Australia braces for nearly a million new migrants - as budget figures reveal extent of population explosion

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 10:41, 12 May 2026 | Updated: 10:45, 12 May 2026 Australia is bracing for a major population surge, with new budget figures revealing nearly 765,000 permanent migrants will arrive over the next three years, despite repeated promises to rein in the numbers. Fresh projections released in the Budget on Tuesday show the government expects 295,000 arrivals in the current financial year, followed by 245,000 in 2026/27 and 225,000 in 2027/28. While the drop to 225,000 signals a return to ‘normal’ levels, matching migration seen under the former Coalition government, the overall intake remains high. Since Labor came to power, total migration is on track to exceed 2 million people before the next election, due in 2028. The figures come after Australia recorded a record-breaking 518,000 migrants in 2022/23, a post-pandemic spike that triggered widespread concern about housing shortages and infrastructure strain. Although the government has moved to pull numbers down from those historic highs, the latest forecasts confirm Australia will continue to run one of the strongest migration programs in its history. The figures exclude temporary migrants, including international students and short-term visa holders, a cohort that has also surged in recent years and placed additional pressure on rental markets. The Albanese government has attempted to tighten the system in response. More than 750,000 new migrants are forecast to come to Australia over the next 3 years (file) Authorities have cracked down on student visas, introduced stricter eligibility rules, and ramped up scrutiny of applications to curb abuse while protecting key industries that rely on overseas workers. But the population boom is colliding head-on with another major challenge, housing. Despite ambitious promises to boost supply, construction is struggling to keep pace with demand. Since the Albanese Government took office, Australia has delivered an estimated 500,000 to 615,000 homes. At the same time, Labor has set a target of building 1.2 million homes by 2029, including 40,000 under the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF). The government is set to miss the target, with Australia currently running around 160,000 and 260,000 homes behind, with construction running at least 60,000 homes per year below the required pace. In the budget, the government is set to spend $2billion to build the infrastructure to support homes, including sewerage, electricity and roads, which they say will lead to increase of 65,000 new dwellings. The move is similar a Coalition proposal at the 2025 election, which was a higher proposed spend of $5billion. Over two million people are set to arrive in Australia since the Labor was elected from 2028 The government is also cutting red tape, which they say will simplify the approval process and speed up construction. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.