Immigration and refugees

Attitudes to immigration

Following two years of closed borders during the pandemic, Australians appear to be shifting towards more openness and immigration. Seven in ten Australians (68%) say ‘Australia’s openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a nation’, a 15-point increase from 2018. Fewer Australians (31%) now say ‘if Australia is too open to people from all over the world, we risk losing our identity as a nation’, a ten-point decline over the past four years.

There is a significant difference across generations on this question. Eight in ten Australians aged 18–44 (79%) see openness as essential to Australia’s identity, while this is a view held by 58% of Australians aged over 45.

The number of Australians calling for reduced immigration also appears to have declined over the course of the pandemic. When asked about restarting Australia’s immigration program now that borders have reopened, 46% say that the number of immigrants allowed into Australia should be ‘around the same as pre-Covid levels’. A third of Australians (33%) say immigration should be ‘lower than pre-Covid levels’, and 21% say ‘higher than pre-Covid levels’. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, in response to a different question, 47% of Australians said immigration levels were ‘too high’, while 40% said the rate of immigration was about right.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nine in ten Australians (90%) say they strongly or somewhat support ‘admitting Ukrainian refugees into Australia’.

Immigration and refugees
Attitudes to immigration

Question

Thinking about immigration to Australia. Please say whether you personally agree or disagree with each of the following statements about immigration:

This question was last asked in 2019.

Australian cities are already too crowded

2019

Overall, immigration has a positive impact on the economy of Australia

2016

2019

Immigrants strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents

2016

2019

Accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger

2016

2019

Immigrants are a burden on our social welfare system

2016

2019

Immigrants take away jobs from other Australians

2016

2019

Dashed line indicates change in mode: see Methodology.