MIGRANT LANGUAGE BARRIER

A THIRD of Chinese migrants who have settled in Victoria this century had poor or no English skills, a federal report has found

With Australia’s population due to hit 25 million early next week, immigration has become a key issue as people cope with crowded cities and stretched services.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics report Understanding Migrant Outcomes revealed that 2.2 million permanent migrants came to Australia between 2000 and 2016.

Victoria’s share of the total was 28 per cent, or 601,756 arrivals, with the vast majority settling in Melbourne.

Indian-born people topped the list in Victoria with 107,915 arrivals, followed by Chinese (80,845), English (36,212), Sri Lankans (27,488) and Filipinos (25,323).

Just over half of all Sri Lankan migrants to Australia settled in Victoria, while the state’s share of total Indian migration was 37 per cent, and its share of Chinese arrivals was 33 per cent. Less than one in five English-born migrants went to Victoria.

Using census data, the report found that among big migrant groups, those born in China admitted to the poorest English skills. About a third said they spoke English poorly or not at all, compared to only 3 per cent of Indians.

Among other groups, 57 per cent of Myanmar arrivals, 45 per cent of Vietnamese, 34 per cent of Afghanis and 39 per cent of Iraqis said they spoke English not well or not at all.

Migrant settlement agency AMES Australia pointed to data showing that more than 70 per cent of permanent migrants who spoke another language at home also had a high level of spoken English.

AMES spokeswoman Cath Scarth said it also revealed that more than 70 per cent of skilled or family migrants, and nearly half of refugees held a higher qualification like a degree, diploma or certificate.

“Our own research also shows that migrants and refugees are resilient and ingenious, and with the right support, they are becoming assets to this nation,” she said.

The report found that overall, 42 per cent of permanent migrants were renting in 2016. This jumped to 63 per cent for humanitarian entrants.

Over half of skill and family visa holders were paying off or owned their own home.