A new paradigm of international migration: implications for migration policy and planning in Australia

Abstract

This paper argues that the global drivers of international migration have been transformed in the last decade and that this has greatly changed the context in which migration to and from Australia occurs and in which immigration policy is developed. The globalisation of labour markets, the development of an immigration industry, the proliferation of social networks, the information and transport revolutions, expansion of trade and economic change have all lead to international migration being within the calculus of choice of an increasing proportion of the world’s inhabitants. As a result, there has been a massive increase in global population movement and an increase in the complexity of the types of movement—permanent and temporary, legal and undocumented, forced and voluntary, work and non-work related, etc. In Australia much thinking about international migration remains anchored in a paradigm of movement that applied in the four decades following the Second World War, which focused almost entirely on permanent settlement. The contemporary situation is that the international migration impinging on Australia is now more complex especially with temporary residence becoming more important and more Australians than ever before migrating to live and work for extended periods in other countries. It is argued that much of the thinking and research on immigration in Australia neglects the new reality of international movements. International migration has been, and remains a crucial component of Australia’s economic, social and cultural development. It is important that Australia’s international migration research and thinking take full cognizance of these important changes.