No, Labor is not ‘importing’ half a million new voters each year
Soofia Tariq
February 17, 2025
WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Anthony Albanese is importing new Labor voters at a rate of more than 500,000 a year.
OUR VERDICT
False. Only Australian citizens can vote in federal elections – most new migrants are not eligible.
AAP FactCheck – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is not “importing” new Labor voters at a rate of more than 500,000 a year, despite claims on social media.
Only Australian citizens can vote in federal elections. While some migrants may eventually be able to vote, that is only after they have become citizens.
The claim appears in multiple Facebook posts criticising Mr Albanese ahead of the next federal election, due before the end of May.
“He is the person that believes importing new Labor voters at a rate of over 500,0000 a year from countries that hold different values than the Australian values is easier than trying to win your vote,” the post reads.
It is unclear if the author is claiming five million voters a year are being imported, or half a million. While the figure has six zeros, the comma after the second zero suggests the six zeros is a typographical error.
Either way, the claim is false.
During the 2023-24 financial year, the number of migrant arrivals decreased from a post-COVID-19 record high of 739,000 to 667,000, according to ABS data.
The majority of these people (465,000) were on temporary visas, while 91,000 were permanent visa holders.
Some 60,000 were returning Australian citizens and 51,000 were New Zealand citizens.
Of all the arrivals above, only the returning Australian citizens are legally permitted to vote in federal elections.
A spokesperson for the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said while many immigrants become Australian citizens, it was false to claim all migrants could vote.
About 400,000 new voters join the electoral roll each year, but this is offset by people leaving the electoral roll, either by leaving Australia permanently or dying.
“New Australian citizens make up approximately 30 per cent of this growth,” the AEC spokesperson told AAP FactCheck.
“The vast majority of growth in the electoral roll is not caused by migration but by Australians turning 18 and enrolling to vote for the first time.”
Tiziana Torresi, from the University of Adelaide, confirmed new immigrants aren’t legally eligible to vote because they aren’t Australian citizens.
“Australia does provide immigrants the opportunity to become citizens, as do most liberal democracies, but conferral of citizenship is strictly regulated,” she told AAP FactCheck.
Dr Torresi said for people to be eligible to apply for citizenship, they must be a permanent resident and have been in Australia on a valid visa for at least four years.
They also must have held a permanent visa for the last 12 months and are required to have been physically present in the country at specific points and for specific lengths of time.
“A migrant, to be eligible, has to have a basic knowledge of the English language, an adequate knowledge of Australia and specifically of Australian citizenship rights and responsibilities (this is confirmed by a citizenship test), and possess good character,” Dr Torresi said
“Eligibility does not guarantee conferral of citizenship.”
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. (AAP)
