When moving to Australia, you may wish to research migrant experience surveys and reports. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia (DIAC) published ‘Life in a New Land: The Experience of Recent Migrants to Australia’ to report on how migrants have settled in to their new life in the country. Although the study was published in 2002, it still contains relevant information for today’s migrants.
A full copy of the publication can be found on the DIAC website – www.immi.gov.au. The study looks at various issues including the migration process and decisions, housing needs and overall satisfaction with life in Australia.
Two surveys were conducted over a number of years (Cohort 1: 1993/4 and Cohort 2: 1999/2000). Interviews were conducted 6 months after arrival and 12 months after arrival (and 24 months after for Cohort 1). The result was the publication of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA) which provides useful insights for anyone moving to Australia.
A summary of the survey can be found below:
Presence of Family Members
The presence of family already settled in Australia continues to be a major draw for migrants. Family members can assist with settling in issues such as finding a place to live, employment and providing general information.
Housing
Overall the quality of housing in Australia is stated by migrants to be high. Housing is important in terms of the overall settlement experience, in particular the speed at which suitable housing can be found is also a factor. Family members can also assist with this issue.
Reasons for Migration
The most dominant factors for migration to Australia were: climate, environment and the natural beauty of the country and the associated lifestyle factors resulting from this such as peaceful surroundings. ‘Friendly people’ is another positive element about Australia highlighted by the migrants surveyed. This demonstrates that economic reasons are not always the dominant factor for migration.
Choice of State
The main reasons given by migrants for the choice of State which they relocated to varied according to the state. The trends were as follows:
- Migrants moving to Victoria cited ‘moving to be near family and friends’ as their primary motivation.
- New South Wales was chosen principally for job opportunities.
- Queensland and Western Australia were chosen for the climate and associated lifestyle.
- Other reasons were cited for choosing the remaining Australian States.
Satisfaction with the Migration Experience
Very few migrants reported being dissatisfied with their experience and were generally happy that they had made the decision to relocate. The majority of people interviewed also said that they would encourage others to migrate to Australia also.
Summary
In summary, the report found that the objectives of the Australian Government in terms of gaining economic benefit from migrants as well as assisting family re-unions have been accomplished.
Skilled Trade Workers in Demand in Australia
A tradesman’s role is geographically fixed and therefore can’t be off-shored whereas other jobs can be out-sourced to other countries. Therefore, this has led to an urgent need to make sure that such roles have a constant supply of skilled labour available. As more and more of the ‘baby boomer’ population of skilled tradespeople being to retire, this need will increase.
The skills shortage outlined above means that Australia will become increasingly reliant on countries such as the UK to recruit skilled tradespeople. This is good news for carpenters, electricians and plumbers looking to start a new life down under in the future.
Manpower is a recruitment organisation based in Australia. White papers concerning insights into the labour market are produced and published on their website. Further information can be found on the website: www.manpower.com.au.