ABS Data Highlights Immigration Impact
Australia's population has grown significantly, with new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicating an increase of 412,500 people in the year leading up to December 2025. Net overseas migration contributed to 73 per cent of this growth.
On 2 June 2026, the country's population reached 28 million, growing by approximately 1,124 individuals per day over the previous 245 days. These figures reveal a trend that Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) argues contradicts the Albanese government's pledges to curb immigration levels.
SPA National President Peter Strachan commented, "Since coming into office, the Albanese government has repeatedly claimed that Australia’s record high immigration intake was just a ‘corrective’ measure following the COVID years and that a slowdown was just around the corner. The ABS data tells us a different story."
Immigration Levels Under Scrutiny
The Albanese government initially targeted a return to pre-COVID immigration levels. However, recent ABS data shows that net overseas migration has remained above 300,000 annually, down from over 500,000 at its peak, but still well above the government's forecasts.
Michael Bayliss, SPA National Spokesperson, expressed concerns about the implications of rapid population growth, stating, "The impacts of rapid population growth are felt every day by ordinary Australians. These include the cost-of-living crisis, housing insecurity, productivity-destroying increased travel congestion and a reduction in the quality of infrastructure and public services."
The Albanese government's immigration policy has faced criticism, particularly as the gap between government budget migration forecasts and actual ABS population data widens with each year.
SPA suggests reducing net overseas migration to between 50,000 and 70,000 per year to stabilise the population at 30 million. The organisation predicts that political parties advocating for immigration reduction will gain public support as the next federal election approaches.
In just over 25 years since the turn of the millennium, Australia’s population has increased by nine million. This rapid growth underscores the ongoing debate about sustainable population levels.
