The Labor government’s immigration targets for last financial year could be exceeded by as much as 100,000 people.
Corinna Economic Advisory’s Saul Eslake forecast the 2023-23 financial year intake would be 495,000 people, ‘if not more’, reported The Australian.
The Albanese government has settled on an intake target of 395,000 for the same period, down from 518,000 the year earlier.
Abdul Rizvi, a former immigration department deputy secretary, estimated the number would be around 450,000 to 475,000 people.
The government in last year’s May budget forecast the number of foreigners moving to the country would drop to 315,000 in the 12 months to June under new measures it introduced – though this was revised to 375,000 in December and 395,000 earlier this year.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton previously said the influx of new residents vying for places to live was why property prices remain at record highs.
‘This is why Australians can’t afford to buy a home, it’s why the rents have gone through the roof and it’s why we find ourselves in a position that we do today with people living without secure accommodation,’ Mr Dutton said.
Minister for Home Affairs Murray Watt said migration had slowed under the government’s measures it had introduced progressively over the last two years.