A quick snapshot of population patterns confirms overseas migration added a net 1,265,835 people (or 5.1 percent) to Australia’s total population over the last 5-years.
Of the total overseas migration influx, 1,069,167 settled in capital cities (adding 6.1 percent to the population), while the remaining 196,668 migrants added 2.2 percent to regional Australia’s population.
Propertyology’s analysis of the official data confirms that an extremely high concentration of overseas migration intake during the 5-years to June 2023 live within the CBD of capital cities.
During the period, overseas migration produced a 20 percent increase to the total population of the municipality of Melbourne, filling up all of those CBD apartments.
The trend is similar for Adelaide LGA (18.7 percent), Perth LGA (18.2 percent), and Sydney LGA (15.9 percent), while Hobart LGA (8.8 percent) and Brisbane LGA (5.9 percent) are above the 5.1 percent national average.
Examination of population data also confirms a continuuation of existing Australians relocating away from big cities.
A lot more people moved away from big capital cities to a more desirable city somewhere among regional Australia.
In total, the combined capital city population produced a net population loss of 179,160 through internal migration to regional communities.
Research insights: SUBSCRIBE HERE
While Australia’s migration policy has attracted different elements of controversy for each of the last 200+ years, overseas migrants are integral part of what makes this country great.
There is no doubt that, among the recent migrants, there will be many thousands who go on to make an enormous contribution to this country in future decades.
Westfield, Visy, Lendlease, Bond University, inner-city apartment living, world class wine and the establishment of the south-east Queensland city of Springfield are just some examples of great legacies created by seven (7) famous migrants.
The Pratt family
Leon, Paula and Richard Pratt migrated to Australia in 1938. They managed to flee serious war conflict in Poland just before Nazi invasion and settled in the Victorian regional city of Shepparton. In time, they went in to establish a packaging and recycling empire. Visy Industries is now a multi-national company with 150 operations employing more than 7,000 people. The Pratt family’s hard work and business acumen has led to becoming one of Australia’s wealthiest families with a net worth of several billion dollars.
Some words of inspiration from Richard Pratt: “Focus on what you want to achieve, not on what you want to avoid. Work from 5 to 9, not from 9 to 5.”
Harry Triguboff
Born in China to Russian Jewish parents, the Harry Triguboff emigrated to Australia in 1948 when he was 15-years old. After completing tertiary studies in Sydney, Triguboff first tried his hand at running milk runs, a fleet of taxis and (unsuccessfully) as real estate sales agent. After being hands-on with building his first home in the Sydney suburb of Roseville, he acquired an appetite to have a crack at developing small block of flats. His third project was an 18-unit development in Meriton Street. Subsequent to founding Meriton Apartments in 1963, ‘high-rise Harry’ became Australia’s biggest apartment developer and property investor, building 80,000 apartments and townhouses, primarily in inner-city Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane. The real estate billionaire has been touted as Australia’s 4th wealthiest person with a net worth of $20+ billion.
Harry Triguboff: “Nothing happens in a matter of minutes. Each step takes time. If you’re in it for the long haul, you can wait for your patience to pay off in the end.”
Alan Bond
Alan Bond relocated from London to Perth as a 12-year old in 1950. Even as a child, Bond was never afraid of pushing boundaries in pursuit of his personal ambitions, often ending up in trouble with the law. During the early years of his property development career, Bond benefitted from Perth’s boom in 1960’s and 1970’s through a number of projects along the Swan River. The wealth which he acquired in property was later diversified it into other enterprises, including the Castlemaine Tooheys brewery and gold mining. Bond’s generous spirit often resulted in him sponsoring causes which he was passionate about, including providing financial support for Australian yachting. In 1978, Bond was awarded Australian of the Year. In 1983, Bond’s sailing team was eventually successful with winning the America’s Cup, breaking a 130-year reign held by the US. In 1987, he purchased the Channel 9 television network from Kerry Packer. In 1989, he opened Australia’s first ever privately owned university, Bond University, on the Gold Coast. Alan Bond was also declared bankrupt and imprisoned for fraud. The self-made billionaire lived a life with eclectic chapters, from national hero to disgraced tycoon.
Alan Bond: “Just because something didn’t work out doesn’t mean that you necessarily failed. I really believe you only regret the things you don’t do.”
Gerardus (Dik) Dusseldorp
The first 30-years of this Dik Dusseldorp’s life were suffocated by the intense adversity of two world wars, the Great Depression and being diagnosed as colour-blind. He spent his youth doing very hard labour, constructing essential infrastructure and housing in the cities of Utrecht, Berlin and Krakow. A couple of years after WW2 ended, he was seconded by his Netherlands employer on a business expedition to explore opportunities for their construction company Australia. Arriving in 1951 as a 33-year old, Dusseldorp established Civil & Civic and went on to develop housing estates in the Hume, Riverina and Snowy regions of NSW for the 100,000 migrant workers on Australia’s biggest ever infrastructure project, the Snowy Mountains Scheme. In 1957 alone, he was involved with the construction of the Sydney Opera House, Sydney’s first ever high-rise office building and transforming bushland in Sydney’s Lower North Shore into the now luxury suburb of Middle Cove. He established Lend Lease Corporation in 1958. Dusseldorp earned a reputation as one of the finest construction sector businessmen in the world.
Dik Dusseldorp: “The designer should be employed by the contractor, rather than the other way round.”
Josef Chromy
After narrowly avoiding Nazi capture and then surviving several months at sea, Josef Chromy fled war-torn Czechoslovakia in pursuit of a new life of opportunities. As a 20-year old, Chromy arrived in Australia in 1951 with nothing more than his skills as a butcher, a burning ambition and a strong work ethic. He settled 80-kilometres west of Launceston in the town of Railton and went on to establish a small goods business. Over a period of 36-years, Chromy successfully built it into an enterprise that provided more than 500-jobs for the region. In 1993, with an annual turnover of $80 million, he floated Blue Ribbon Meats on the ASX and set about pursuing other business passions. Chromy’s impressive collection of achievements include a variety of Launceston developments, such as an internationally recognised winery, hotels, a theme park, and multiple housing estates. It is truly inspiring story.
Josef Chromy: “I am living proof that young people with not a penny, no English and no contacts can do well in Australia.”
Invest with the best: CONTACT US
Frank Lowy
Staunchly refusing to be dragged down by the impoverished conditions of his birth country of Hungry, Frank Lowy emigrated to Australia in 1952 as a 21-year old to establish a better life. Just 7-years after his arrival, Lowy constructed a shopping centre in the Sydney suburb of Blacktown. With 12-shops and a supermarket under the same roof, the facility was a first-of-its-kind in Australia. By the 1970’s, Lowy was reshaping communities all over the country by introducing shopping malls into the suburbs. Lowy’s Westfield empire is now one the best retail chains in the world.
Frank Lowy: “When you fight for survival, you don’t think much, you just do. If you think too much, you sink. The human being is very resourceful.”
Maha Sinnathamby
As a 23-year old, Maha Sinnathamby migrated from Malaysia to Australia with his family in 1961. Understandably influenced by the trauma of experiencing his father being held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese, Sinnathamby was driven to be a high achiever. Upon arriving in Australia, he completed a civil engineering degree at Sydney’s University of NSW. He relocated to Perth and, in 1971, established a small property development business. During the early 1980’s, he relocated to Brisbane and completed several small projects. In 1992, Sinnathamby’s company purchased more than 7,000 acres of bushland on the south-west outskirts of Brisbane for just $7.9 million. At the time, the land was deemed to be economically and socially depressed, and only 10 percent was zoned for residential development. Over the subsequent 30-years, $18 billion was invested to develop Australia’s largest ever, privately-owned master-planned community. Greater Springfield is now a city boasting a major hospital, A-grade retail offerings, a university, 12 schools, passenger rail connection to the CBD, and an elite sports excellence facility and HQ for the Brisbane Lions AFL.
Maha Sinnathamby: “It was so clear in my mind. I saw a beautiful parcel of land with wide open spaces, children going to school, couples taking romantic walks in the park, families building the dream home, busy professionals taking the train to work. The next step was to take what was in my mind and make it into a reality”. Stop Not Till the Goal is Reached is his mantra.
Propertyology are national buyer’s agents and Australia’s premier property market analyst. Every capital city and every non-capital city, Propertyology analyse fundamentals in every market, every day. We use this valuable research to help everyday Aussies to invest in strategically-chosen locations (literally) all over Australia. Like to know more? Contact us here.
Here’s how we combine our thought-leading research with Propertyology’s award-winning buyer’s agency services.
