“Records continue to be smashed with this government’s promise to cut migration in absolute tatters, as half a million would-be migrants arrived on a net basis over the twelve months to January – the highest in recorded history,” said Dr Kevin You, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.
Today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics updated its Overseas Arrivals and Departures database, with the reference period January 2026. IPA analysis of the data shows:
- Net permanent and long-term arrivals (i.e., people who have arrived in Australia with a declared intention to stay in the country for 12 months or longer) in January 2026 were 57,270, the highest January net arrivals on record.
- Net permanent and long-term arrivals totalled 494,540 in the twelve months to January 2026, the highest in recorded history.
Almost 1400 new net permanent and long-term arrivals per day, every day, for 12 months. The media and the government told us that this number was shrinking. Turns out they lied, as always.
How do you reconcile this assessment with these statements on the ABS site:
“Net overseas migration was 306,000 in 2024-25, down from 429,000 a year earlier. Migrant arrivals decreased 14% to 568,000 from 661,000 arrivals a year earlier.”
When people have an agenda, they won’t let a little thing like facts get in their way.