South Bank in Brisbane, Queensland. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland
South Bank in Brisbane, Queensland. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland
Sun, surf and better jobs are drawing more New Zealanders across the ditch to Queensland than any other state, according to the latest Census data.
Jess Harrex, a 25-year-old Kiwi expat, said she was "not at all surprised" the 2016 Census data had revealed the "typical" Queensland migrant was most likely born in her home country.
"When I first moved to Brisbane I think all my friends were people that had come over from New Zealand," she said.
Harrex said she wanted to leave New Zealand to find better job prospects and warmer weather.
The beauty therapist said she originally had a job lined up in Melbourne.
"I think the lifestyle here is a little more relaxed, so that makes the place even more attractive," Harrex said.
Kiwi Jess Harrex says she's "not at all surprised" the 2016 Census data reveal the "typical" Queensland migrant is most likely born in her home country. Photo / News Corp Australia
Typical Queenslander a mum of two, says survey
Queenslanders are getting older, being invaded by Kiwis and are more likely to be renting than any other state in Australia.
After the controversial online Census stuff-up last year, the first of the figures have been released giving a snap shot of the average Aussie and Queenslander.
The Census crash last year casts a shadow over the data, but the government said more than 96 per cent of Aussies responded.
The typical Queenslander is a 38-year-old woman, married with two kids, according to the Australian Bureau of Figures data.
She is two years older than the "average" Queenslander was over a decade ago and more likely than people from NSW to have two parents born in Australia.
Two cars are likely to be parked in the garage of the three-bedroom house she would be living in.
But unlike other states, the typical Queenslander is as likely to be renting their home as paying off a mortgage. Only Northern Territorians were more likely to be renting.
New Zealanders have overtaken the English as the most common migrants living in Queensland.
McCrindle social research director Eliane Miles said the figures showed the initial snapshot showed Queenslanders were slowly moving away from homeownership. "A lot of that is due to housing affordability," she said.
She said the ageing population in Queensland was as a result of higher life expectancy, but the average age was still lower than many places around the world. "Compared to other data, we're younger than many countries in Europe, which is mainly due to migration," she said.
"We've added a decade of life to our life expectancy in the past 40 years. A 40-year-old today is the same as a 30-year-old a generation ago."
She said while the take-up of the Census was down on previous years, following a series of cyber attacks which saw the online form taken down for two days, it still attracted enough responses to by statistically relevant.
Opposition assistant treasury spokesman Andrew Leigh said the Turnbull Government needed to explain "why Australians should trust the data released today is up to scratch". Minister for Small Business Michael McCormack said the ABS had done extensive integrity checks of the data.
