Filipino diaspora in Australia
Wherever the future migration pattern might lead, there’s always the other side of the ledger.
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Wherever the future migration pattern might lead, there’s always the other side of the ledger.
There's no dearth of relevant data to aid comprehension of the Fiipino diaspora in Australia. As a take-off point, while the Australian government is a representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a federation of states, it is by far one of the strongest-performing economies in the world.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, overseas-born Filipinos living in Australia increased from 193,020 (2016 census) to 310,620 (2021 census) such that Filipinos now occupy 5th place among nationalities out of 17 countries of origin.
In the larger picture, the Australian population by country of birth summarily shows that there are 41 percent who are foreign-born against 59 percent Australian-born. A minimum of 100,000 and more foreign-born residents come from each of 17 countries elsewhere in the world to populate this beautiful continent.
India comes next to England at second and the Philippines next to New Zealand at fifth place. Furthermore, for Filipino students wishing to study abroad, Australia is the number one destination, such that in 2022 some 17,976 Filipino students were studying in Australia, comprising the eighth-largest cohort of international students.
At the time of the 2016 census, the median individual weekly income for the Philippine-born in Australia aged 15 years and over was $746, compared with $615 for all overseas-born and $688 for all Australian-born.
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By more current rates, the national median personal income is $805 per week. This is a $143 increase from 2016. This covers the adult population 15 to over 85 years old, including those who are unemployed or retired. The top three reported occupations were sales assistant–general (514,084), registered nurse (262,742) and general clerk (244,849).
Understandably enough, the trigger for the "greener pastures-seeking Filipinos" is, bottom line, economic reasons. Fact be told, the Philippines' per capita gross domestic product is "one-tenth of Australia's on a purchasing power parity basis," thus, Australia ranks very high on the "summary measure of well-being based on health, education and income."
If that isn't the strongest incentive for Filipino migration, what is? When one looks at another dataset, it appears that in financial year 2021, only over 1,000 more Filipino nationals migrated to Australia, the lowest increase in Filipino net migration since 2009 compared to 2019 when Filipino net migration was over 18,000.
Wherever the future migration pattern might lead, there's always the other side of the ledger, equally in the direction of prosperity in approximate terms. Per 2023-2024 budget estimates, Australian Official Development Assistance to the Philippines amounting to $89.9 million allocates 27 percent for governance; 23 percent for education; 21 percent for humanitarian aid; 11 percent for multisector and general development support; 10 percent for agriculture, trade and other production sectors; 5 percent for economic infrastructure and services; and last and least, 3 percent for health.
Interestingly, this latest ODA is a $4.1-million increase over that in 2022-2023. Further, in 2021–2022, Australia's two-way trade with the Philippines totaled $8.2 billion, making the latter its 22nd largest trading partner. The proximity of Australia to the Philippines, coupled with their close bilateral relations and trade ties, easily enhances trade and investment, not to mention the market of 114 million Filipinos.
Reportedly, there are more than 250 major Australian companies operating in the Philippines, employing over 41,000 Filipinos in the business process outsourcing, infrastructure, banking, telecommunications, energy, and education sectors. Verily, the Australia-Philippines relationship has been a long-standing friendship built on mutual trust and cooperation.
It broadens partnership on four main pillars, viz., bilateral relations, trade and investment, defense and security development cooperation, and people connections. All told, Filipinos do exhibit cultural traits and educational attainment, which make greener opportunities par for the course.
Currently, the top three "most urgent Philippine national concerns" of inflation, low wages, few jobs might incentivize more Filipinos to migrate to Australia in search of a better life. An exodus has become the way forward.
