Australian immigration to continue to fund Migrant Statistics Unit

July 20 2009 by Mark Johnstone

Andrew Metcalfe of DIAC on Australian immigration

Andrew Metcalfe on Australian immigration

The Australian National Migrant Statistics Unit (NMSU) has been told it will continue to receive funding from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and the Australian Board of Statistics for a further three years.

The unit was launched in July 2006 and will now receive a further A$1.3 million from each commonwealth agency to continue providing statistics on the number of people moving to Australia and the number of Australians moving to other countries.

The further investment is crucial to the monitoring of migrant numbers as Australian immigration has long-been an important element of the nation's life and is essential for the future strength of the country.

The statistics help to support migration policy and programmes that are introduced to help people move to live and work in Australia. The unit also enables policy-makers to evaluate their programmes aimed at people who have made the move to Australia in the long term.

Andrew Metcalfe, the DIAC president, says, "we cannot underestimate the role migration has played in Australia’s history and in shaping the nation we have today." "Migration continues to play a vital role in terms of business, the workforce, education and society."

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