Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Migration to Australia halves – Media release
5 March 2020
The estimated number of people migrating from New Zealand to Australia was 31,300 in the year ended June 2019, Stats NZ said today.
This is half the peak of 62,800 in the June 2012 year.
“Trans-Tasman migration has ebbed and flowed at different times, and currently we have relatively low numbers of migrants departing to Australia,” population insights senior analyst Kim Dunstan said.
New data on migrant departures to Australia
This is the first time Stats NZ has published figures showing migrant departures to Australia, since the end of traveller departure cards more than a year ago. At that time the official measure of migration also changed from being based on intentions to outcomes.
“A statistical downside of removing the departure card in November 2018 is no longer knowing where our migrant departures are going,” Mr Dunstan said.
“There is no existing New Zealand data source that tells us the destination of migrant departures. However, we’ve collaborated with our Australian colleagues to publish a new series of migrant departures to Australia.”
The estimates are based on data collected at the Australian border and published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Australia uses the same 12/16-month rule as New Zealand to identify migrants arriving and departing, and has done so since 2007. The outcomes-based measure of migration using the 12/16-month rule is based on the actual duration of stay/absence of travellers after crossing the border. Australia also removed their departure card, in July 2017.
“The new outcomes-based estimates follow similar tr
