Editing Immigration to Australia (section)

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

[[File:Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Australia by SLA - BCP field 1936 Total Total.svg|thumb|right|400px|People born overseas as a percentage of the population in Australia divided geographically by statistical local area, as of the 2011 census]]
[[File:ABS-3401.0-OverseasArrivalsDeparturesAustralia-TotalMovementArrivals CategoryMovement-NumberMovements-PermanentSettlerArrivals-A83808877L.svg|thumb|right|400px|Monthly arrivals of permanent settlers since 1976|alt=Plot showing a staggered rise, and peaks around 1982, 1988, and 2009.]]

The Australian continent was first settled when ancestors of [[Indigenous Australians]] arrived via the islands of [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] and [[New Guinea]] over 50,000 years ago.<ref name="SMH_Origins2">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/out-of-africa--aboriginal-origins-uncovered/2007/05/08/1178390312301.html|title=Out of Africa – Aboriginal origins uncovered|last=Smith|first=Debra|date=9 May 2007|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|quote=Aboriginal Australians are descended from the same small group of people who left Africa about 70,000 years ago and colonised the rest of the world, a large genetic study shows. After arriving in Australia and New Guinea about 50,000 years ago, the settlers evolved in relative isolation, developing unique genetic characteristics and technology.|access-date=5 June 2008|archive-date=6 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106051641/http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/out-of-africa--aboriginal-origins-uncovered/2007/05/08/1178390312301.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
	 
European colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of a [[British Empire|British]] [[penal colony]] in [[New South Wales]]. Starting at independence in 1901, Australia maintained the [[White Australia policy]] for much of the 20th century, which forbade the entrance in Australia of people of non-European ethnic origins. Following [[World War II]], the policy was gradually relaxed, and was abolished entirely in 1973. Since 1945, more than 7 million people have settled in Australia.

Between 1788 and the mid-20th century, the vast majority of settlers and immigrants came from Britain and Ireland (principally [[English Australians|England]], [[Irish Australians|Ireland]] and [[Scottish Australians|Scotland]]), although there was significant immigration from [[Chinese Australians|China]] and [[German Australians|Germany]] during the 19th century. In the decades immediately following World War II, Australia received a [[Post-war immigration to Australia|large wave of immigration]] from across [[European Australians|Europe]], with many more immigrants arriving from [[Southern Europe|Southern]] and [[Eastern Europe]] than in previous decades. Since the end of the [[White Australia policy]] in 1973, Australia has pursued an official policy of [[multiculturalism]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/06evolution.htm|title=The Evolution of Australia's Multicultural Policy|access-date=18 September 2007|year=2005|publisher=Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219130703/http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/06evolution.htm|archive-date=19 February 2006}}</ref> and there has been a large and continuing wave of immigration from across the world, with [[Asian Australians|Asia]] being the largest source of immigrants in the 21st century.<ref name="homeaffairs.gov.au">{{Cite web|url=https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/report-migration-program-2018-19.pdf|title=2018 – 19 Migration Program Report|date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406191145/https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/report-migration-program-2018-19.pdf|archive-date=6 April 2023|url-status=live|website=Department of Home Affairs}}</ref> In 2019–20, immigration to Australia came to a halt during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], which in turn saw a shrinkage of the Australian population for the first time since World War I,<ref>{{cite web|title=Australia's population shrinks for the first time since WWI as COVID turns off immigration tap|work=ABC|date=24 March 2021|accessdate=14 April 2021|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-24/population-declines-as-covid-border-closures-bite/13256938|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413233816/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-24/population-declines-as-covid-border-closures-bite/13256938|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Australia's population has shrunk. What is the ideal population for this country?|work=ABC|date=25 March 2021|accessdate=14 April 2021|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/programs/afternoons/population/13276994|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412233446/https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/programs/afternoons/population/13276994|url-status=live}}</ref> though in the following period 2021–22 showed a very strong recovery of migrant arrivals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-16 |title=Overseas Migration, 2021-22 financial year {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/overseas-migration/latest-release |access-date=2022-12-25 |website=www.abs.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=25 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225071241/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/overseas-migration/latest-release |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Net overseas migration has increased from 30,042 in 1992–93<ref name="abs">Australian Bureau of Statistics, [http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/0BD75000987B71A0CA256F7200832F19?Open International migration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413184820/http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/0BD75000987B71A0CA256F7200832F19?Open |date=13 April 2020 }}</ref> to 178,582 persons in 2015–16,<ref name="abs2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3412.0Main%20Features52015-16?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3412.0&issue=2015-16&num=&view=|title=Australian Bureau of noms|access-date=21 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707083017/http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3412.0Main%20Features52015-16?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3412.0&issue=2015-16&num=&view=|archive-date=7 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and 536,000 in 2022–23.<ref name="news.com.au-migration">{{cite news |title=Unfair reality facing thousands of young Australians |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/interest-rates/unfair-reality-facing-thousands-of-young-australians/news-story/87c50e3bf9edefbdccd7b34966bd3dbf |work=News.com.au |date=1 January 2025}}</ref>  The largest components of [[immigration]] are the skilled migration and family re-union programs. A 2014 sociological study concluded that: "Australia and Canada are the most receptive to immigration among western nations."<ref>Markus, Andrew. "[http://jos.sagepub.com/content/50/1/10.full.pdf+html Attitudes to immigration and cultural diversity in Australia.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623043715/http://jos.sagepub.com/content/50/1/10.full.pdf+html |date=23 June 2016 }}" Journal of Sociology 50.1 (2014): 10-22.</ref> In 2023, [[Boston Consulting Group|BCG]] ranked Australia as the top country destination for individuals seeking to work and live a high-quality life based on global assessments.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-22 |title=Decoding Global Talent 2024: Dream Destinations and Mobility Trends |url=https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/dream-destinations-and-talent-mobility-trends |website=BCG Global |language=en}}</ref>

Australia is a signatory to the [[Convention relating to the Status of Refugees]] and has resettled many [[Asylum in Australia|asylum seekers]]. In recent years, Australia's policy of [[Immigration detention in Australia|mandatory detention]] of [[unauthorised arrival]]s by boat has attracted controversy.