These are the top suburbs in Australia that South Africans are emigrating to
In celebration of South Africa’s “Mandela Day”, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has published migration data, showing the top suburbs in each of its territories for South African expats.
According to the stats body, St Ives in New South Wales is the suburb with the highest number of South Africans in the region, with 1,310 expats living there.
This is followed by 1,029 South Africans making their home in Baldivis, Western Australia.
Australia is an incredibly popular destination for South African expats, who are drawn to the country for its similar climate and culture as a Commonwealth nation (former, in South Africa’s case).
The country has also benefitted from these pull factors, with many of South Africa’s top CEOs and high net worth individuals and skilled professionals now calling it home.
According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs, at the end of June 2021, there were 201,930 South African-born people were living in Australia – 25% more than the number (161,590) at 30 June 2011.
“This makes the South African-born population the seventh largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to 2.7% of Australia’s overseas-born population and 0.8% of Australia’s total population,” it said.
For Australia’s South African-born migrants, their median age of 45.1 years – 6.9 years above that of the general population. Females outnumber males—50.4% compared with 49.6%.
Australia’s permanent Migration Program incorporates economic and family migration and is the main pathway to permanent residence. It includes the Skill stream, Family stream and Special Eligibility visas. The only other way to obtain permanent residence is on humanitarian grounds.
Between 2018 and 2022, over 14,400 South Africans have been granted permanent residency in the country, the department said.
Some of the key skills of South Africans that have become resident on skill visas over the last five years include:
- Auditors
- Accountants
- Occupational Therapists
- Mechanics
- ICT professionals
- Veterinarians
- Engineers
- Software developers
- Teachers
- Electricians
These are the hotspots for South African expats in each territory:
New South Wales, St Ives – 1,310
Western Australia, Baldivis – 1,029
Victoria, Point Cook – 950
Queensland, North Lakes – 822
South Australia, Hallett Cove – 270
Tasmania, Kingston – 127
Australian Central Territory, Nichols – 85
Northern Territory, Darwin City – 39
ABS said that the numbers are based on place of usual residence, excluding overseas visitors, using data from the 2021 census.
Read: Big changes on the cards for South Africans looking to emigrate to Australia
Loading ...