Why do people migrate?

Similar to countries in regions such as Northern America and parts of Europe, Australia and New Zealand are facing a labour squeeze and need immigration to address shortages of workers in key sectors. Both countries have long relied on immigration to fill gaps in their labour markets. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Australia enacted some of the harshest mobility restrictions in the world, resulting in a sharp reduction in the number of migrant workers entering the country. To address current labour needs, Australia announced in 2022 that it would increase the number of permanent migration visas in programme year 2022—23 from 160,000 to 195,000. This increase is expected to fill labour gaps in sectors such as health and technology. The Government is also focusing on streamlining visa processing, including providing additional funding of AUD 36.1 million for this purpose. New Zealand, meanwhile, announced significant immigration reforms to increase its available pool of labour, including easing residence permits for migrant workers in priority high-skill sectors.

Relative to their population, small island States, including those in Oceania, have the highest displacement risk due to climate change. Eight of the Pacific Island countries and territories, including Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands and Niue are among the top 15 countries and territories in the world most at-risk of such disasters. Tonga, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are ranked as the most vulnerable countries worldwide to the impacts of climate change and disasters. Disasters such as tropical cyclones, volcanic eruptions and droughts often wreak havoc and cause displacement across the subregion. In 2021, two consecutive cyclones — Ana and Bina — hit the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, triggering more 14,000 displacements. Since half their population live within 10km of the coast, Pacific small island States are also vulnerable to slow onset events such as rising sea levels and coastal erosion, with potentially significant human impacts, including displacement. Responding to this challenge, governments in the Pacific have declared climate change a critical security issue for the region, and efforts have also been undertaken to advance policy responses to it, including its human mobility implications. Currently, governments across the region are considering the form and content of a regional, rights-based framework on climate mobility — the first of its kind anywhere in the world — under the oversight of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Oceania, particularly Australia, remains a top destination for international students, whose numbers are recovering after a decline in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia has long been a major destination for international students, but as the country closed borders and imposed travel restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19, the number of students entering the country sharply dropped. In 2022, the number of international students in the country seemed to be returning to pre-COVID-19 levels, with more than 619,000 student-visa-holding students, an 8 per cent increase over 2021. And in the first quarter of 2023, over 256,000 international students arrived in Australia, a 143 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2022. While New Zealand receives fewer international students compared to Australia, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also a popular destination. Before the pandemic, New Zealand enrolled around 120,000 international students, but these numbers dramatically declined during the country’s pandemic-related two-year border closure. There were signs, however, that the number of international students to New Zealand is recovering, too; since the borders reopened, thousands of students have applied to enter the country for upcoming programmes.