Australia has recorded its third-highest February intake of overseas arrivals, with almost 100,000 people moving to the country.

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show 96,110 net permanent and long‑term (NPLT) arrivals landed in February 2026, amounting to about 3432 people a day.

That was the third‑highest February in history, behind only last year at 111,740 and 2024 at 105,460.

Over the twelve months to February, net permanent and long‑term arrivals reached 478,910, just under the record highs of 498,270 in February 2024 and 494,540 in January 2026.

Total long‑term and permanent arrivals are tracking near all-time peaks, hitting 1.15million for the year. 

Departures also surged, 675,410 people left Australia on a long‑term or permanent basis, but not enough to offset the influx.

Under the NPLT data, people are counted based on what they say on arrival cards when crossing the border, for example, if they state they plan to stay in Australia for 12 months or more, or leave for that long. 

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke defended the government's handling of migration on Wednesday.

He said tying all migration to net overseas migration figures also includes movements by Australian citizens returning from overseas 

'One of the upward pressures on net overseas migration right now will be people who are expats in places like the United Arab Emirates who are making a decision, do they want to stay there or should they now come back.

'Moments like that can cause people to have a decision to come back and sometimes that has a very significant impact on net overseas migration.'

 He said the previous years' migration surge was driven by pandemic-related distortions, rather than any new policy decisions. 

'Be in no doubt that immigration numbers, when we first came to office, obviously got too high,' Burke said. 

He argued the spike was largely the result of delayed departures after Covid closures, rather than a surge in arrivals. 

'Effectively you had a long period where you had very few people arriving. And then when people arrived disproportionately, people on three year visas, for example, all arrived at once.'  

Burke said Labor had since tightened visa settings, particularly for overseas students, and stressed managing migration was an ongoing task.

Economist Leith van Onselen said the migration wave is already piling onto housing pressures, especially for renters. 

'Australia's long‑suffering renters should be marching in the streets against the federal government,' he said.

Institute of Public Affairs senior fellow Dr Kevin You said the latest figures threw 'cold water' on the idea the 'federal government has migration under control'.

'Month‑after‑month, the overseas‑born population of the country is rising in significant and unprecedented numbers,' he said.

'With the latest data showing almost a hundred thousand net permanent and long‑term overseas arrivals to Australia in February alone, the need for reform to Australia's broken migration system could not be clearer or more urgent.' 

Meanwhile, Australia's rental squeeze is worsening. 

Fresh data shows available properties have dropped sharply and vacancy rates have fallen to dangerously low levels in many regions.

SQM Research figures reveal the national residential vacancy rate fell to just 1.0 per cent in March, down from 1.1 per cent in February, almost 3,000 fewer homes available and just 31,732 rentals nationwide.

Conditions are tight across all capitals, but Darwin and Hobart are the most constrained, each with vacancy rates of only 0.4 per cent and fewer than 130 rental listings each. 

Perth sits at 0.5 per cent; Adelaide, 0.7; Brisbane, 0.8. Sydney and Canberra remain at 1.1 per cent, while Melbourne is least pressured at 1.4 per cent, though that figure has also deteriorated.

SQM Research described conditions in several cities as 'critically low', warning that a persistent lack of rental supply continues to drive up rent prices and fuel fierce competition among tenants.