JAKARTA - Australia is seeing record levels of long-term and permanent migrant arrivals, according to new analysis from the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). But experts say the issue is more complex than the headlines suggest, and migrants themselves are not to blame.

Between January and September 2025, there were 415,760 arrivals, according to the report. That is the highest ever for that period and 6% more than last year. Over the 12 months to September, the total reached 468,390, also a record high, according to IPA’s analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released on November 12, 2025.

IPA Deputy Executive Director Daniel Wild said the surge is not the fault of migrants but of government policy, which he claimed lacks public support. He also warned that housing, infrastructure, and services cannot keep up, and that many Australians want migration slowed until the country can manage the growth.

“This failure belongs to the federal government alone. The numbers are clearly unsustainable,” Wild added.

Most overseas-born residents in Australia come from England, India, China, New Zealand, and the Philippines. ABS population data as of June 2024 lists these countries as the top sources of overseas-born residents.

Housing is already scarce in Australia, and the data makes that clear. Another report earlier this year also suggested that Australia’s rapid migration since 2022 has caused a nationwide housing shortfall, with migration making up more than 80 percent of population growth.

Every mainland state faced a housing gap, with the biggest shortages in Western Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales, while Tasmania was the only state to keep up with demand.

IPA also mentioned in another report that building a house in Australia now takes much longer and costs much more than a decade ago, with average construction times rising by 50 percent and material costs increasing by 53 percent between 2014 and 2024. 

These building and material cost estimates come from an earlier 2025 IPA study based on long-term housing construction data.