Australia now adds more people through migration than through births. Let that sink in for a moment.
In 2023, over 80% of the annual population growth came from overseas migration. Without it, we’d be growing at under 0.5% annually. With it, growth reached around 2.5% in 2022–23, one of the highest rates in the developed world. Instead, we hit 27.2 million people in 2024. (ABS, 2024)
This isn’t just a demographic trend but a workforce transformation. With falling birth rates and an aging population, natural increase is no longer enough to sustain growth. Migration is doing the heavy lifting, and it’s skewed towards young, skilled, and workforce-ready. This matters deeply for industries like tech, where demand for specialised talent consistently outpaces local supply.
The workforce behind the code
- 45% of all tech workers in Australia were born overseas (ACS Digital Pulse, 2022)
- 66% of software engineers are migrants (ABS Census 2021 + Productivity Commission)
- Software and applications programmers were the third most common occupation among recent skilled migrants, with 24,000 arriving between 2016 and 2021 (ACS Digital Pulse, 2022)
- 35.7% of startup founders were born overseas (LaunchVic report, 2022)
- 61% of top 50 startups have an immigrant founder or co-founder (Startmate + Tech Council analysis, 2023)
Migrants aren’t just filling gaps, they’re building companies, solving new problems, and bringing a global perspective to local innovation. The tech industry’s reliance on skilled migration is structural, not cyclical. It’s no longer a temporary fix, but it’s becoming the engine.
Migration policy is evolving
The federal government knows this. Its December 2023 Migration Strategy marked a shift in tone: more targeted, more dynamic, more aligned with economic needs. The policy recognises that migration is a tool, not just for population growth, but for productivity.
Recent changes include:
- A Skills in Demand visa that fast-tracks high-earning specialists (e.g. senior engineers, cybersecurity leads) — with no occupation list required (Home Affairs, 2023)
- A Core Skills Occupation List that reflects live labour market analysis (Jobs and Skills Australia)
- Streamlined pathways for VC-backed startups to sponsor global talent (Migration Strategy, 2023)
- Higher salary thresholds to ensure only genuinely skilled roles are filled — $70k+ minimum (TSMIT, 2023)
Meanwhile, the Global Talent Visa, soon to become the National Innovation Visa, remains a flagship program for attracting global tech leaders — from AI researchers to fintech entrepreneurs.
But challenges remain
For all its benefits, the migration system isn’t seamless. Australia underutilises a huge portion of its migrant talent.
- 45% of skilled migrants work below their qualification level (Grattan Institute, 2022)
- Credential recognition, integration pathways, and employer risk aversion create friction
- Housing and infrastructure have lagged behind migration-fuelled growth (Centre for Population, 2024)
Unlocking this “ready-made workforce” could generate billions in productivity, particularly in fields such as software development and cybersecurity, where shortages persist. The policy intent is there. The operational follow-through is still catching up.
Net migration, not brain drain
While some Australians move abroad (mostly to the UK, US, and New Zealand), the net effect is heavily positive. Each year, Australia gains more highly skilled migrants than it loses. Migrants arrive at a younger age, stay longer, and participate in the workforce at higher rates.
Migration is also diversifying our tech talent pipeline. Countries like India and China now rival the UK as top source countries, a shift driven by skilled visa uptake, international education pathways, and sectoral need.
Migration is our unfair advantage
Without immigration, Australia would face a shrinking workforce and a growing skills gap. Instead, migration is injecting youth, skills, and innovation into the economy.
It’s filling jobs, yes, but it’s also creating them. Migrant founders, engineers, researchers, and operators aren’t just sustaining growth, but they’re accelerating it.
Soon, I’ll do some digging into understanding if this phenomenon happens in other countries at the same rates. But at the moment, I’m not sure whether we should be excited or kind of terrified about where the population is going in relation to the tech workforce. But it just seems a very strange time.
This also makes me think that when hiring managers say the candidate “doesn’t have any local experience”, it just doesn’t seem a logical statement given these numbers.
I don’t know how long this is sustainable. I guess we need to focus on making Australia the best possible place to migrate to in order to prop up our tech economy.
This newsletter draws on original research, census data, and government sources.
Sources:
- ABS — Australia’s population by country of birth, 2024
- Australian Computer Society — Digital Pulse Report 2022
- Engineers Australia — Engineering Workforce Analysis, 2023
- Productivity Commission — Migrant Fiscal Impact Analysis, 2021
- Grattan Institute — Making Migration Work Better, 2022
- Jobs and Skills Australia — Labour Market Update, 2024
- Department of Home Affairs — Migration Strategy, 2023
- Centre for Population — Population Statement, 2024
- LaunchVic — Mapping Victoria’s Startup Ecosystem, 2022
- Startmate & Tech Council of Australia — Startup Founders Report, 2023
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