The number of migrants granted permanent residency has dropped to its lowest level in a decade as the government pursues its "congestion-busting" approach.
Just over 160,300 individuals were given a permanent visa in 2018-19, slightly down on last year when 162,417 were granted permanent residency.
That's nearly 30,000 fewer than the annual migration cap of 190,000 with migration agents and applicants blaming long processing times, rather than a lack of demand for the unallocated visas.
