a flow, so it does not accumulate on the page",
      "text": "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."
    }
  ],
  "notTheSameAs": {
    "note": "A standing population is a different measurement and is not interchangeable with this one.",
    "temporaryVisaHolders": 2878973,
    "temporaryVisaHoldersExcludingNzVisitorsCrew": 1825403,
    "asAt": "31 August 2026",
    "url": "https://mindiam.com/figures/temporary-visa-population"
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Overseas Migration",
      "publisher": "Australian Bureau of Statistics",
      "url": "https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/overseas-migration/latest-release",
      "note": "ABS Overseas Migration, 2024-25 financial year release"
    }
  ]
}