Australia’s Indian community is travelling home in growing numbers, new government data shows, with India ranking as the fourth most popular destination for Australian residents returning from short-term trips abroad in January.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its monthly overseas arrivals and departures figures on Tuesday, revealing that a total of 1,665,100 residents returned from short-term trips during January 2026, up 7.8 per cent on the same month a year earlier and nearly 20 per cent above the pre-pandemic level recorded in January 2019.
India placed fourth among all destination countries, ahead of China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. New Zealand led the list at 205,710 returns, followed by Indonesia at 164,730 and Japan at 159,090. India’s consistent rise across each of the past four January periods tracked by the ABS points to deepening travel between the two countries, driven in large part by Australia’s fast-growing Indian-born population, now among the largest migrant communities in the country.
Australia recorded a net 57,270 long-term arrivals in January, the highest January figure on record, and for the full year to January 2026, net long-term arrivals reached 494,540, the second-highest annual figure ever recorded.
Total border crossings into Australia reached 2,519,500 for the month, up 5.7 per cent year-on-year. On the inbound side, short-term visitor arrivals numbered 716,680, a rise of 0.9 per cent on January 2025, though still marginally below the pre-pandemic benchmark of January 2019.
Among those visiting Australia, New Zealand remained the largest source of short-term visitors at 102,470, with the United Kingdom second at 79,470 and China third at 78,400. New South Wales received the greatest share of all short-term visitors, recording 272,980 arrivals for the month.
Western Australia saw resident returns climb 11.1 per cent compared with January 2025, one of the stronger state-level increases, while South Australia rose 10.7 per cent. Both states have seen their Indian-born populations grow steadily in recent years.
The ABS cautioned that its overseas arrivals and departures figures measure border crossings rather than persons and should not be read as an official migration count. The bureau noted that the permanent and long-term arrivals data uses different definitions from its official overseas migration statistics, and the two series can diverge for the same period. Authoritative migration data is published separately.
The January figures are provisional and subject to revision in the next release.
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