The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that Australia's population expanded by 412,500 in the 12 months to December 2025. 73% was due to Net Overseas Migration (NOM).
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/dec-2025
- Over the 245 days to 2 June '26, Australia's resident population expanded by 275,256 or 1,124 per day to hit 28 million, an annualised growth pace of 410,076.
- At 28 million Australia's population has increase by nine million in just over 25 years since the turn of the millennium.
- Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) says that the Albanese government has failed to deliver on its promise to restore Australia's immigration to pre-COVID levels.
As stated by Peter Strachan, SPA National President:
"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."
"On taking office in early 2022, net overseas migration was running at an annual pace of 207,900, this most recent data from the ABS reveals that after falling from a destructive pace of over 500,000 pa the pace remains higher at over 300,000 pa."
"If major grocery chains can be prosecuted for falsely claiming prices are down when they have actually risen, surely the ruling Labor Government should face the same penalties for saying that immigration has fallen on its watch?"
As stated by Michael Bayliss - SPA National Spokesperson
"The impacts of rapid population growth are felt everyday 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 could have controlled all these mounting crises by lowering immigration. Instead, it has chosen to dither, deny and obfuscate. Australians are seeing through the hubris and Labor is digging its own grave come next Federal election, as indicated by recent polling."
"The gap between government budget migration forecasts, versus actual ABS population data, widens with each successive year. This is a government that appears to have lost all control of its immigration program and appears to be operating in a state of delusion."
"SPA argues for Australia's net overseas migration (NOM) to reduce to 50,000 to 70,000 per year, which will stabilise its population at 30 million. SPA predicts that any political party advocating for a reduction in immigration will gain traction ahead of the next Federal election."
Further Information
This is what the Albanese government's cumulative (errors across various years added together) budget migration forecasting errors look like. Based on Budget Paper 1. for Budget 2022-23 (October) and Budget 2023-24.
