The Albanese government has said some of Australia's health services and construction sector would collapse without migrants coming into the country.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke made the admission while speaking to journalist and podcaster Pawan Luthra, who reports on Indian-Australian issues.

'So effectively we can't run our health system or build the houses we need without immigration,' Burke said during his appearance on The Pawan Luthra Podcast last week.

'Half of our doctors now are born overseas, half of our registered nurses are born overseas, about a quarter of the tradespeople we need to build homes are born overseas.

'A whole lot of the economic strength of Australia relies on us having a really well targeted immigration program.

'And can I say, in the time that that story has happened, that we've needed the best and the brightest and more and more skilled immigrants, has been the exact time that we've seen the growth in the Indian community in Australia.'

Australia's population included 8.8million people who were born overseas by June 30 last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The data, which was published this week, revealed Indian-born residents now make up the largest proportion of the overseas-born population for the first time in history.

People born in England previously accounted for the biggest portion of the population, followed by India, China, and New Zealand.

'Two things are true. The first is that economically we need immigration. We need the skills, we need the people. And culturally we're stronger because of it,' Burke told Luthra.

'But secondly, we also need to make sure that the infrastructure and services are keeping pace as well. So this is where the targeting has to be done really carefully.

'Getting the right immigrants is actually part of the solution, not necessarily part of the problem. As I said, about a quarter of the tradespeople that we need are born overseas.

'But it is also true, it's not like you could have unlimited immigration without creating a problem with housing and infrastructure. So we need to make sure that it's managed and it's paced.'

Burke also responded to fury from the Liberal Party when he held large citizenship ceremonies in early 2025, saying they are 'the most patriotic events you can have'.

He added that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor had 'blamed immigrants and used a narrative that very much singles out the Indian community in Australia', which he called 'ugly'.

The Coalition has been vocal about its desire for lower immigration numbers in Australia, with Taylor launching a plan to overhaul Australia's migration system in April. 

During the announcement, Taylor declared immigration is 'out of control' under Labor, and promised a tough reset to slash arrivals and enforce stronger standards.

Central to the new approach was the Australian Values Migration Plan, which for the first time would make compliance with the Australian Values Statement a legally binding condition for all visa holders. 

In January, it was revealed that Australia had a larger population share of people born overseas than the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. 

United Nations data from 2024 paints a stark picture of global movement, with 304million people - or 3.07 per cent of the global population - residing outside their country of birth.

With 30.1 per cent of its population foreign-born, Australia outpaced major developed nations, including Switzerland (28.8 per cent), New Zealand (28.2 per cent), Austria (25.5 per cent), Iceland (25.1 per cent), and Ireland (23.1 per cent).

This makes Australia one of the most migrant-heavy societies among advanced economies, with only a handful of places sitting above it – and most are unique outliers.