Population
At the end of June 2024, 224,160 South African-born people were living in Australia. This is 28.1% more than the number (174,930) at 30 June 2014. This makes the South African-born population the seventh largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to:
- 2.6% of Australia's overseas-born population
- 0.8% of Australia's total population.
For Australia's South African-born migrants:
- The median age of 45.7 years was 7.3 years above that of the general population.
- Females outnumbered males—50.4% compared with 49.6%.
(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 South Africa 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 | 218 | 80 | 16 | <5 |
Employer Sponsored | 1,487 | 1,796 | 1,417 | 2,240 |
Skilled Independent | 60 | 718 | 899 | 326 |
State/Territory Nominated | 224 | 965 | 770 | 707 |
Regional | 464 | 1,262 | 1,050 | 441 |
Global Talent (Independent) 2 | 213 | 136 | 84 | 54 |
National Innovation 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 |
Partner | 482 | 324 | 272 | 200 |
All other categories4 | 157 | 153 | 112 | 169 |
Total places granted |
3,305 |
5,434 |
4,620 |
4,137 |
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.
4Data 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 South Africa 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 | 14,162 | 30,855 | 29,265 | 32,540 |
Student | 411 | 789 | 419 | 459 |
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) | 2,655 | 5,131 | 5,450 | 4,066 |
Other temporary visa grants 1 | 1,294 | 2,867 | 2,231 | 1,680 |
Total temporary visa grants |
18,522 |
39,642 |
37,365 |
38,745 |
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 South Africa. It is 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 | Motor mechanics | 89 | Secondary school teachers | 71 |
Secondary school teachers | 83 | Metal fitters and machinists | 56 |
Metal fitters and machinists | 71 | Early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers | 50 |
Mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians | 53 | Motor mechanics | 49 |
Structural steel and welding trades workers | 44 | Occupational therapists | 45 |
Primary school teachers | 42 | Accountants | 40 |
Air transport professionals | 40 | Civil engineering professionals | 38 |
Technical sales representatives | 38 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 35 |
Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 36 | Software and applications programmers | 31 |
Occupational therapists | 35 | Registered nurses | 29 |
2023–24 | Mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians | 97 | Secondary school teachers | 114 |
Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 95 | Early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers | 75 |
Motor mechanics | 93 | Accountants | 54 |
Metal fitters and machinists | 84 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 52 |
Secondary school teachers | 73 | Civil engineering professionals | 48 |
Civil engineering professionals | 57 | Occupational therapists | 47 |
Structural steel and welding trades workers | 49 | Metal fitters and machinists | 41 |
Technical sales representatives | 46 | Physiotherapists | 35 |
Other building and engineering technicians | 45 | Software and applications programmers | 33 |
Accountants | 41 | Motor mechanics | 33 |
2022–23 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 85 | Secondary school teachers | 130 |
Civil engineering professionals | 76 | Early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers | 101 |
ICT business and systems analysts | 65 | Metal fitters and machinists | 63 |
Metal fitters and machinists | 62 | Motor mechanics | 62 |
Construction managers | 59 | Civil engineering professionals | 52 |
Accountants | 57 | Occupational therapists | 43 |
Software and applications programmers | 57 | Electricians | 42 |
Motor mechanics | 56 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 35 |
Occupational therapists | 54 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 33 |
Mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians | 51 | Accountants | 31 |
2021–22 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 69 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 82 |
Software and applications programmers | 45 | Accountants | 43 |
Occupational therapists | 36 | Occupational therapists | 34 |
Accountants | 34 | ICT business and systems analysts | 31 |
Civil engineering professionals | 31 | Motor mechanics | 30 |
Construction managers | 30 | Software and applications programmers | 29 |
Physiotherapists | 29 | Metal fitters and machinists | 25 |
Motor mechanics | 29 | Veterinarians | 24 |
Metal fitters and machinists | 27 | Civil engineering professionals | 23 |
Management and organisation analysts | 24 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 19 |
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 South African-born | 26 | 17 | 26 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Permanent additions - 2024–25 (%) |
Skill stream | 24 | 15 | 24 | 10 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Family stream | 22 | 22 | 31 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Temporary visa grants - 2024–25 (%) |
International student visa grants | 22 | 14 | 30 | 6 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa (primary) grants | 23 | 21 | 25 | 4 | 23 | 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 South African 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 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Regional | 9 | 6 | 7 | 11 |
Employer Sponsored | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Total Skill stream | 11 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
Total Family and Child stream | 22 | 22 | 26 | 30 |
International students | 48 | 48 | 51 | 52 |
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Visitors | 17 | 22 | 23 | 22 |
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.
