India, China, England: Australia's astonishing immigration shift

Discrimination is often driven by unconscious bias. With this in mind, SBS commissioned research on the first five years of the new migrant experience in Australia. The results are out now - and they might surprise you.

Faszinierende Studie: Calling Australia Home Source: SBS Media

Our astonishing immigration shift

The latest figures show Australia now takes more than 160,000 new migrants each year.

India, China and England are the top three countries of origin, followed by New Zealand, the Philippines and Pakistan.

They are followed by Ireland, Vietnam, South Africa and Nepal. As a result, England and Ireland are now the only two European nations in the top ten.

Germany, once a key source of migration, has fallen out of the top 20, with Austria and Switzerland now lagging even further behind.

The top three source countries of humanitarian entrants to Australia are Syria, Iraq and Myanmar.

Calling Australia Home

The study, Calling Australia Home, examined how migrant experiences compare with expectations, their evolving consumer journey, their craving for a sense of belonging, and the barriers migrants face to becoming Australian.

It's a timely study, given the recent calls from some quarters for curbing migration.

Key findings from Calling Australia Home include:

• New migrants are twice as likely to be degree educated than those born in Australia
• Lifestyle and security are two of the major drivers that attract new migrants
• Two thirds of new migrants don’t feel that they are accurately represented in the media
• Most migrants are eager to become Australian, with over 80% on the path to citizenship
• 58% of migrants would like to feel more Australian
• Many new migrants experience discrimination, and this experience increases the more time they spend in Australia
• One third of small businesses in Australia are owned by new migrants