By Huiyuan (Sharon) Liu and Toan Nguyen
PART 1
The first topic in our Understanding Pacific communities in Australia blog series was the age profiles of migrants from Pacific countries (including Timor-Leste). We compared them to those from Western and other countries in Australia. We found that the average Pacific migrant is younger than those from Western countries due to a shorter stay in Australia, but older than the typical non-Western migrant due to a longer stay.
The second topic we will examine is the labour-market outcomes of Pacific migrants in Australia. We are publishing our findings from an analysis of Australian Census data in two parts, with Part 1 covering income levels and employment status for those aged 25 to 59 years. Part 2 will focus on working hours and occupations.
Figure 1 shows that, in 2021, Pacific migrants had a median weekly income (including tax, superannuation and government support) of $1,085 (equivalent to $56,420 annually), lower than Western migrants ($1,345) and Australian-born workers ($1,275), but slightly higher than non-Western migrants ($1,005).
However, income levels vary significantly among Pacific migrant groups. Fijians earn the highest median weekly income at $1,205. Fiji’s large share of Pacific migrants raises the overall Pacific median; excluding Fiji, the figure drops to slightly above $1,000, aligning with non-Western migrants. Nauru, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Solomon Islands report the lowest median incomes, with Nauru’s median nearly half that of Fijians.
When restricting the population to those with Australian citizenship (to exclude temporary migrants), the median weekly income increases — by 8% for Pacific migrants, 7% for Western migrants and 18% for non-Western migrants. While the income gap between Pacific migrants (including Fijians) and the Australian-born population narrows, Pacific migrants still earn the least among the four groups.
A key driver of the income gap is the lower share of high earners among Pacific migrants. Only 13% of Pacific migrants earn over $2,000 per week ($104,000 annually), half the rate of Australian-born individuals and Western migrants, and lower than non-Western migrants (18%). Meanwhile, 11% of Pacific migrants earn less than $200 per week (just over $10,000 annually) — a level often regarded as insufficient for living in Australia (see Figure 2). In contrast, only 6% of Australian-born individuals and 1% of Western migrants fall into this category. Non-Western migrants have a slightly higher share in this category (12%), but this group also has a larger proportion of students compared to Pacific migrants (13% vs 8%).
Among Pacific migrants, low-income rates are highest for migrants from Nauru (32%), Solomon Islands (29%), Kiribati (27%) and Vanuatu (21%). Even for Fijian migrants, over 9% earn below the low-income threshold, highlighting the financial challenges many Pacific migrants face in Australia.
The share of the population who are unemployed is similar across migrant groups, at around 4%. Low labour-force participation is a key barrier to Pacific migrants’ income performance, with 21% not working (either unemployed or not in the labour force) — higher than for Australian-born and Western migrants (Figure 3).
Over 25% of migrants from Tonga, Cook Islands, Nauru and Samoa are not participating in the labour force: they are neither working nor seeking work. Many of them rely on government support — 21% of Nauruans, 20% of Cook Islanders, 19% of Samoans and 16% of Tongans — all above the 14% average for Pacific migrants and Australians.
In contrast, migrants from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have high employment rates but lower wages. Most rely on wages and salaries, with nearly all earning below $200 per week while engaged in agricultural work.
In summary, Pacific migrants in Australia generally earn less than Australian-born individuals and migrants from Western countries, with Fiji being a notable exception. They have a higher share of low earners, so are underrepresented in high-income groups. This is driven by low labour-force participation and lower wages in occupations where Pacific workers are concentrated. Part 2 will explore these occupations in more detail.
PART 2
Above, we found that Pacific migrants in Australia have incomes similar to those of migrants from non-Western countries but earn significantly less than Australian-born residents and migrants from Western countries. This income gap is partly due to Pacific migrants’ low labour-force participation. However, even among those who are employed, fewer Pacific migrants earn high incomes compared to other groups. In this second part, we examine working hours and occupations to explore this disparity.
According to Australian Census data, in 2021 an employed Pacific migrant worked an average of 34.8 hours per week, slightly less than Australian-born people and Western migrants (Figure 1). Non-Western migrants have the shortest work week (33 hours), with migrants from Nauru being the only Pacific group working fewer hours than that (32 hours).
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) organises occupations into five skill levels based on task complexity. Figure 2 highlights a stark contrast in occupational skill levels between Pacific migrants and other groups, leading to substantial earning differences. Only 27% of Pacific migrants are employed in the high-skill occupations (levels 1 and 2, for example, managers and professionals), while 60% work in lower skill roles (levels 4 and 5, for example, labourers).
In contrast, at least half of the employed Australian-born population, as well as Western and non-Western migrants, are in the top two skill levels. As of August 2024, the median hourly wage for skill-level-5 occupations was only $29.10, compared to $55.70 for skill level 1.
Table 1 reveals the top three occupations by share for each birthplace group. Pacific migrants are commonly employed as farm, forestry and garden workers, factory process workers, carers and aides, cleaners, laundry workers and storepersons. Farm, forestry, and garden workers make up nearly 60% of ni-Vanuatu migrants, 23% of Solomon Islander migrants and 12% of Tongan migrants. Carers and aides account for 13% of PNG migrants, 19% of i-Kiribati migrants and 10% of Nauruan migrants. In contrast, 11% of Western migrants are specialist managers, while 8% of non-Western migrants work as business, human resources and marketing professionals.
To sum up, while Pacific migrants in Australia work around the same hours as Western migrants and Australian-born workers, and slightly more than non-Western migrants, a much smaller proportion has advanced up the job-skill ladder and secured better earning outcomes. With the exception of Fijian migrants, a significant proportion of Pacific migrants is employed in sectors not commonly pursued by Australian-born workers and other migrant groups.
Further research is needed to identify the barriers preventing Pacific migrants from accessing jobs which require a higher level of skills and training and deliver higher wages. Addressing these barriers could improve their economic outcomes in Australia.
Disclosure: This research was supported by the Pacific Research Program, with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views are those of the authors only.
This article was first published in the Australian National University’s DevpolicyBlog and has been republished here with the kind permission of the editor(s). The Blog is run out of the Development Policy Centre housed in the Crawford School of Public Policy in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University.
Contributing Author(s): Huiyuan (Sharon) Liu is a research officer at the Development Policy Centre, working in the area of labour mobility. Toan Nguyen is a Research Fellow at the Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU.
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