News & Insights

We must reopen as Big Australia, not Fortress Australia – The Lowy Institute 

The Lowy Institute’s recent report “Beyond Fortress Australia” examines the danger we face in overlooking the policy implications of keeping the borders closed, and how our Australian expat and immigrant community have borne the weight of these border closures. Read more here

COVID cuts to Asia-Pacific learning experiences put regional ties at risk – The Age 

Not only are our students missing out on the invaluable opportunity to explore Asia during their formative years, but we as an Australian business community risk losing these insights and ties with the region in our future leaders. Read more here

Opera Australia hires expat as new chief – The Financial Review

Australia’s biggest performing arts company has appointed Australian expat as their new Chief Executive Officer. Fiona Allan will be returning from the UK where she is currently CEO of the Birmingham Hippodrome. Read more here

They waited 17 months for the border to reopen. Now they’re giving up and going home – The Sydney Morning Herald 

As borders remain closed and with no real site on when they will reopen, thousands of expats and immigrants are calling time on Australia and heading back overseas.   Read more here.

MCA picks 30 year expat as new director  The Financial Review

The Museum of Contemporary Art has chosen a returning expatriate as its new director. Returning with thirty plus years of international experience, Suzanne Cotter will bring home years of experience from Europe. Read more here.

Meet the executives who landed a global role without leaving home-  The Financial Review

Relocating to another country is no longer a prerequisite for global leadership roles. However, Australian executives need to be willing to embrace the late nights and early mornings that come with working across time zones. Read more here.

Hard to see the reasoning behind new rules for Australian expats –  The Age

The federal government’s decision to make returning Australian expats apply for an exemption to leave the country again is the latest in a long line of restrictive measures that has split families and left thousands of Australian citizens stranded overseas. Read more here.

The expat talent influx: Advertising and marketing’s gain, but for how long? –  Mumbrella

Australia has long been known as a market that punches above its weight when it comes to the advertising and marketing industry. With many leading industry professionals returning over the last 14 months, some have taken up key roles whilst others have seemingly gone silent. Read more here.

Fortress Australia populism could cost us best and brightest migrants – The Financial Review 

A reopening plan with real targets and greater certainty would help stop a brain drain that will cost us economically in the long run. Read more here

Brain Gain: New boutique, surge in deals lure expat bankers back to Australia –  Business World

Australian expatriate investment bankers are returning home in large numbers, lured by the launch of new boutique advisory firms, a sharp pick up in deal-making, and the safety of a country relatively unscathed by the coronavirus pandemic. Hopefully, we see more industries follow suit. Read more here.

COVID has made one thing very clear – we do not know enough about Australians overseas  –  The Conversation

The pandemic has brought many things into the spotlight, least of all the fact that we really don’t know enough about our Australian diaspora …. which begs the question is it time for a Diaspora Policy? Read more here.

‘A bloody outrage’: Leaving Aussies stranded a breach of human rights , says Alexander Downer  –  Sydney Morning Herald

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has criticised the strict border policies denying Australian citizens entry to their own country as in breach of their human rights. Read more here.

Lack of empathy and sympathy’: Formerly stranded Aussies adjust to life back home –  The Age

Nearly half a million Aussie expats have returned home since the start of the pandemic but for many the welcome has been anything but warm. Many have struggled with the issues of transition and feelings of not belonging, bought on by what they see as a distinct lack of understanding and empathy from their fellow citizens about the experiences. Read more here.

Brain gain: Half of Australian expats are back home, and they’ve brought their talents with them –  The Age

After years of hearing about the ‘brain drain’, Aussies are returning home at a rate never seen before – and they are bringing with them an incredible suite of knowledge, experience and networks.  Australia is now presented with a unique opportunity with this access to global talent but just how they capitalise on it remains to be seen.  Read more here.

The smell of gum trees and rejection: the Australians locked out of ‘home’ by Covid border closures –  The Guardian

For many expats, the ability to dip in back home to reconnect at regular intervals made them feel at ease living so far away. Now the pandemic has put that on hold, anxiety has begun to creep in. With a lack of meaningful career opportunities here at home, coupled with border closures and a growing sense of rejection many Aussies are wondering if they can come home at all. Read more here.

From high finance to local news, Michael Waite is backing Naracoorte’s new newspaper – ABC

When Michael Waite and his family returned ‘home’ at the end of 2019 for the summer, there was no plan to stay long term let alone take on the challenge of reviving the local newspaper in his former hometown. Swapping finance in Washington for local media in regional South Australia, Mr Waite like many returning expats found himself making an initial career pivot upon his return. Read more here.

Australian expats warned of tax bills on return post-pandemic – International Investment

Sydney-based law firm HLB Mann Judd said thousands of returning Australians will have to reassess their tax obligations on returning to Australia. With 400 000 Australians returning in 2020 and another 40 000 still waiting to return, the reminder is timely as many face increased tax implications with the buying and selling of properties, pension and superannuation structures and money transfers. Read more here.

COVID-19 trigger for expats to come home – Financial Review

With returning to Australia is no longer as easy as hopping on a flight, roughly a fifth of Australia’s highly skilled expat community has come home in 2020. Only 21% of expats suggest intending to return once restrictions ease, which means a lot of people are considering the move a permanent one. Read more about what these expats are doing on home soil and how they are approaching their transition. 

COVID-19 pandemic offers ‘single greatest opportunity’ to reverse Australia’s brain drain – ABC

The Covid-19 pandemic offers Australia a unique opportunity to reverse the brain drain. But this isn’t without a catch. With Australia’s employment market significantly smaller than those that expats are typically returning from, many are caught by surprise at how difficult it can be to transition professionally. Read more about how many of these returning expats are experiencing the current market.

The Expat Life Is Struggling to Survive Covid-19 – Bloomberg Businessweek

Amidst the rising cases of Covid-19 globally, Australia is garnering a reputation for safety and stability. With many expats pulling up stakes and heading home, service providers such as real estate agents, recruiters and insurers are being inundated with enquiries and expressions of interest suggesting that many expats are making this a permanent move. Read more here.

Tips for Expats Returning to Australia – Australian Women in New York

For expats who have spent extensive periods of time abroad, the logistics of moving home can seem as daunting as a move to a new country. Moving money, selling houses, reactivating Medicare and local insurances might all sound straightforward but often catch many returning expats by surprise. The authors of this article share their insights in returning from the US. Read more here.

Movement of expats back to Australia: Knight Frank – The Real Estate Conversation

As Australians start to make the move home amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, real estate agents Knight Frank conducted a survey to find out exactly what decisions expats were making about property: what type of properties were most sought after, what price bracket and what cities and regions were most in demand. Read more here.

Expats returning to Australia: 13 things that shock people who have been living overseas – The Traveller

Australians are returning from all corners of the globe with many seeking the safety and stability of home soil during the pandemic.  For many, the cost of living is often a massive wake up call, but there are quite a few other Australian quirks that take a bit of getting used to once we land back ‘home’. Read more here.

Gen X CEOs are different to what you would expect – ABC

A silver lining for returning expats comes in the form of new research that has found many CEOs in Australia have had some global experience. A survey of top-50 CEOs has found that irrespective of where they were born, 80% had worked overseas at some stage in their career. Read more to learn about why an international CV can be valuable for Australia’s business leaders. 

They Still Call Australia Home: Expats returning home are key to unlocking corporate Australia’s competitive edge – A report by Indeed and Advance

Advance Global Australians and Indeed has released a new report, which is one of the most thorough and insightful studies of returning expats to Australia in recent years. Among its key findings, repatriates are struggling to re-settling in Australian both personally and professionally. The study captures the job-seeking experiences of Australians who have worked, or are working, overseas and navigating their return to Australia. Read more here.

Thinking of moving overseas for work? Research says you’ll struggle to return – ABC

ABC reports on new data from Advance Global Australians and Indeed, that reveals returning expats are struggling to gain employment upon returning home. This struggle can be attributed to a few contributing factors, including the lack of value placed on global experience by hiring managers, and also the difficulty repatriates face in articulating and translating their experience in the local market. Read more here. 

The skills that global cosmopolitans bring to the table – INSEAD Knowledge

Global experience remains a valuable competitive edge for our increasingly international workforce – if you know how to articulate it. Linda Brimm, INSEAD Emeritus Professor of Organisational Behaviour discusses ten key advantages that ‘global cosmopolitans’ possess, from adaptive capacity, to cross-border collaboration, relational understanding, competence and respect for difference. Read the full article here. 

Homecoming. One writer’s battle with returning to earth – Local East Magazine

The journey of every returning expat is highly personal, however there is much common ground to be found when it comes to the challenges of this experience. Writer Amanda Leigh Doueihi shares her own learnings after living in New York City for nearly a decade, and returning to Sydney. Read more to discover how she grappled with her sense of place, belonging and readjusting to life at ‘home’. 

How to decide whether to relocate for a job – Harvard Business Review

Sometimes the perfect job isn’t down the street, but rather thousands of miles — or perhaps even an ocean — away. If you’re offered a job in a different location, how do you know if it’s worth relocating? Who should help you make the decision? And, how do you weigh the potential upsides like money and opportunity against costs like the impact on your family or the loss of your existing network? The experts weigh in on this topic. Read more here.

The fintech startup jobs Australian expats are returning home for – Business Insider

Expatriate Australians are returning to roles in the local fintech industry, reports Business Insider. Fintechs need people with experience in engineering/software, design and user experience, and sales, and the main way fintechs recruit talent is still through personal referrals. But recruiters are gaining ground as a source of new talent returns to Australia. Read the story here. 

The problem with being a long term expat – BBC

In a recent BBC article, several interviews found that people on long-term foreign assignments often find it hard to adjust once they return home. Many leave their company within a few years, and some leave the country entirely. This story also explores the struggles faced when returning home after an extended absence and common experiences returning expats face in relation to ‘reverse culture shock.’ Read the feature here.

How to cultivate the art of serendipity – The New York Times

Cultivating the art of serendipity is about being observant of the world around us, according to this opinion piece from The New York Times. But it’s also a wonderful lens through which to see the world when returning home after living abroad. Many of our members feel their repatriation experience is a little like being a tourist, marveling at the city with fresh eyes. Discover the art of curiosity and serendipity here. 

Five reasons why everyone should live abroad at least once – The Telegraph

Living abroad can be character building, CV enhancing, culturally immersive, taste changing and of course rewarding. The Telegraph makes a compelling case for taking an overseas assignment, or spending some time living in a foreign country. A world traveller and serial expat explains some of the reasons why people decide to make the move, and the life-changing experiences that go with living an international life. Read the story here.

Isabel Lucas moves home to Australia: the Hollywood star next door – Domain

After almost a decade living in Los Angeles, the renowned Australian star decided to move back to Byron Bay in 2018, to reconnect with the hinterland and go back to the US when required for work. In this Domain article, among the many reasons that prompted Lucas to return home, she mentions one key factor was to live in a place where she feels connected to her family and friends in order to do her best work.

ABC’s Michelle Guthrie among returning expats snubbed by Australian companies – Australian Financial Review

Former ABC Managing Director Michelle Guthrie speaks out about her return to Australia after living and working abroad, and the challenges she faced when re-entering the job market. She found that international experience was under-valued by local boards and executive teams, and struggled to translate the knowledge gleaned from overseas. She shares her insights in this interview with the Australian Financial Review here.