Opposition to immigration has reached its highest level in more than a decade in Australia, with a new survey showing the backlash is increasingly concentrated among supporters of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party.
The Scanlon Foundation’s latest report, produced with the Australian National University, found that 59 per cent of Australians believe immigration levels are too high. That compares with 52 per cent last year and 33 per cent in 2023.
The survey of more than 10,000 people also recorded a decline in support for multiculturalism, amid weaker trust in government and political institutions and growing financial pressure.
The proportion who said multiculturalism was good for Australia fell to 76 per cent, from 83 per cent last year and 89 per cent in 2023. Support for the view that migrants from many countries make Australia stronger dropped from 78 per cent in 2023 to 64 per cent this year.
One Nation supporters drive opposition to immigration
Among One Nation supporters, 93 per cent said immigration was too high, up from 79 per cent in 2024. Their support for multiculturalism also fell sharply, with 44 per cent saying it was good for the country compared with 63 per cent two years ago.
Concern about immigration has risen among Coalition voters, with 66 per cent now describing levels as too high, up from 58 per cent in 2024. Views among Labor and Greens supporters have remained broadly steady.
Despite the divisions, the report found broad agreement that migrants could become good citizens. The proportion holding that view ranged from 76 per cent among One Nation voters to 94 per cent among Labor and Greens voters.
The researchers said long-term weakening in Australians’ sense of belonging and participation in their communities had been intensified by more recent political and social tensions.
“Much of the recent deterioration has been driven by One Nation supporters,” they wrote, adding that the party’s supporters were reporting weaker local connections, lower happiness and trust in others, greater financial stress and more pessimism about their futures.
The report said financial anxiety appeared to be influencing attitudes towards multiculturalism and diversity. However, it added that broader social, political and ideological changes were also driving a more polarised debate over immigration.
Trust in government falls among Hanson voters
Cost-of-living pressures and inflation were the leading concern for more than a third of Australians, including One Nation voters. But 23 per cent of Hanson’s supporters identified immigration as the country’s most important problem, compared with 9 per cent of the population overall.
Government and politicians were named as the biggest problem by 14 per cent of One Nation supporters, twice the figure recorded across the wider sample.
Only 9 per cent of One Nation voters said they trusted the current government to do the right thing for Australians most of the time, down from 18 per cent in 2025. The equivalent figure was more than 60 per cent among Labor supporters and about 29 per cent among both Greens and Coalition voters.
Almost two-thirds of One Nation supporters believed government leaders abused their power most of the time. Only about a third thought elections were fair or that courts made impartial decisions, the lowest levels of trust recorded among the political affiliations surveyed.
Negative views of Muslims and Jews increase
The survey also found worsening attitudes towards both Muslim and Jewish people across the political spectrum.
Negative views of Muslims rose from 29 per cent in 2022 to 43 per cent this year, after increasing following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Such views were more prevalent among older and conservative voters, including three-quarters of those identifying as right-wing.
Negative attitudes towards Jewish people increased from 8 per cent in 2022 to 18 per cent this year. Unlike attitudes towards Muslims, the rise was more evenly spread across politics, with the largest increases since 2024 among right-wing voters.
The report said the two trends were different but equally concerning for social cohesion and for the safety and sense of belonging of Muslim and Jewish Australians.
