Migrant women in Australia are finding more independence, equality and a healthier and wealthier life with more opportunity than in their home countries, according to a new survey.
An overwhelming majority of women migrants find life in Australia ‘better’ than in their home countries and believe they have more rights than at home.
Most say they have more opportunities here than at home and are more financially independent. And overwhelmingly they say they have more control over their daily lives here in Australia and believe men and women should have equal access to opportunity.
But a large majority (62 per cent) said that violence against women was an issue in their communities. More than half (57 per cent) said violence against women was more prevalent in their home countries while 31 per cent said it was more prevalent in Australia.
The survey of 150 new women migrants and refugees from non-English speaking countries, commissioned by refugee and migrant settlement agency AMES Australia, also found that migrant women in Australia have more access to a range of services and activities including education, work, women’s health, childcare, driving a car and political and religious activity.
Is life better here?
Timed to coincide with International Women’s Day 2026, the survey asked, ‘As a woman is life in Australia better for you than in your home country?’ Seventy per cent of respondents said ‘yes’ and nine per cent said ‘no’ while 21 per cent said there was no difference.
Ninety per cent of women said they had more rights in Australia than in their home country while 7 per cent said they did not. Seventy-one per cent of the survey respondents said there were more opportunities for women in Australia than at home while 19 per cent disagreed.
Asked about particular services or activities that could be accessed in Australia, more than sixty per cent said both education and women’s health services were easier to access in Australia.
Sixty-seven per cent said work was more accessible in Australia, while 54 per cent cited driving a car as being easier in Australia and 56 per cent said childcare was more accessible.
Meanwhile 28 per cent said religious activities were more accessible in their home countries and 28 per cent said work was easier to come by.
An overwhelming 80 per cent of respondents said Australian women were more independent than women in their home countries.
Sixty-six per cent said they were more financially independent in Australia while 20 per cent said they were less financially independent and 17 per cent said there was no difference.
Seventy-two per cent of women said they had more control over their daily lives and five per cent said they had less control while 20 per cent said there was no difference.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents they believed women should have the same opportunities as men.
Optimistic
AMES Australia CEO Melinda Collinson said the survey showed that women migrants and refugees new to Australia were optimistic about their new country and were striving to become part of the wider society.
‘What the survey tells us is that migrant and refugee women who come to this country appreciate the level of equality we have and the opportunities that are available to women here,’ Ms Collinson said.
‘It shows that most migrants value our services and institutions want to make the most of what this country offers them,’ she said. ‘But is also tells us that violence against women is an issue in all communities and we still have work to do to eliminate it.’
Nepali migrant Reshma Manandhar said Australia offered opportunity and financial independence for women.
‘In Australia women have opportunities for education, employment and personal development that are not available in m any countries,’ Ms Manandhar said.
‘Women can have serious careers in Australia. While there are barriers and impediments for women, it’s possible to achieve your dreams here,’ she said.
Education
Bangladeshi migrant and student Rupananda Roy, who recently completed a PhD at the University of Adelaide, said attaining higher education would have been much more difficult in her own country.
In doing so, she made history by becoming the first woman from one of Bangladesh’s 50 ethnic minority communities to earn a doctorate.
‘My family and my husband and his family have been very supportive. Without this support, it can be quite difficult for women from my culture to pursue higher education,’ Ms Roy said.
Brazilian-Australian Thelma Nascimento said educating people in diverse communities was important for future generations.
Ms Nascimento, a community advocate in the prevention of violence against women, said ‘Violence against women is an issue in every community including my own.
‘We need to educate people from a young age that everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect,’ said Thelma, who runs an anti-family violence not-for-profit group called ‘Break Boundaries’.
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