Mitigating the negatives

In Greater Sydney, for example, 700,000 overseas migrants settled between 2006 and 2016³⁴. More people chose to live near jobs and centres with 78 per cent of new housing between 2014 and 2019 delivered in existing urban areas³⁵. The university sector has also expanded to cater for overseas students. In 2018 there were over 70,000 international students at Greater Sydney's five largest universities³⁶.

While these changes have been gradual, the rate of change during the pandemic has been rapidly affecting productivity and wellbeing.

The impacts are being felt unequally across the city - geographically and by age group, gender, socio economic status. In many cases these impacts are exacerbating existing inequities.