Billions Sent Overseas by Migrants - Is Australia’s Economy at Risk?
As remittances from Australia hit $35 billion, experts and migrants weigh in on whether money sent home drains the economy or reflects cultural duty and net economic gain.
Remittances have become a flashpoint in Australia’s migration debate, with critics claiming they drain the local economy and supporters arguing they are a vital lifeline for families abroad and a small fraction of migrants’ overall economic contribution.
For many migrants, sending money home is both a cultural obligation and a practical necessity. Mrinaal Datt, who moved to Australia from India four years ago and founded Indian Women Abroad, regularly transfers a few hundred dollars to cover her partner’s parents’ medical bills. “In Indian and a lot of South Asian cultures in general, they have a saying that you don't just marry a person, you marry the whole family,” she told SBS Examines. “It's not just you and your partner. It's your siblings, your parents, their parents. You can't think of not supporting your family. It's just not comprehensible to an average person who comes from India.”
A 2024 report by Money Transfer Australia estimated that $35 billion was sent from Australia as remittances last year, including nearly $7 billion to India. Political commentator Jaimie Johnstone argued on social media that this represents capital leaving the domestic economy. “When someone earns that money in Australia, but remits part of that portion overseas, that portion is not being spent here,” Johnstone said. “That money is not going to an Australian cafe or restaurant. It's not being spent with an Australian tradie, it's not being used to purchase Australian products, not in an Australian shop, not circulating within an Australian household.”
Economists, however, urge caution. Ryan Edwards, an associate economics professor at the Australian National University, said the figures are “much softer” than often presented and would still amount to under 1 per cent of Australia’s economy even if accurate. “The real counterfactual here is one of a migrant versus no migrant,” Edwards explained. “You take away that person, yes, you've stopped the money from flowing out, but you've also stopped all the jobs, the wages that they spend here, often on things that Australians are producing, and the tax that they've paid. We know that most migrants tend to be net positive fiscal contributors.”
Muhammad Omair Ziaee, a technology and healthcare entrepreneur of Pakistani heritage, sends money to family and employees in Pakistan but says the vast majority of his earnings stay in Australia. “If we compare to the money which we're sending over … that's under 20 per cent of what we actually earn and what we spend over here,” he said.
Cultural context matters. Supriya Singh, an adjunct sociology professor at La Trobe University, noted that sending money home is one of the primary ways people express care in many communities. “If you come from China, you come from Vietnam, you come from any part of the Middle East, you come from the Pacific; sending money home is a way you tell your family that you belong, that you're thinking of them, that you care for them,” Singh said. Globally, remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached $924 billion in 2023, according to the World Bank, and remain “essential drivers of economic and human development.”
Yet the practice can also create tension. Singh highlighted that remittances can sometimes be weaponized in cases of financial abuse, a concern raised during Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence. “When a person is using them not for care but for appropriation. If the parents demand too much of the child and the child does not have enough money for his or her own settlement expenses, then remittances can become a medium of abuse,” she said.
Datt acknowledged the emotional weight of the expectation but called for a shift in mindset. “I think parents have to realise is that your child is not your retirement plan,” she said. “Everyone who comes abroad knows that it is really really hard when you're paying for the university fee. So many people are living paycheque to paycheque. It really is like a cultural thing. I actually hope things will change for the next generation.” She added that her overall economic footprint in Australia—through taxes, rent, mortgages, and daily spending—dwarfs the modest sums sent overseas. “The $200 or $400 is sent back home. That's nothing in comparison.”
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