Welfare Recipient Patterns Among Migrants

Effects of time spent in Australia on welfare recipient levels

Table 4, Welfare recipients by Australia-born and EP categories for five year age groups, by time of arrival, by sex

Does age at time of arrival make any difference to this outcome? First of all the table confirms the expectation built into the points assessment for skilled migrants that the older a person arrives the more likely he or she will need welfare assistance in the first few years of residence here. This applies to all EP categories. For example, for the male EP3 category, 28.5 per cent of arrivals in 1991-1996 aged 35-39 were welfare recipients as compared with 34.1 per cent of those aged 45-49.

So far we have been emphasising findings which are common across all EP groups. However, there are also important differences. The most significant is that the level of welfare need in EP groups 3 and 4 is much higher across all age groups and time-of-arrival periods than is the case for EP groups 1 and 2. In the case of men, this can be seen most clearly for the 50+ age groups.

Table 4 shows that over 25 per cent of all men from EP 3 and 4 category birthplaces in this age group are in receipt of welfare benefits including at least one in five of the men who arrived in Australia before 1986. These rates are about double those for men in the 50+ age group from EP1 and 2 category birthplaces.

It appears that most of the EP group 1 and 2 migrants (particularly men) who arrived in Australia before 1986 have been able to hold their employment into their late 40s and 50s such that they do not need welfare assistance. Their welfare-recipient rates are also well below those for Australia-born men and women in the 45-49 and above age groups.

In the case of EP categories 3 and 4, an extended period of residence in Australia does not insulate them from public assistance when they enter their late 40s or 50s to the same degree as their counterparts from EP 1 and 2 birthplaces. By the time they reach their fifties, a significant minority of long established residents from EP 3 and 4 category birthplaces do need such help.

The point can be made more clearly with reference to selected birthplace groups. Table 5 shows the welfare recipient levels by some of the larger birthplace groups drawn from each of the four EP categories. In the case of EP categories 1, 2 and 3, the great majority of the men in the age group 45-64 in the listed countries arrived in Australia before 1986.

Yet welfare-recipient rates vary sharply. The rates for men from EP3 countries, including Greece and Former Yugoslav Republics are about double the level for EP groups 1 and 2.