The political debate about migration often boils down to a numbers game. The question is typically what the precise level should be and the answer depends on who you ask.

Clive Palmer says zero. Pauline Hanson says around 130,000. Angus Taylor says it should equal the number of dwelling completions (175,000 in 2024-25).

Anthony Albanese has recently opted for the Treasury’s long-term estimate of 225,000. One Nation’s David Farley has said he is happy with 306,000.

This is a very wide range suggesting that there is not the slightest agreement about what the level of migration should be.

Part of the reason for this is political, but another reason is policy. Australia’s migration levels are rarely a result of careful and sophisticated planning, but it’s time they were.

Where is migration currently at?

Discussions about migration numbers centre largely around one figure: Net overseas migration, or NOM. It’s the net gain or loss of population through immigration to Australia and emigration from Australia.

Net overseas migration was 301,000 in 2025, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data. This was down from 330,000 in 2024 and 530,000 in 2023.

The relatively small fall from 2024 to 2025, compared with the fall from 2023 to 2024 has led some commentators to conclude that net overseas migration is settling around 300,000.

But this conclusion ignores the fact this figure is made up of numerous different movements in and out of Australia, several of which are far from being........

© The New Daily