Population
At the end of June 2024, 394,380 Filipino-born people were living in Australia. This is 71.3% more than the number (230,190) at 30 June 2014. This is the fifth largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to:
- 4.6% of Australia’s overseas-born population
- 1.5% of Australia’s total population.
For Australia’s Filipino-born migrants:
- The median age of 39.8 years was 1.5 years above that of the general population.
- Females outnumbered males—58.9% compared with 41.1%.
(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s Population by Country of Birth)
Permanent migration
Australia's permanent Migration Program comprises economic and family migration and is the main pathway to permanent residence. The only other way to obtain permanent residence is on humanitarian grounds.
Find out more about
permanent migration.
This table shows the size of permanent migration from the Philippines by migration category.
Table 1: Permanent migrant places granted, 2021–22 to 2024–25
Migration category |
2021–22 |
2022–23 |
2023–24 |
2024–25 |
Business Innovation and Investment 1 | 8 | 8 | <5 | 5 |
Employer Sponsored | 2,151 | 3,123 | 3,368 | 3,834 |
Skilled Independent | 80 | 1,738 | 1,695 | 673 |
State/Territory Nominated | 995 | 1,135 | 1,262 | 1,308 |
Regional | 1,458 | 3,098 | 1,830 | 1,542 |
Global Talent (Independent) 2 | 50 | 18 | 18 | 21 |
National Innovation 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | <5 |
Partner | 3,258 | 3,355 | 3,278 | 2,949 |
All other categories 4 | 591 | 610 | 491 | 640 |
Total places granted |
8,591 |
13,085 |
11,942 |
10,972 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs
1We closed the Business Innovation and Investment Program to new applications on 31 July 2024.
2We closed the Global Talent visa to new applications on 6 December 2024. We replaced this with the National Innovation visa.
3The National Innovation visa came into effect on 7 December 2024.
4 Data has been perturbed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Note: To protect the privacy of individuals, we have applied various data confidentiality techniques. These include:
-
data masking — using primary and secondary suppression methods for values that we deemed to be a disclosure risk
-
perturbation — a data security technique that allows for random data adjustment to prevent the release of identifiable data.
Temporary migration
People can come to Australia for a temporary stay for a range of purposes that may include tourism, study and short-term work.
Find out more about
temporary migration.
This table shows the number of visa grants to migrants from the Philippines, for Visitor, Student and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas.
Table 2: Temporary visas granted by selected categories, 2021–22 to 2024–25
Temporary visa category |
2021–22 |
2022–23 |
2023–24 |
2024–25 |
Visitor | 28,187 | 114,242 | 109,983 | 113,039 |
Student | 7,855 | 27,775 | 13,651 | 10,244 |
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) | 5,215 | 11,765 | 15,194 | 17,995 |
Other temporary visa grants 1 | 5,415 | 20,989 | 11,374 | 9,913 |
Total temporary visa grants |
46,672 |
174,771 |
150,202 |
151,191 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs
1Excludes Transit visa (subclass 771), Border visa (subclass 773) and Maritime Crew visa (subclass 988).
Main occupations
This table shows the main occupations for nationals of the Philippines, based on Skill stream migration outcomes and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.
Table 3: Main occupations, 2021–22 to 2024–25
Period |
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas |
No. of migrants |
Skill stream migration |
No. of migrants |
2024–25 | Structural steel and welding trades workers | 1,219 | Registered nurses | 583 |
Motor mechanics | 1,211 | Chefs | 228 |
Chefs | 633 | Software and applications programmers | 166 |
Metal fitters and machinists | 540 | Motor mechanics | 157 |
Registered nurses | 396 | Civil engineering professionals | 104 |
Painting trades workers | 330 | Physiotherapists | 96 |
Nursing support and personal care workers | 328 | Structural steel and welding trades workers | 96 |
Mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians | 321 | Accountants | 88 |
Cooks | 276 | Livestock farmers | 63 |
Panelbeaters | 218 | Child carers | 62 |
2023–24 | Motor mechanics | 1,405 | Registered nurses | 1,016 |
Structural steel and welding trades workers | 1,222 | Chefs | 188 |
Metal fitters and machinists | 560 | Motor mechanics | 166 |
Registered nurses | 359 | Software and applications programmers | 157 |
Structural steel construction workers | 308 | Accountants | 110 |
Mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians | 272 | Structural steel and welding trades workers | 106 |
Chefs | 228 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 81 |
Vehicle painters | 216 | Civil engineering professionals | 80 |
Painting trades workers | 216 | Cooks | 58 |
Nursing support and personal care workers | 179 | Occupational therapists | 56 |
2022–23 | Motor mechanics | 811 | Registered nurses | 1,356 |
Structural steel and welding trades workers | 727 | Motor mechanics | 345 |
Registered nurses | 508 | Structural steel and welding trades workers | 151 |
Metal fitters and machinists | 291 | Chefs | 112 |
Painting trades workers | 278 | Cooks | 105 |
Cooks | 198 | Software and applications programmers | 85 |
Livestock farmers | 160 | Civil engineering professionals | 80 |
Glaziers | 154 | Accountants | 79 |
Panelbeaters | 150 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 77 |
Mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians | 149 | Medical laboratory scientists | 70 |
2021–22 | Registered nurses | 392 | Registered nurses | 808 |
Motor mechanics | 305 | Motor mechanics | 154 |
Structural steel and welding trades workers | 202 | Accountants | 84 |
Physiotherapists | 152 | Chefs | 84 |
Software and applications programmers | 136 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 71 |
Livestock farmers | 134 | Cooks | 64 |
Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 109 | Software and applications programmers | 62 |
Painting trades workers | 93 | Structural steel and welding trades workers | 49 |
Chefs | 79 | ICT business and systems analysts | 32 |
Deck and fishing hands | 71 | Civil engineering professionals | 28 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs
Note: Occupation level information is available for primary applicants only. It is based on Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations at the unit level.
Geographic distribution
This table shows where migrants reside by state and territory, based on:
- 2021 Census
- permanent additions, for the Skill and Family streams
- visa grants for:
- international students
- Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa primary applicants.
Table 4: Geographic distribution by state and territory
Population |
NSW |
Vic |
Qld |
SA |
WA |
Tas |
NT |
ACT |
Census 2021 (%) |
Of all persons | 32 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Of Filipino-born | 36 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Permanent additions - 2024–25 (%) |
Skill stream | 25 | 27 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Family stream | 29 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Temporary visa grants - 2024–25 (%) |
International student visa grants | 31 | 22 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa (primary) grants | 29 | 18 | 21 | 5 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs
Note: Permanent additions consist of 2 components:
- people who, while already in Australia on a temporary basis, are granted permanent residence status
- people who have subsequently arrived from overseas during the reporting period and are entitled to stay permanently in Australia.
Country ranking
This table uses rankings to show the significance of Filipino migration for the past 4 financial years.
Table 5: Country ranking, 2021–22 to 2024–25
Ranked position of migrants |
2021–22 |
2022–23 |
2023–24 |
2024–25 |
Population in Australia 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Regional | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Employer Sponsored | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Total Skill stream | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
Total Family and Child stream | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
International students | 7 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Visitors | 10 | 11 | 14 | 14 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs
1Population level data is by country of birth and lags one year behind the financial year specified. Data based on the estimated residential population at 30 June 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
