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Immigration concerns among Australian voters have more than doubled in two years, with new research showing 13% of electors now consider managing immigration and population growth an important issue, approaching pre-pandemic levels for the first time since COVID-19.
Roy Morgan research released Tuesday found the proportion of Australian electors citing immigration as a top-three concern has surged from just 6% in June 2023 to 13% in June 2025, representing a seven percentage point increase that closely tracks rising migration levels following border reopenings.
The polling company surveyed 456,069 Australian electors aged 18 and over between July 2016 and June 2025, asking respondents to identify their three most important issues facing the nation.
"New Roy Morgan research shows almost one-in-seven Australian electors (13%) believe that 'managing immigration and population growth' is an important issue – a figure that has more than doubled since 2023," Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said.
The findings reveal immigration concerns peaked at 16% in 2019 before declining sharply during the pandemic as Australia's borders closed and migration plummeted, hitting a low of 6% in 2022-2023.
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State-by-State Variations Show Broad-Based Increases
South Australian electors expressed the highest level of concern about immigration at 15%, representing a 10 percentage point increase since 2023. New South Wales and Queensland both recorded 14% of voters citing immigration as a priority, up 7 and 8 percentage points respectively.
Victoria followed at 13%, marking a 6 percentage point rise, while Western Australia recorded 11% and Tasmania 10%, both showing increases of 6 and 5 percentage points respectively.
"The State-by-State results reveal differences, but the same clear upward trend over the last couple of years," Levine said. "South Australians (15%) are the most likely to perceive managing immigration as an important issue ahead of NSW (14%), Queensland (14%) and Victoria (13%)."
Lower concern levels in Western Australia and Tasmania may reflect "a less diverse immigrant profile in Western Australia and a lower level of migration to Tasmania," according to the research.
Age Emerges as Key Factor in Immigration Views
The research revealed significant generational differences in immigration concerns, with older Australians far more likely to prioritize the issue than younger voters.
Among electors aged 60 and over, 18% identified managing immigration as important, compared to 13% of those aged 35-59 and just 9% of voters aged 18-34.
"Concern about immigrations is strongly correlated to age with older Australian electors aged 60 or over far more likely to perceive managing migration as an important issue (mentioned by 18%), than those aged 35-59 (13%) or those aged under 35 (9%)," Levine said.
The proportional increases since 2023 were also greater among older age groups, with those 60 and over showing a 10 percentage point rise compared to 7 percentage points for middle-aged voters and 4 percentage points for those under 35.
Migration Patterns Mirror Public Opinion Trends
The research demonstrates a clear correlation between actual migration levels and public concern about immigration policy. Immigration worries followed what Roy Morgan described as a "U-shaped path" over recent years.
Concern reached pre-pandemic highs of 16% in 2018-2019, coinciding with a 35% increase in net overseas migration to Australia between 2015 and 2018, along with increased reporting of alleged training fraud involving foreign nationals at higher education institutions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, as Australia's borders closed and migration dropped significantly, public concern about immigration declined sharply to historic lows of 6-7% between 2021 and 2023.
"In the absence of large-scale immigration, the perception of immigration as an important issue declined sharply during the pandemic, only being mentioned by 6% of Australian electors in 2022-2023," Levine said.
As Australia's borders reopened in 2022 and migration levels quickly exceeded pre-pandemic numbers by year's end, public concern began rising correspondingly.
"However, as migration to Australia rose swiftly in 2022 after Australia's borders re-opened, overtaking pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, the perceived importance of 'managing immigration' surged and is now at its highest level since before the pandemic," Levine said.
Broad-Based Recovery Across All Demographics
The increase in immigration concerns since the pandemic represents a broad-based phenomenon affecting all Australian states and age groups, though to varying degrees.
"Taken together, these results show that the rise in concerns since Covid is broad-based, with every State reporting higher levels than two years ago," the research found.
The national trend mirrors patterns observed in other developed nations where immigration concerns have resurged following post-pandemic migration increases, though Australia's data provides particularly detailed longitudinal tracking given Roy Morgan's extensive polling history.
Research Methodology and Scope
Roy Morgan conducted the research through its Single Source program, interviewing an average of 50,674 Australian electors annually over the nine-year period. The company describes itself as Australia's largest independent research organization with over 80 years of experience.
Respondents were asked to select three issues they considered most important from a range of policy areas including immigration, economic concerns, healthcare, climate change and law and order matters.
The margin of error for the overall sample of 456,069 interviews is less than 0.4 percentage points, providing high statistical confidence in the findings across demographic breakdowns.
Historical Context of Immigration Polling
The current 13% level of concern about immigration remains below the pre-pandemic peak but represents a significant recovery from the historic lows recorded during COVID-19 border closures.
Prior to 2019, immigration concerns fluctuated between 11% and 16% over the survey period beginning in 2016, suggesting the current level falls within the upper range of historical norms for Australian public opinion.
The research provides insight into how public attitudes toward immigration policy respond to actual migration flows, demographic changes and broader economic conditions affecting housing, employment and social services.
Roy Morgan noted that the timing of the current surge coincides with ongoing national debates about housing affordability, infrastructure capacity and labor market pressures that often intersect with immigration policy discussions.
The polling data offers political parties and policymakers detailed geographical and demographic breakdowns of constituent concerns as Australia continues managing post-pandemic migration recovery and long-term population planning challenges.
Data Available for Further Analysis
Roy Morgan indicated additional demographic breakdowns are available through its online store, including analysis by socioeconomic status, work status, home ownership, voting intention and media consumption patterns.
The company tracks immigration concerns alongside other major issues including cost of living, healthcare, climate change and crime, providing comparative context for the relative importance voters place on different policy areas.
Related research from the organization includes analysis of crime concerns and federal election issue priorities, with immigration representing one component of broader public attitudes toward government policy effectiveness and national direction.
The comprehensive nature of the polling data allows for detailed examination of how immigration concerns vary across Australia's diverse communities and demographic groups, providing insights for policy development and political strategy considerations.
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