State of the Art and Future Challenges of Interregional Migration Empirical Research in Oceania

With an estimated eight million international immigrants, Oceania is a region with the highest proportion of immigrants worldwide. The flow of migrants between Australia and New Zealand is especially large given their geographic proximity, cultural similarities, and a shared history as part of the British Commonwealth. This chapter places a particular focus on the interregional flows in Australia and New Zealand given that they represent the two most popular immigration destinations in Oceania. We discuss how immigration policy in both nations are likely to continue to focus on attracting and retaining immigrants that are selected based on their skills in an attempt to address persistent skill shortages and to ameliorate the effects of ageing populations. The challenge for regional scientists, population geographers and labour economists will be to identify sources of data through which we can better understand the migratory pathways through which both domestic and new international arrivals pass. Understanding these complex pathways will be the first step to unveiling the factors that underpin interregional migrations and how these shape outcomes for both individuals and local labour markets.