Australians are leaving hubs such as Sydney and Melbourne for other parts of the country amid a rise in immigration levels under Labor, according to official data. In 2024-25, more than 33,000 residents left Sydney while 8,600 abandoned Melbourne.
Furthermore, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra are also experiencing net negative internal migration, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed in March 2026. However, the entire country saw a rise in net out-migration. In Sydney, it was 78,000, in Melbourne, 81,000, and in Adelaide, 18,000, during the same period. Brisbane’s population grew by 34,000 and 11,000 from internal migration while Perth saw 37,000 and 8,000 respectively.
In Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, births significantly outnumbered migrants. This rapid population growth has led to rising rents and house prices along with increased pressure on infrastructure and services. For indigenous Australians, negative internal migration is not welcome news because its cause lies in the overpopulation of the country’s financial capitals by immigrants. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), many netizens expressed their disappointment in residents having to move out of their hometowns.
“Australians shouldn’t have to flee because of immigration. Demographics have been affected too much,” one user wrote. “There’s really nowhere to run anymore,” another added. “Got the train to Bendigo from Southern Cross on Saturday. It was literally 225% capacity. Literally no room to stand, let alone sit. It’s incomprehensible,” one person shared. “Don’t worry, they’ve started flocking to the big rural cities. They bought everything with financing through India!” One user added.
As of mid-2025, more than 916,000 people of Indian origin lived in Australia. They make up the second largest immigrant group in the country, followed by the British. Recently, the country’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) revised the evidence requirements for Indian student applications under the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF) to move them from Evidence Level 2 to Evidence Level 3. This means that Indian applicants will be required to provide more detailed financial records and other documents to prove that their primary purpose is to study. While the move aims to check compliance with immigration rules, it raises questions about the sole focus on Indians.