The amount of money that exits the country has exploded over the last few decades. Annual remittance payments were only around US$300 million – or 0.2% of GDP – in 1980, and they remained well under US$1 billion dollars until the turn of the century.

Since then, these figures have skyrocketed. Annual remittance outflows increased to US$5 billion by 2010, then to US$7 billion by 2020. They are now over US$10.3 billion (AU$16.63 billion) – or 0.6% of GDP – per annum.
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The surge in money exiting Australia has been driven by international students. As economist Leith Van Onselen has shown, this explosion in outbound remittances has coincided with an explosion in foreign students.

As student visa numbers grew from 350,000 to 650,000 between 2021 and 2023 so too did remittances, with outflows increasing from US$3 billion to US$8 billion during that time.

Much of the recent growth in remittances is due to an influx of Indian immigrants. The number of Indian-born people in Australia has doubled over the last decade to close to 1 million people, making them one of the largest and fastest growing immigrant groups .

This has happened at the same time as India has become the largest recipient of our remittance payments. India received US$3.9 billion in remittances from Australia in 2021, making it by far the biggest beneficiary of our remittance payments. Australia, in contrast, received US$5 million from India in return.

And this was before record numbers of arrivals from India since Labor came to government in May 2022.

India is by far the world’s largest receiver of remittances, and according to the World Bank, it received US$129 billion – or 3.3% of its GDP – in remittances in 2023. This is more than double second-placed Mexico, at $61 billion, or third-placed Philippines with $38 billion.

Many countries now depend on remittances for a substantial amount of their income, and nations like Nepal, El Salvador and Samoa now see a fifth to a third of their overall GDP stemming from remittance payments.

Many in the developing world rely on remittances too, and they are a key reason why immigrants flock to countries like Australia.

A 2023 report by 3Gem for Western Union found that “over half (51%) of migrants living in Australia believe their friends or family would be in poverty if it wasn’t for them sending regular payments back home and that 57% state that members of their family would not be able to afford medical treatment”.


The survey of 1,500 immigrants also found that 92% had sent money home in the past 12 months, 67% said being able to do so was a “key factor in their decision to move to Australia”, and that an average of 11% of migrants’ annual incomes were sent back to their home countries in remittance payments.




Cut overseas aid.

Aid money is mostly spent in Australia.

Frank wrote Yesterday at 12:24pm:


Sure cut foreign aid.  But dont be surprised if by next year, the Chinese have built navy ports all around the pacific.

tickleandrose wrote Today at 8:05am:


Ok, rename it as neo-colonial governance cost then. That seems to be the motivation for maintaing them - to counter China's colonial ambitions. Include remittances - ie work permits - when calculating aid to them.
Keep it for  countries we want to keep under our control but cut it for countries like India, Nepal, Middle East, Afghanistan,  Pakistan.

Frank wrote Today at 8:27am:



Monk doesn't know.   

tickleandrose wrote Today at 8:32am:


No doubt.

Work visas and their consequent remittances should be reckoned in the foreign ajd budget. Targeted, direct Australian money going to third world families.