Changing Nations: Migration

Migration can take place over short or long distances and it can be a one-way movement or temporary. Some people choose to migrate (voluntary) or others may be forced to move (forced). Read through this website to learn about the reasons people move to a certain place (pull factors) or leave a certain place (push factors).

This article looks at the most elementary approach to explaining international migration: push and pull factors.

This article explains what migration is and looks at some of the different types of migration.

This information guide looks at migration, including what it is, what influences it, and some recent trends in migration.

This article looks at the four main types of migration and what influences people to make the decision to migrate.

Many Australians have longed to live outside the city. The treechange and seachange movements – migration from urban areas to rural and coastal towns – have been responsible for much of the population growth outside urban areas in recent years. Now a newer migration trend is under way: e-change. E-changers are people who move away from the large capital cities to nearby regional and coastal “lifestyle” towns, where they use broadband internet connections to perform work remotely. Read through this article to learn more.

Settling into a new country is not easy. Immigrants have to adapt to an unfamiliar environment and lifestyle, while maintaining aspects of their previous culture and way of life. Many newcomers to Victoria spent their new lives in limbo, spending months in temporary migrant accommodation, committed to two year labour contracts. For others, settlement has been far easier because they spoke English, or government had offered assistant land or home scheme. Generations of immigrants have had to adapt to a new climate, new landscape, new language, new currency, and new lifestyle, especially those who have settled in rural areas. Each immigrant has their own unique story to tell. The immigrant stories in this link explore why they came, where they settled and how they started a new life in Victoria.

Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. Read through this website to learn more about refugees and the issues they face.

This website lists some important facts about refugees, including the number of refugees and what percentage or refugees are children.

Moving is always an interesting topic of conversation. The population in an area can grow as more people choose to move or stay there, while other areas experience population decline. Population growth and decline impact local residents and have important social, economic and policy implications. Read through this guide to learn more about internal migration in Australia.

Fly in fly out, or FIFO work has been booming since the 1980s which saw a rise in the production of minerals such as iron ore, copper, gold, petroleum and natural gas found offshore. You might have a partner, father, brother, uncle, sister, friend, mum, or cousin that you only see every 2-4 weeks because they work remotely. Read through this article to learn more about FIFO work and how it works as a special kind of migration.

The National Archives’ collection includes thousands of records documenting Australia’s rich migrant history. Research your family's migration to Australia, find out more about Australian citizenship and discover a wealth of information about post-World War II immigration.

This timeline provides a brief overview of key moments in Victoria's immigration history by highlighting significant policy and social developments, shifts in population and demographics, and the impact of immigration upon Indigenous Australians. Click through the tabs to look at the history of immigration in Victoria decade by decade.

Australia is a vibrant, multicultural country. We are home to the world’s oldest continuous cultures, as well as Australians who identify with more than 270 ancestries. Since 1945, almost seven million people have migrated to Australia. Read through this fact sheet to learn more about our multicultural society.

This article looks at the changes made by the Whitlam government in Australia that encouraged a multicultural Australia for the first time.

Following World War II, the Australian government believed it was necessary to encourage immigration from Great Britain. Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell stated, "Without immigration, the future of the Australia we know will be uneasy and brief … as a nation we shall not survive." The Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, in which adult migrants were charged ten pounds for the sea voyage to Australia, was established in 1945. Watch this video to learn more.