Thank you to the Australian leaders across business, government, investment, technology, media and the wider community who joined...
Thank you to the Australian leaders across business, government, investment, technology, media and the wider community who joined us in Sydney.
The conversation echoed discussions recently held in New York, London and Singapore: at a time of intensifying global competition for talent, capital and ideas, Australia must better connect, coordinate and mobilise its global talent as a strategic national asset.
Like countries including Ireland, India, Singapore and New Zealand, Australia needs a more coordinated diaspora strategy and clearer pathways between international experience and opportunities at home.
Why?
• More than one million Australians are currently living and working overseas, alongside millions more who have returned home
• Many are embedded in critical industries, global markets and strategic sectors
• 75% of Global Australians are passionate about Australia’s future success and eager to contribute
• More than 90% intend to return home at some point, bringing with them valuable experience, skills and networks, yet only 15% currently have a clear pathway to do so
• 68% of returnees face challenges re-entering the workforce while more than 350,000 jobs remain unfilled
For generations, Australians have headed overseas and backed themselves on the global stage, gaining experience in the world’s leading markets and industries, and bringing that knowledge, ambition and connection home.
This is not a brain drain. It’s a circulation. Success travels both ways.
Countries that harness their global talent will move faster, compete harder and deliver stronger outcomes at home. Those who don’t risk being left behind.
The priority now is to better connect and mobilise this global network - turning a dispersed and fragmented presence into a coordinated force delivering stronger outcomes for Australians abroad and at home.
Because ultimately, we go further together.
Ben Way, Doug Ferguson, Tony Surtees AM, Tan Kueh, Adrian Turner, Prakash Rajah, Bruce Goodwin, Antony Shaw, John McAvoy, Kate McQuestin