The words 'immigration', 'migrant' and 'asylum seeker' are often headline news - but what do they mean and why do we always hear about them? 

 

For as long as people have existed, human migration has occured where individuals, families and/or masses of people move from one place to another. There are a number of reasons why people move to live in a new place, and these are usually explained by economic, social, political and environmental push and pull factors.  Migration of people still occurs today, and Australia itself is a nation laregly made up of immigrants.

 

Throughout this unit we will explore the reasons why people migrate, the effects of migration on the community and the migrants themselves and stories of migration from people within our community. We will also explore some of the contributions which migrant groups and individuals have made to our society.