Spatial Integration of China-born Immigrants in Australia: 1981-2016

Abstract

With Australia's policy shifts towards skill and temporary immigration in mid-1990s, the country has seen increasing numbers of professionals and highly educated arrivals from Asia. The successful integration of these immigrants is important for both economic vitality and building a vibrant and diverse culture. Among the new immigrant groups, migration from mainland China to Australia is notable for its rapid rise over the past 20 years. The overall aim of this thesis is to understand the changing nature of China-born immigrants' settlement in Australia. This includes an in-depth examination of how they have settled and integrated into the destination society over time and across arrival cohorts. This thesis centres on the spatial dimensions of integration. Drawing on spatial assimilation theories, 1981 to 2016 Census data are analysed to describe and understand the spatial integration patterns of the China-born population in Australia. Population distribution, interstate migration, and the connections between the place of residence and political, socioeconomic, and linguistic integration are examined. Comparisons are made between immigrants born in China, India, UK (Europe), and New Zealand. Findings from this thesis show that the China-born population exhibited lower residential proximity with the Australia-born population between 1981 and 2001 Censuses but greater residential proximity with the Australia-born population after the 2001 Census. This trend was accompanied by their high levels and increasing concentrations in Sydney and Melbourne between 1981 and 2001 and dispersion towards other capital cities after 2001. For China-born immigrants, factors associated with high residential proximity to the Australia-born population include being an Australian citizen, having vocational-level education qualifications, and having good English proficiency. The levels and propensities of interstate migration were generally low for the China-born population but have increased with larger numbers of skilled immigrants in post-2000 years. The China-born population exhibited high retention in states that were more populous, especially New South Wales and Victoria. The integration process for China-born immigrants has been different from Europe-born or New Zealand-born immigrants. Longer residence in Australia is associated with lower spatial inequality and concentration for immigrants born in Europe. This relationship is, however, not unidirectional for China-born immigrants and interacts with arrival cohort characteristics: higher levels of spatial integration are found for those who are mainly skilled or student immigrants with 5-14 years of residence in Australia. Skilled immigrants are equipped with linguistic, educational, and skillset advantages which facilitate their integration. However, the high socioeconomic status (especially education) of immigrants may not necessarily associate with high residential proximity to Australia-born persons, controlling for individual-level attributes. Immigrants tend to make residential choices based on not only the immigrant-local population composition but also socioeconomic factors of the neighbourhood. Findings from this thesis add new insights into the settlement of China-born immigrants in Australia where new arrival exhibited different spatial integration patterns compared to earlier settlers from China. Results of the thesis also provide evidence for immigrant settlement policies: regional settlement policies and regional university enrolments are important in influencing the dispersion of immigrants to less populous locations but they have not been as effective in keeping them there permanently. Finally, this thesis contributes to our understanding of the process and the complexity of integration by showing how immigrant integration is not only a function of birthplace origin and length of residence, but also the socioeconomic status of arrival cohorts and immigration policies. Show more