Social Sciences & Humanities Open 7 (2023) 100382

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Social Sciences & Humanities Open

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Regular Article

‘The future of migration, multiculturalism and diversity in Australia’s

post-COVID-19 social recovery’
Fethi Mansouri
Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI), Deakin University, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper considers the future of multiculturalism, migration, and mobility post-pandemic. Taking Australia as a
Migration case study, the paper examines how the pandemic is affecting the multicultural agenda and contemplates its
Multiculturalism multiple cultural, social and political impacts. That is; the ways it is shaping intercultural relations, particularly
Diversity
how it is exacerbating racism and other forms of discrimination; its effects on the equity of social and health
Mobilities
service provisions; and how mobility and border issues are being managed within Australia and internationally,
COVID-19
Border politics specifically in relation to Australian citizens with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Secondly, the paper examines the extent to which the pandemic has already revealed new ways of understanding,
representing, and characterising multiculturalism in Australia. This analysis considers the significant gaps in data
collection on ethnically and religiously minoritised peoples and the ways in which this has hindered public
health initiatives. Thirdly, the paper offers insights for how Australia could approach new drivers and patterns of
(im)mobility in the post-COVID-19 social recovery, and in subsequent decades, to sustain the country’s multi­
cultural social fabric and its economic prosperity.

1. Introduction tend to be marginalized and excluded; depend heavily on the

informal economy for earnings; occupy areas prone to shocks; have
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause unprecedented disrup­ inadequate access to social services; lack social protection; are de­
tion and devastation to individuals, societies, and the international nied access to such services on the basis of age, gender, race,
community at large. For almost two years, the world has been impacted ethnicity, religion, migrant status or other forms of discrimination;
in seismic ways across all domains of life. Alongside health issues, the have low levels of political influence and lack voice and represen­
social, cultural, political, and economic effects of COVID-19 have deeply tation; have low incomes and limited opportunities to cope or adapt;
disrupted taken-for-granted modes of living, learning, and working. As and have limited or no access to technologies. And often these vul­
the impacts of the pandemic continue to unravel in Australia and nerabilities intersect. People living in war-torn societies, where often
globally, its effects on social connections and cross-border mobility health systems have collapsed, are particularly vulnerable.
seems to be changing how our social lives are structured and lived in
It is for this reason that disadvantaged communities and minority
more systematic ways. The post-COVID-19 world will be different not
groups, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse
only in terms of the manifestations and intensities of our mobilities,
(CALD) backgrounds, are often first to feel the impact of crises. Inter­
connections, and interdependencies, but also in relation to how we
nationally, evidence is emerging of the ways ethnic minorities are ‘at
envisage individual and collective priorities and modes of governance
higher risk of developing and dying from COVID-19, with structural
for our lives and our societies.
racism implicated as a contributory factor’, and migrants facing ‘tight­
One of the key outcomes of this pandemic, in addition to its devas­
ening immigration restrictions, more obstacles to healthcare, increased
tating health impacts, is its exposure and exacerbation of entrenched
racism and worsening poverty’ (Gruer et al., 2021, p. 1). In Australia,
social inequalities within and across nations. This is clearly illustrated by
migrant communities, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
the global inequities in access to vaccines. While there are society-wide
peoples, are among those disproportionately experiencing the adverse
effects from the virus, their ramifications are not equally felt. Human
impacts of the pandemic in relation to public health programs and ser­
Rights Watch (2020), those most negatively impacted by the pandemic:
vices provisions, as well as being subjected to increased social exclusion

E-mail address: fethi.mansouri@deakin.edu.au.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2022.100382
Received 20 June 2022; Received in revised form 20 November 2022; Accepted 29 November 2022
Available online 6 December 2022
2590-2911/Crown Copyright © 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
F. Mansouri
and discrimination (Askola et al., 2021: 4). These negative experiences
challenge human rights and social justice agendas broadly, but they also
raise important, specific questions about multiculturalism, migration,
and mobility in post-pandemic Australia, which this paper explores.
Against this background, this paper offers critical reflections on the
future of multiculturalism, migration, and mobility in the post-pandemic
social and economic recovery. Taking Australia as a case study, the
paper examines how the pandemic continues to affect the diversity and
multicultural agenda and analyses the multiple cultural, social and po­
litical impacts on the management of the pandemic internationally.
2. Methods
This paper relies on a critical, synthesising of existing research data
around mobility, intercultural relations and diversity governance. It also
includes recent survey data conducted by this author as well as other
scholars around the impact of the pandemic restrictions on multicultural
communities. In terms of specific data-elicitation procedures and
analytical methods, the paper incorporates two types of data: (i) textual
data in the form of public and policy statements that are directly rele­
vant to racialized mobilities and constrained intercultural relations; (ii)
published survey data that deals with public attitudes towards diversity,
multicultural communities especially highly racialized groups as well as
racialized experiences of the pandemic. In engaging with the key
research questions and aims outlined above, themes, the paper employs
this large body of secondary data, as well as empirical data collected
previously by the author, in order to examine these inter-connected
questions around the state of diversity, mobility and intercultural re­
lations in more conceptual and empirical detail. Overall, a critical
content analysis is undertaken to ensure a consistent reflexive lens to
data interpretation. The findings will presented below along a series of
interconnected thematic sections.
3. Impact of the pandemic on migration and multiculturalism in
Australia
Australia has long been recognised as a ‘successful’, super diverse,
highly mobile country shaped by immigration, emigration, and internal
mobility for almost all its history (Hugo, 2012). Recent research has
shown consistent public support for multiculturalism as a public policy
approach for social cohesion and migrant integration (Markus, 2020;
Mansouri et al., 2017).
But this level of acceptance of diversity and multiculturalism has not
always been culture-blind (see Fig. 1). Indeed, there is often a great deal
of variation in attitudes towards different ethno-religious groups (see
Fig. 2 below, Mansouri et al., 2017) (see Fig. 3).
Despite these challenges, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia
Total
White (Other)
Anglo-Cel�c White
NESB
0%
10%
20%
30%
Disagree
Fig. 1. Public attitudes towards multiculturalism (Mansouri et al., 2017).
Social Sciences & Humanities Open 7 (2023) 100382
benefitted from a steady flow of migrants that both fuelled its economic
prosperity and sustained its social fabric. As migration has buoyed
economic growth for nearly half a century, slower population growth in
the coming 40 years will have a significant impact on economic well­
being (The Treasury, 2021: vii).
Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted Australia’s
vulnerability to disrupted flows of migration, not only for economic
stability and social cohesion, but also regarding the maintenance of
global supply chains, infrastructure, public health, and regional peace­
keeping. The consequences of disrupted mobility have been heightened
even further in the context of a confluence of global challenges,
including climate change, new geopolitical realities, demographic shifts,
and tectonic social transformations via new technologies. While the
deleterious effects of some of these global crises, such as the COVID-19
pandemic and climate change, have been felt in all corners of the globe,
Australia’s position as a vast continent, largely arid, unevenly and
sparsely populated, and located on the edge of Asia, presents unique
challenges and opportunities. The key challenges for Australia, I argue,
are the impacts of climate change, technological transformation, espe­
cially disruptive technologies, demographic shifts coupled with
increased urbanisation, declining social cohesion and trust in political
institutions, and the geopolitical implications of the rise of Asia.
Likewise, there are challenges and opportunities for Australian
multiculturalism; whether the pandemic will fuel a ‘lapse into stereo­
types’ or enable a ‘reinvent [ion of] our modes of sociality’ (Papas­
tergiadis, 2020). Certainly, social cohesion, diversity management,
community resilience, digital inclusion and the exacerbation of in­
equalities have come to the fore during the current pandemic and are
impacting Australia’s multicultural agenda. At its core, multiculturalism
reflects a commitment to normative prerogatives, most notably recog­
nition of collective cultural claims and social justice in relation to po­
litical incorporation. It is regarding these two critical normative
orientations that the multicultural agenda in Australia is being most
challenged and opportunities for change lost. This is clearly illustrated
by the increased racial vilification of certain communities, in particular
Asian Australians, as well as concerns raised by other CALD commu­
nities that government responses to the pandemic are often failing to
adequately engage with them or provide culturally and linguistically
appropriate messaging for public health directives. Below, I discuss how
the broad multicultural agenda has been impacted during the pandemic
at the cultural, social, and political levels in Australia.
3.1. The cultural impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Regarding intercultural relations and diversity governance, many
scholars have noted an increase in racism and xenophobia in global
response to the pandemic, including in Australia (Elias et al., 2021;
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Agree Neutral
2
F. Mansouri
How would you feel if one of your neighbours was a person of:
Chris�an faith
Buddhist faith
Jewish faith
Muslim faith
0% 10% 20% 30%
Very nega�ve / nega�ve
Fig. 2. Australian attitudes towards different ethno-religious groups (Mansouri et al., 2017).
19%
17%
14%
12%
Australia UK and Ireland
Fig. 3. Reported experience of discrimination by country of birth, region, and place where discrimination was experienced (Markus, 2020).
Cheng & Conca-Cheng, 2020; Bright, 2020). It has even been suggested
that COVID-19 is causing certain societies and communities to suffer two
pandemics (Bright, 2020): a health pandemic and a socio-cultural one.
Many scholars have noted the pandemic is occurring in a context of
already increasing exclusionary nationalism, leading to the intensifica­
tion of racism towards minority groups (Bieber, 2020; Cheng &
Conca-Cheng, 2020; Elias et al., 2021). For example, while the Scanlon
Foundation Research Institute’s, 2020 survey found Australian social
cohesion was not fraying, and that support for immigration and multi­
culturalism remained high, this feeling of cohesion was not shared by all
the survey’s respondents. Attitudes towards Asian Australians have
deteriorated, and there were growing concerns and experiences among
Asian Australians of racism (Scanlon Foundation Research Institute,
2020).
Furthermore, online racism was also noted, with more than 70% of
people aged 18–34 years old saying they had seen racism online in 2020
(Markus, 2020, p. 92).
The initial identification of the virus in Wuhan, China is causing
Chinese and other Asian communities in Australia to become the target
of racial vilification and abuse (Bieber, 2020; Elias et al., 2021; Human
Rights Watch, 2020; Mansouri, 2020; Sun, 2021). Asian Australians,
including Chinese Australians and newly arrived Chinese migrants, re­
ported a significant rise in racism during the early months of the
pandemic. More than 400 racist attacks were reported between April
and June 2020, with many people detailing how they were accused of
Social Sciences & Humanities Open 7 (2023) 100382
40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Neutral Slightly / very posi�ve
47%
39%
Experienced discrimina�on
A place where discrimina�on
was experienced
Asia
having ‘brought the virus over here’ (Asian Australian Alliance & Chui,
2020; Koslowski, 2020). Many other Chinese Australians have also re­
ported increasing hostility since the virus’ outbreak, such as homes
being vandalised with racial slurs (Fang & Yang, 2020; Young, 2020).
However, racialized public discourse, even in acute crises, does not
happen in a vacuum. Discrimination experienced through the COVID-19
pandemic is born of pre-existing racism and xenophobia. While the virus
‘has contributed to heightened levels of racist sentiments towards mi­
nority groups’, it has emerged in ‘an environment of exclusionary
nationalism’ (Elias et al., 2021: 2). Many scholars have discussed how
anti-Chinese racism in Australia has been driven and shaped by biased
media coverage (All Together Now, 2020; Asian Australian Alliance &
Chui, 2020; Sun, 2021). This is not only a problem with fringe media
outlets or social media platforms, but also with ‘credible’ media orga­
nisations, such as the ABC, that produced high levels of unfavourable
reporting about China in relation to COVID-19 and played down or left
out more favourable accounts (Sun, 2021). The tabloid press and
shock-jock radio hosts have maintained a constant thread of fearmon­
gering ‘about the “yellow peril,” anxiety about “reds under the bed,” and
an almost orientalist depiction of the Chinese as an alien and repugnant
people who eat bats’ (Sun, 2021, p. 36). Such racist discourses are often
transmitted to the online world as people turn to social media platforms
for information during periods of isolation, such as in quarantine and
lockdown (Elias et al., 2021).
As these spikes in racist attacks show, the multicultural agenda in
3
F. Mansouri Social Sciences & Humanities Open 7 (2023) 100382

Australia is one of the pandemic’s casualties (Duckett, 2020; Napier-­ deemed expendable pre-pandemic, are now understood as ‘essential’
Raman, 2020). So far, the first and second waves of the virus elicited and are more at risk of contracting the virus. This includes low-wage
different patterns of racism and xenophobia against ethno-cultural mi­ workers and those engaged in precarious work, such as meat process­
norities. The first wave caused the Chinese Australian community (and ing, aged care and hospitality workers, many of whom have CALD
other communities who appear Chinese/Asian) to be targeted; the sec­ backgrounds (Boseley, 2020; Bucci, 2020).
ond wave vilified members of other CALD communities, especially res­
idents of suburbs with high proportions of migrant communities in
3.2. The social impact of the pandemic
metropolitan Melbourne (Duckett, 2020). Certain communities have
been singled out in the fight to contain the outbreak. The Victorian Chief
The core ethical objective of a robust multicultural agenda is a
Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton, for instance, singled out members
distributive justice program that ensures equitable access to resources
of the Afghan community as spreaders of the virus in Melbourne’s
regardless of individual characteristics (Kymlicka, 2016). CALD com­
south-eastern suburbs during Victoria’s second lockdown (Michie, 2020;
munities, especially more vulnerable groups including temporary mi­
Mohabbat, 2020). The Afghan Australian community has expressed
grants and women, are more deeply affected. Reports from the
‘concerns and disappointment’, stating that government and health
Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA, 2020)
authorities made the accusation without evidence and that the accusa­
and the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCA (Ethnic Com­
tion was ‘grossly unfair’ (Mohabbat, 2020).
munities’Council of Victoria), 2020) highlight some of the pre-existing
Entrenched forms of oppression are often intersectional; in the sec­
conditions that reveal a less-than-cohesive multicultural society than
ond wave of the pandemic class prejudice has been entangled with
the Australian Government regularly promotes in their political rhetoric
racism. Unlike the first, the second wave in Melbourne spotlighted
(see Fig. 4).
relatively low-income suburbs, often home to recently arrived migrant
A survey conducted by the ECCV (see Fig. 5 below) found CALD
populations and with high-density living conditions (Duckett, 2020;
communities have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in
Stobart & Duckett, 2021). The Victorian Government was particularly
almost all areas of their everyday lives. The top three reported areas of
harsh in managing the virus’ spread in social housing. During the early
concern were ‘unemployment, financial wellbeing and social isolation’,
phase of the second wave, cases linked to public housing towers in
with mental health the fourth priority (ECCA (Ethnic Communi­
Melbourne resulted in eleven towers – home to thousands of people –
ties’Council of Victoria), 2020: 5).
being put into strict lockdown by the government. These towers, some
Concerns were also raised about CALD communities’ access to
20 to 30 storeys high, house almost exclusively migrant communities,
certain services and health information during the pandemic. This was
and are often over-crowded. Police arrived within hours of the
reflected in survey respondents’ concerns about ‘access to information
announcement to enforce the lockdown with almost no warning. Resi­
regarding COVID-19 isolation, loss of income, access to Centrelink and
dents could not leave their accommodation for five days – not even to go
myGov, immigration restrictions, funding for cultural and social activ­
food shopping. An independent inquiry found the lockdown ‘did not
ities, and the risk of increasing socioeconomic disparities’ (ECCA (Ethnic
appear justified and reasonable in the circumstances, nor compatible
Communities’Council of Victoria), 2020: 5). These intersecting areas of
with the right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty’ (Stobart &
concern affecting CALD communities are intertwined and cannot be
Duckett, 2021). As I have previously argued, the pandemic has ‘gener­
considered in isolation.
ated new forms of ethno-cultural racism, intensified inequalities, and
further exposed systemic structural discrimination’ (Mansouri, 2020, p.
2). 3.3. Temporary migrants
The spatial politics of COVID-19 extend to those who can work from
their homes and those who cannot (Murji & Picker, 2020, p. 9). As a Second only to the United States, Australia had ‘one of the largest
result, those at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum, particu­ temporary visa labour workforces in the world’ prior to the COVID-19
larly frontline workers, have been disproportionately impacted (Duck­ pandemic. More than two years into the pandemic, as at April 30,
ett, 2020; Napier-Raman, 2020). Such workers, who were frequently 2021, there were still 1,720,957 temporary visa holders residing in the
country, though this is 17% less than the same time the previous year

Chart Title
46%

16%
12% 10%
4% 3% 1%
Facebook

Instagram

WhatApp

LinkedIn
Online forum

Snapchat
Twi�er

Fig. 4. Reported experience of online discrimination (Markus, 2020).

4
F. Mansouri
Other
Digital exclusion
Social isolation
Food security
Racism
Financial well-being
Education
Family violence
Mental health
Health and safety concerns
Employment
Opportunities for funding
Aged care and disability support
Health
0% 10%
Fig. 5. Community concerns during and post pandemic (ECCA (Ethnic Communities’Council of Victoria), 2020:5).
when the implications of the pandemic were beginning to be felt in
earnest (Senate Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021, p. 63). In
addition to these people, there is ‘a large and growing population’ of
undocumented workers in the country (Clibborn & Wright cited in
Senate Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021: 153).
The large number of temporary and vulnerable migrants in Australia
at this time emphasises a weakness in so-called liberal, democratic so­
cieties where certain rights and protections are bestowed upon in­
dividuals based on their migration status. In other words, care,
solidarity, and support are directed towards those deemed to belong
formally to the political community via citizenship, while those not
formally incorporated, such as asylum seekers, refugees, international
students, and seasonal workers, are often denied basic rights and pro­
tections. This exclusionary nationalism makes temporary visa holders
‘particularly vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace’ with systemic
abuse of international students and other temporary residents common
place (Senate Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021, p. 99). These
often include ‘violations of workplace rights and protections; failure to
meet legal minimum wage entitlements; unsafe work practices; and in­
stances of threatening, unethical or abusive behaviour and coercion’
(Department of Home Affairs cited in Senate Committee on Temporary
Migration, 2021: 99). In some cases, this also includes ‘human traf­
ficking, slavery, and slavery-like practices such as forced labour and
debt bondage’ (Report of the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce cited in Senate
Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021: 100). While there have been
and are government attempts to address this, the exploitation continues.
Temporary visa status excludes individuals from receiving any form
of support from social service providers, including those aiming to
alleviate the adverse impacts of the pandemic responses, in particular
the lack of employment opportunities because of extended lockdowns.
Temporary migrants were especially affected by the social and economic
devastation wrecked by COVID-19 as they tend to be precariously
employed, more vulnerable to exploitative work practices, and are
usually the first to experience job loss in such crises (Berg & Farbenblum,
2020, p. 6). While there was already a pre-existing need to protect
temporary migrants from exploitation, the government’s response to the
COVID-19 pandemic made them more, not less, vulnerable. Temporary
visa status excluded people from government benefits, such as Job­
Keeper and JobSeeker, even while other comparative countries, such as
Social Sciences & Humanities Open 7 (2023) 100382
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
the UK and Canada, supported their temporary migrants during the
pandemic (Berg & Farbenblum, 2020, p. 6). Furthermore, undocu­
mented workers are understandably reluctant ‘to seek testing and
treatment in relation to COVID-19’ (Farbenblum & Berg cited in Senate
Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021: 154).
The exclusion of temporary migrants from accessing social support
services has increased concerns that, for temporary migrants, ‘higher
levels of unemployment, more job seekers on the market, and more
employers struggling to maintain their workforces will create even
greater incentives for exploitation’ (Houghton, 2020: 3).
Furthermore, for many temporary migrants, the loss of employment
disrupts their pathways to a more secure belonging in Australia, as their
applications are usually tied to their permanent residency and pro­
gression towards citizenship application. These ‘“tied” visas’ make
workers dependent on their employers’ for the sponsorship of their visas
(Houghton, 2020, p. 2). CALD communities already struggle to find
employment and face additional barriers compared to white Australians.
These can include a limited competency in the English language; a lack
of familiarity with Australian workplace culture and socialisation; being
unfamiliar with ‘Australian ways’ of writing CVs, résumés and filling out
forms; not having local networks and connections; and the inability to
translate their previous work experiences into the Australian context
(FECCA, 2020, p. 12). A survey (see Fig. 6 below, Berg & Farbenblum,
2020, p. 44) conducted during the pandemic revealed that racism and
discrimination have been exacerbated for temporary migrants of CALD
backgrounds, particularly for those of Asian descent.
As the table above shows both overt and covert forms of racism were
experienced by respondents, with the highest levels of discrimination
reported by those of Chinese background. Nearly a quarter (23%) of
temporary migrants surveyed reported experiences of verbal abuse, and
this figure increased if they came from a Chinese and/or East Asian
background (52% of Chinese and East Asian respondents reported ex­
periences of racism) (Berg & Farbenblum, 2020, p. 8).
As Australia’s vaccination roll-out gained momentum, and federal
and state governments sought to both open local economies and engage
globally again, the short-sightedness of the harsh treatment of tempo­
rary migrants now threatens reopening and reintegration. The federal
government’s approach has exacerbated pre-existing skill shortages in
the country, with many businesses facing chronic labour shortages that
5
F. Mansouri
The Covid-19 Pandemic and impact for clients
New cients seeking help for the first time
Female clients with school age children
Clients from Cultural and Linguistic diverse communities
Female clients with existing DV Protection orders
Clients with Disabilities
Clients from rural and remote communities
Clients of Abiriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent
Potential perpetrators seeking help
Clients in LGBTQ+ relationships
Other
0%
Fig. 6. Experiences of overt/covert racism and verbal abuse (Berg & Farbenblum, 2020, p. 44).
temporary visa holders were critical in filling pre-pandemic (Mercer,
2021; Senate Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021: 59). Tempo­
rary migrants, including international students (whose plight I engage
with in more depth below), played a key role in a range of industries,
including hospitality (Mercer, 2021; Askola et al., 2021: 4), aged care
(Askola et al., 2021: 4) and farming (for example, 80% of the horticul­
tural workforce are either undocumented workers or migrants on tem­
porary visas) (Stead, 2021; Askola et al., 2021: 4). Askola,
Forbes-Mewett and Shmihelska argue, what unites these three industries
is
the role of migration status as an axis of disadvantage that creates an
environment for exacerbated employment precariousness through
visa conditions that limit migrants’ agency and limit their access to
effective protection of their human rights (2021: 4–5).
As Australia seeks to emerge from isolation, this issue places a critical
lens on the wisdom of temporary and often exploitative approaches to
migration. It makes the lives of those living on short-term visas highly
precarious, and dependency upon these approaches also leaves the
country vulnerable to shocks, like those resulting from the COVID-19
pandemic. In contrast, more equitable and permanent migration op­
tions provide security and stability. As argued by the Senate Committee
on Temporary Migration,
The erosion of pathways to permanency, coupled with the increasing
complexity and administrative delays of applications is having
negative implications for Australia’s long-term social cohesion and
increasing the vulnerability of temporary visa holders to exploita­
tion. Moreover, evidence received highlights that many of the issues
associated with the decreased number of pathways for temporary
visa holders have been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic (2021: 141–142).
Furthermore, some scholars emphasise Australia can address the is­
sues of temporary migration and skill shortages by enabling and sup­
porting refugees into the workforce. Currently, two years on from
arrival, only approximately 25% of refugees are employed (Australian
Institute of Family Studies cited in Mercer, 2021). An increase in our
humanitarian intake of secure permanent residencies could offer safety
and the chance of a new life to thousands of people, and enrich Australia
in many ways, including contributing a significant benefit to the econ­
omy. A recent estimate contends such an approach could add billions of
dollars to the economy (Szkudlarek cited in Mercer, 2021). Business
groups, too, are increasingly highlighting the value of more permanent
approaches to migration. In information submitted to the recent senate
6
Social Sciences & Humanities Open 7 (2023) 100382
67%
63%
47%
43%
40%
33%
32%
13%
10%
8%
20% 40% 60% 80%
inquiry on temporary migration the Chief Executive Officer of the
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry emphasised the high
cost for businesses of the temporary migration system, while the
Australian Hotels Association and Tourism Accommodation Australia
organisation argued, because of the costs of facilitating temporary
migration, their members preferred to hire permanent residents (Senate
Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021, p. 52).
There are also dangerous processing delays in the migration system.
It can take two years for protection and partner visas to be approved,
exacerbating ‘the stress and trauma of women who were at risk of or
currently experience domestic, family and sexual violence’ (Australian
Women Against Violence Alliance cited in Senate Committee on Tem­
porary Migration, 2021: 55). In addition, some seeking temporary pro­
tection visas and safe haven enterprise visas have been ‘stuck in
processing and stuck on bridging visas for up to ten years’ (Asylum
Seeker Resource Centre cited in Senate Committee on Temporary
Migration, 2021: 55). Together these insights point to both a system in
crisis and a system in need of a paradigm shift in how migration is un­
derstood at a policy and practice level in Australia.
3.4. Migrant women
Alongside the intersections of race, class and migration status out­
lined above, gender is also entangled in experiences of the COVID-19
pandemic. For example, women with temporary visas are vulnerable
to modern slavery through ‘forced marriage, human trafficking, servi­
tude, and forced labour’ (Senate Committee on Temporary Migration,
2021, p. 151). The ways in which race, gender and socio-economic
status compound to entrench oppression, disempowerment and
discrimination have been exacerbated. Migrant women already ‘have
poorer health outcomes than the general population and they experience
significant inequities in access to health services’, and the pandemic has
further disadvantaged them (Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health,
2021: 11). The main areas of concern for migrant women are ‘sexual and
reproductive health, mental health and occupational health and safety’;
and the latter two have been made worse through the pandemic due to
loss of employment and restriction of mobility during lockdowns
(Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health, 2021: 11). Family violence
has also been a key issue for migrant women during the pandemic.
Findings from a survey (see Fig. 7), based on responses from 362 par­
ticipants who work in the domestic violence sector, found that 67% of
these providers have seen ‘new clients seeking help for the first time’ and
47% of them reported that their ‘clients [come] from cultural and lin­
guistic diverse communities’ (Carrington et al., 2020, p. 7).
F. Mansouri
Fig. 7. Impacts of pandemic on family violence victim-survivors reported in Carrington et al. (2020:07).
More critically, 313 of these providers (86.46%) reported having to
cope with the ‘increased complexity of their clients’ needs’ (Carrington
et al., 2020, p. 17). Furthermore, delivering support services during
pandemic restrictions, particularly those on movement, has made it
harder to meet these needs. Not only limited in their access to services,
family violence victim-survivors have also found themselves confined at
home with their perpetrators, which further increased the level of risk
they face (Carrington et al., 2020, p. 20). Moreover, there is a gap in the
availability of culturally appropriate services for women and children in
domestic violence situations (FECCA, 2020, p. 9). Where these services
are provided, they are few and may not be easily accessible.
In terms of unemployment and financial insecurity, there is an
intersection between those sectors most heavily impacted by the
pandemic and gender. Both the hospitality and aged care sectors, two of
the hardest hit, are highly feminised (Askola et al., 2021: 27, 31). Mi­
grants make up approximately 30% of Australia’s care workers, with
increasing numbers from South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
(Askola et al., 2021: 32). Those within the sector from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds are ‘most likely to be employed on a
casual basis and to report underemployment’, the most vulnerable of
which were those on temporary visas and working for for-profit care
providers (Askola et al., 2021: 32).
Workers in the aged care sector have also faced significant health
risks, often without adequate protections, for example, in COVID-19-
prone residential care homes (Askola et al., 2021: 32–33). However, it
is worth noting that some restrictions on temporary visa holders in this
sector have been eased when they were deemed essential workers
(Askola et al., 2021: 33).
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3.5. The political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
One of the most salient impacts of this pandemic is the disruption to
mobility and freedom of movement (Green, 2020). This is playing out in
Australia through public health measures to contain the virus, such as
local lockdowns, the suspension of much internal state border crossings
and international travel, and increased discrimination through border
securitisation, all of which constrain social connectedness. The initial
travel restrictions were placed on those seeking to come to Australia
from mainland China, followed a month later with a very strict inter­
national travel ban (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021). Unsurpris­
ingly, there has been an enormous decrease in migration arrivals (ABS,
2021). As a result, the moniker ‘Fortress Australia’ has emerged to
reflect the state’s predilection towards closing borders to control the
spread of COVID-19 (Mao, 2020), though there is a much longer, ra­
cialized history of denying people entry through which this tendency
can also be understood. Certainly, mobility and border issues have
emerged in politically racialized ways during the pandemic. While
Australian citizens returning home from places such as the US, the UK or
Europe were not barred from entry when those places were experiencing
large outbreaks, Australian citizens and permanent residents in India
were singled out and banned from coming back to Australia and
threatened with five years’ imprisonment if they tried to, prompting
criticisms the policy was racist (Gunia, 2021; Khorana, 2021; Stobart &
Duckett, 2021).
But if there was a specific country towards which the resurgent
politics of border control was most pointedly directed, then it was surely
China. Tensions between Australia and China are escalating even further
during the pandemic, with widely circulating Australian discourses,
both politically and in the media, fuelling speculation that China not
only produced the virus, but also handled the COVID-19 pandemic
F. Mansouri
poorly. Such discourses and their related public perceptions are
heightening negative sentiments towards Chinese Australian commu­
nities and driving incessant debates on how to manage the future mo­
bilities of Chinese visitors and students (Hull, 2020; Ong, 2021). Recent
surveys on Australians’ opinions of China indicate an increasingly
negative sentiment towards Chinese nationals. Tan, 2020 Scanlon
Foundation survey (Markus, 2020) tested attitudes towards ten specified
national groups and found negative responses towards Chinese people
had risen enormously (47% – up from 13% in 2013) and was lower only
than those toward Iraqi (49%) and Sudanese (49%) people. Similarly,
the results of the Lowy Institute Poll, 2021 presented another record low
for Australians’ views of China; even views of China’s economic growth
– historically a positive for Australians – have now shifted into negative
territory. Instead, the recent poll illustrated most Australians (63%) see
China as a security threat. Furthermore, a 2021 poll by the
Australia-China Relations Institute and the Centre for Business Intelli­
gence and Data Analytics at the University of Technology Sydney
(Collinson & Burke, 2021) came to similar conclusions. The poll showed
that Australians’ views on China have generally become more pessi­
mistic, with many Australians (62%) saying that their view ‘has become
more negative following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic’. The poll
also highlighted how negative views of China are shaping perspectives
of Chinese Australians. Approximately 63% of Australians said that ‘[p]
olitical tensions in the Australia-China relationship are negatively
impacting Australians of Chinese origin’ (Collinson & Burke, 2021).
Thirty-nine percent of Australians say they believe ‘Australians of Chi­
nese origin can be mobilised by the Chinese government to undermine
Australia’s interests and social cohesion’ (Collinson & Burke, 2021). In
summary, these polls highlight how the politics of ethnicised nation­
alism can merge with biopolitics to deepen racialisation of ‘othered’
groups.
3.6. International students
International students studying in Australian educational institutions
make ‘immense’ contributions to the country (Department of Education,
Skills and Employment DESE cited in Senate Committee on Temporary
Migration, 2021: 62). In 2019, more than 750,000 international students
were studying here, making them the ‘second largest cohort of tempo­
rary migrants’ (Department of Education, 2020:62). International stu­
dents not only contribute economically (the industry is worth $40.3
billion per annum and 250,000 jobs, in addition to the amount of labour
they provide), but they contribute by also bringing valuable new per­
spectives to the country. Despite this contribution, Australia’s approach
towards international students during COVID-19 exemplified a ‘paro­
chial, neoliberal approach exclusively in line with national interest’ (Qi
& Ma, 2021, p. 107). The government was unapologetic about its harsh
approach, which included: telling international students who could do
so to ‘make your way home’; requiring them to quarantine in third
countries before seeking any possible entry to Australia; and excluding
those still in the country from JobKeeper and JobSeeker subsidies. Many
international students survive by working in the hospitality industry,
and some in the aged care sector, both of which have been particularly
hard-hit by restrictions and lockdowns (Askola et al., 2021: 4). The
exclusion of international students has undermined Australia’s reputa­
tion as a global and regional leader (Qi & Ma, 2021). If not for some
compensatory measures taken by state and local governments, univer­
sity support, and general good will, the consequences for international
students would be worse still.
A survey of over 6100 temporary visa holders (Berg & Farbenblum,
2020) found that hundreds of international student respondents tied a
sense of long-lasting distress, anger, and dehumanisation to the Prime
Minister’s instruction to leave the country. The determination to exclude
temporary migrants, including international students, from government
support packages also contributed to feelings of abandonment, humili­
ation, and worthlessness. Their survey found, as a result of their
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experiences during COVID-19, 59% of respondents were less likely or
much less likely to recommend Australia as a place to study or have a
working holiday. This was particularly so for Chinese students (76%
were now less likely to recommend Australia for study) and Nepalese
students (69% were less likely to recommend Australia).
Many Chinese international students were also confused and disap­
pointed by the first travel policy issued by the Australia Federal Gov­
ernment on February 1, 2020 (Qi & Ma, 2021). This policy differentiated
Chinese international students from other international students. In
early February, the Australian Department of Education, Skills and
Employment (DESE) released guidelines through its ‘Novel Coronavirus
FAQ: Advice for International Students’, which explicitly required Chi­
nese international students wishing to return to Australian universities
to observe a 14-day quarantine period in a third country, so as to avoid
their visas being cancelled (Department of Education, 2020: 7). How­
ever, despite the ban on direct entry from China, 47,000 Chinese citizens
entered Australia from China, detouring via Malaysia, Thailand, and
Cambodia (Choudhury, 2020; Haugen & Lehmann, 2020). This travel
policy led to criticisms that Australia is externalising the risk of infection
while profiting from international student mobility (Choudhury, 2020;
Haugen & Lehmann, 2020).
3.7. The data gaps around CALD communities during the pandemic
The pandemic has revealed a significant data collection gap on the
experiences of ethnically and religiously minoritised groups in Australia,
which poses a challenge for understanding how different communities
respond to public health interventions. A significant gap in the public
health response to the pandemic has been the lack of data on CALD
communities, defined beyond the language-spoken-at-home and
country-of-birth data points typically captured by key government au­
thorities (Jakubowicz, 2020). The diversity of ethnicity and cultural
backgrounds cannot be expressed simply with these two variables,
especially since country of birth does not fully reflect ethnicity and
cultural heritage, particularly for diaspora communities and refugees
who traverse different countries before their final settlement (FECCA,
2020, p. 14). This lack of data impedes effective health communications,
especially in times of crisis, where health and government authorities
are not able to get accurate, factual and evolving messages out to rele­
vant communities faster than, in this case, the spread of the COVID-19
virus. This problem is reflective of a long history of inadequate collec­
tion of data concerning ethnicity in Australia and has come under more
intense scrutiny of late (FECCA, 2020) as its impact on health commu­
nications has been amplified through the current pandemic and will
continue to do so as health communication about the virus and vaccines
evolves.
Consequently, the pandemic has revealed the umbrella term ‘CALD’
does not fully capture or express the super-diversity of the communities
that it is meant to encapsulate and, consequently, it may even make
invisible those who are especially prone to social and economic risks.
Some of this exclusion is most felt by ‘individuals with low levels of
English, socially isolated migrant seniors, temporary visa holders, those
with lower levels of income or in casual work, residents in public
housing and high-density households, as well as groups experiencing
racism’ (ECCA (Ethnic Communities’Council of Victoria), 2020: 8). The
inability to identify and reach out to CALD communities affected by the
pandemic highlights the need for attending to both the ‘software’ of the
diversity and multicultural agenda (things such as cross-cultural re­
lations and inter-personal attitudes) and the ‘hardware’ (for example,
institutions and policies) (Kymlicka, 2017).
Furthermore, the Australian Human Rights Commission argues the
COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the ‘desperate need for better
reporting of racial abuse’ (Tan, 2020). The Commission’s own data, Tan
says, is limited as it only reports on ‘allege [d] breach [es] of the Racial
Discrimination Act’, thus, does not ‘tell the full story’ of racism in the
community and its escalation resulting from COVID-19. Tan highlights
F. Mansouri
the need for better police recording and reporting of ‘racially motivated
crimes’ as currently ‘most state and territory police’ fail to do this
comprehensively (Tan, 2020). There is no government agency tasked
with recording either. To address this gap, several NGOs have tried to
manage this task. These include the Asian Australian Alliance, the Ex­
ecutive Council of Australian Jewry, Online Hate Prevention Institute,
the Islamophobia Register, and Reconciliation Australia, but these
groups ‘collect, evaluate and report’ data differently (Tan, 2020).
Therefore, there is a need for a more ‘systematic approach’ to under­
standing racism in a more detailed way to improve policy and practice
outcomes (Tan, 2020).
3.8. New drivers of migration and their implications for Australia’s
multicultural social fabric
Australia is historically a land of migration and mobility that saw
early human migration to the continent commence some 80,000 years
ago when the ancestors of Aboriginal people arrived in the continent via
nearby islands in the South-East Asian maritime region. More contem­
porary European settlement started to take place in the early seven­
teenth century and, as a British settler-colonial society, Australia
introduced and maintained the controversial Immigration Restriction
Act (the White Australia policy) from 1901 to preserve the European
racial composition of the newly federated nation. This racially exclu­
sionary policy remained active until the early 1970s when policymakers
finally rejected the race-based imperial principles of the White Australia
policy and instituted a more progressive multicultural framework. This
important shift drove nation-building and shaped macro-economic
policy by attracting skills and resources from a wider range of coun­
tries, initially and particularly within Australia’s Asia-Pacific neigh­
bourhood and then more widely (Fitzgerald, 1988; Galbally, 1978).
Despite the adoption of multiculturalism in the early 1970s,
Australian migration policies remained focussed on attracting highly
skilled labour while retaining a family reunion component and a small
humanitarian intake. Post-World War II migration policies centred on
permanent settlement, but from the mid-1990s, ‘without major debate’,
policies pivoted towards temporary migration; ‘bringing with it major
consequences’ (Senate Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021, pp.
17–18). There has been an enormous rise in temporary migrants in
contrast to permanent settlement. For example, in the five years from
July 2015 to July 2020 ‘temporary visa holders in Australia increased by
around 16 per cent’ yet prior to the 2020 international border closures,
the ‘permanent migration programme for 2020–21 [was] capped at 160,
000 places’ (Senate Committee on Temporary Migration, 2021, p. 18).
For these nearly two million temporary migrants, there are multiple
types of visas and ‘multiple commonwealth agencies administering
separate and shared elements’ of them, making the system ‘complicated,
expensive and challenging to navigate’ (Senate Committee on Tempo­
rary Migration, 2021, p. 51). The implications of which, as outlined in
this paper, are both significant and manifold, and the migration and
mobility implications of the COVID-19 pandemic have further
emphasised the urgent need to address the consequences of this policy
shift towards temporary residencies.
The pandemic has accentuated this demographic challenge with the
country experiencing an almost total halt to migration intake programs
while an unprecedented 500,000 migrants left the country during the
2020–21 period (Lloyd & Hermant, 2021). This is in sharp contrast to
pre-pandemic migration levels where the net migration intake was
hovering around 200,000 (accounting for both people moving in and out
of Australia). It has also starkly illustrated the shortcomings of the
country’s temporary migration policies and practices. Consequently, the
first recommendation of the Federal Government’s recent inquiry into
temporary migration was for a ‘comprehensive review be undertaken of
Australia’s visa system’ (2021: xii). This reflects the Australian Treas­
ury’s recent appeal for a recalibrated approach to migration policies to
ensure Australia’s future prosperity and recovery from COVID-19 (The
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Treasury, 2021; Gamlen, 2020).
These are significant challenges that have been exacerbated by the
pandemic. Pre-existing structural cracks developing over at least the last
two decades, new geopolitical shifts, diversification of destination op­
tions, and significant advances in and use of information technologies
have been amplified by the pandemic. The Australian Governments’
approaches to border closures and strict lockdowns had severe negative
impacts on Australian families with transnational links, international
students, temporary workers, and other short-term visitors, in contrast
to other émigré societies that managed to maintain some flexibility to
ensure continuity of movement in ways that support migration, inter­
national education, and family connections. There is no doubt, going
forward, the way the government manages migration post-pandemic
will have critical implications for Australia’s population, economy,
and society.
4. Conclusion
Considering migration and mobility in Australia is a complex task.
Migration, through settler-colonialism, is devastating the continent’s
Indigenous peoples yet they remain unconsulted on future policies; and,
with 30% of all Australians born overseas, many people have salient
transnational ties (ABS, 2021). Yet despite the benefits diversity brings,
almost 20% of Australians believe the country receives too many im­
migrants (Markus, 2020); and times of uncertainty, for example, those
that cause economic fluctuations, often lead to spikes in racism (Elias
et al., 2021; Dunn et al., 2014). Through this diverse landscape of ex­
periences, as this paper argues, racism continues to define the lives of
many in Australia, with CALD communities subjected to a xenophobic
racism, which the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified (Mansouri,
2022).
The COVID-19 pandemic has at once exposed and exacerbated
entrenched inequalities within and across societies. As the world con­
tinues to come to grips with the pandemic’s new realities and its many
associated challenges, the role of inclusive pro-diversity policies, such as
multiculturalism (Mansouri, 2015), are needed more than ever as they
offer both the ethical foundations (software) as well as the institutional
tools (hardware) required to engage in inclusive, participatory, and
respectful deliberations about equitable pathways forward.
There is no doubt that the way governments, industry and commu­
nities have responded to COVID-19 will continue to have serious, long-
term implications for countries such as Australia, as well as globally. The
data reported in this paper shows how the key questions of mobility,
racism and access to basic support services were all coloured and
impacted by a discriminatory racial lens. More primary data could add
significant and robust empirical evidence to this analysis. However, the
findings of the critical discourse analysis undertaken in this paper
clearly show a mobility and diversity agenda that has been impacted
negatively during the pandemic and that will continue to be viewed
along racialized lines unless a proactively pro-diversity policy approach
is adopted. Indeed, a post-COVID-19 world will be shaped by new dy­
namics and complex realities immersed in digital inter-connectivity and
driven by cross-sectoral engagements. To this end, the multicultural
ethos of support for cultural diversity and socio-political incorporation
can play a significant role in developing a new socio-cultural compact
that will contribute to shaping the way we live, work, connect and
engage across national, ethnic, and cross-cultural lines.
Author statement
Fethi Mansouri: Author, Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal
analysis, Writing up,
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
F. Mansouri
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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