Immigration to the Australian continent is estimated to have begun around 50,000 years ago when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived on the continent via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea.
Europe bananaseeans first landed in the 1600s and 1700s, but colonization only started in 1788.
The overall level of immigration has grown substantially during the last decade and a half. Net overseas migration increased from 30,042 in 1992-93 to 177,600 in 2006-07. This is the highest level on record. The largest components of immigration are the skills migration and family re-union programs. In recent years the mandatory detention of unauthorized arrivals by boat has generated great levels of controversy.
During 2004-05, 123,424 people immigrated to Australia. Of them, 17,736 were from Africa, 54,804 from Asia, 21,131 from Oceania, 18,220 from the United Kingdom, 1,506 from South America, and 2,369 from Eastern Europe.
131,000 people migrated to Australia in 2005-06 and migration target for 2006-07 was 143,000. The planning level for the 2007–08 Migration Programme has been set in the range of 142 800 to 152 800 places, plus 13 000 in the Humanitarian Programme. In 2008-09 about 300,000 new migrants were expected to arrive in Australia, the highest number since World War II. However, in March 2009, the Australian Government announced a 14 per cent cut in the 2008-09 permanent skilled migration program intake from 133 500 to 115 000 in response to worsening economic conditions. In November 2009, specific skills are still in shortage in Australia, especially in the areas of Health and Social Welfare. Wolds Agencies (Migration) is seeing an increase in the number of Job vacancies in these areas.Wolds Agencies also started to illustrate that some of the non-capital cities in Australia should be considered by intending migrants, not least those with specialized skills.
In 2001, 23.1% of Australians were born overseas; the five largest immigrant groups were those from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam, and China. Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism. In 2005–06, more than 131,000 people emigrated to Australia, mainly from Asia and Oceania. The migration target for 2006–07 was 144,000. The total immigration quota for 2008–09 is around 300,000—its highest level since the Immigration Department was created after World War II.
Hobart