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Best place in Australia for South Africans? Three states hold three in four, but jobs decide

Tips · 2026-10-24 · 10 min read

There is no single best place in Australia for South Africans, but three states clearly lead. The 2021 Census counted 49,740 South Africa-born people in New South Wales, 49,699 in Queensland and 44,889 in Western Australia: together 144,328, or about 76.3% of the 189,207 counted across the country. For your own move, the deciding question is simpler: the best place is wherever an employer will sponsor your trade or profession, and a community nearby is a welcome extra, not the plan.

Below: the census numbers state by state, what they can and cannot tell you, the rules that really do change when you cross a state border, and a straight step-by-step way to choose. General information from official sources, not migration advice.

The 2021 Census count: where South Africans live, state by state

The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes QuickStats for people born in South Africa, for the whole country and for each state. These are the figures from the 2021 Census QuickStats for South Africa-born people and the matching state pages:

Two things stand out. New South Wales and Queensland are level: the gap between them is 41 people. And Western Australia on its own holds about as many South Africa-born people as Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory put together.

What the state numbers cannot tell you

These counts cover whole states, not cities. They cannot say how many South Africans live in Perth compared with Bunbury, or in Brisbane compared with Rockhampton, and this guide will not guess. If someone quotes a number for a suburb, ask where it comes from.

They are also a 2021 snapshot. Of the 189,207 people counted nationally, 28,327 (15.0%) had arrived between 2016 and 2021, and 143,432 (75.8%) were already Australian citizens. The median age was 45. Put plainly, most of the community has been settled for many years.

So when a cousin who moved to Perth long ago gives visa tips, check them: today's sponsored work visa is the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), and thresholds and lists are reset every program year.

Who the community is, by work

Among employed South Africa-born people in Australia in 2021, 46,050 (35.5%) were Professionals, 14,292 (11.0%) were Technicians and Trades Workers and 3,377 (2.6%) were Machinery Operators and Drivers. If you are a boilermaker from Secunda or a diesel mechanic from Rustenburg, most South Africans around you will work in offices and professions rather than in your kind of workshop.

What a community nearby changes, and what it does not

A community nearby can make the first months easier. People who have made the move can tell you how renting works in practice, which papers they wish they had brought, and where to find a familiar church, school or sports club.

What it does not change is your visa or your pay. These rules are national:

• The sponsor's pay floor. The Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) is AUD79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, wherever the job is.
• Your rights at work. Visa holders have the same workplace rights and protections as all other employees in Australia, including pay, leave and final pay.
• Your skills assessment. The combined list of eligible skilled occupations names one assessing authority for your occupation, not one per state.
• Who decides the visa. Only Home Affairs grants, refuses or cancels visas. Not an employer, and not a friend of a friend.

Nor does a community create jobs. Follow the sponsored vacancies first.

Rules that do change when you cross a state border

Regional visas: Perth counts, Sydney and Brisbane do not

The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) lets holders live, work and study only in designated regional areas for 5 years, and Home Affairs says those areas include all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. So a 494 job in Perth is possible; a 494 job in Sydney or Brisbane is not. Holders may, if eligible, apply for permanent residence after holding the visa for 3 years.

The points-tested Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) needs nomination by a state or territory government agency (or sponsorship by an eligible relative), so each state's own nomination rules decide that route. Our guide to picking your Australian state in 2026-27 covers that side, and Red Migration's overview of choosing a state for skilled migration in 2026-27 compares the states for every nationality.

Trade licences belong to the state

For licensed trades, the state is where the real paperwork starts. In Queensland, overseas-trained electricians need a TRA OSAP assessment; a holder of the Offshore Technical Skills Record gets an electrical work training permit and must finish Australian minimum gap training with an RTO before getting the licence, as Queensland's page for overseas electrical applicants explains.

Our post on electrician jobs in Australia for South Africans sets out the assessment that comes first. Plumbers aiming for Queensland apply to the QBCC on the occupational licence form and must hold a visa or ImmiCard that lets them work.

Driving licences and rental bonds

Queensland's recognised-countries list does not include South Africa, so a South African driver there must pass a road rules test and a practical driving test to get a Queensland licence. For heavy vehicle classes, even drivers from recognised countries sit both tests.

Rental bonds are state rules too. In New South Wales a bond cannot be more than 4 weeks rent and is held by NSW Fair Trading. In Queensland the maximum is also 4 weeks rent, and the bond must be lodged with the Residential Tenancies Authority within 10 days.

Perth, Brisbane or Sydney: start from the live jobs

Judge the three front-runners by vacancies on our board today, not by which city "suits" South Africans:

• Western Australia (44,889 South Africa-born in 2021). Perth sits inside the 494 regional areas, and engineering and construction roles appear across the state. A civil engineering technician job in Perth is open now.
• Queensland (49,699). Brisbane is outside the 494 regional areas, so sponsored roles there run through other visas such as the 482. A mining engineer role in Brisbane is one current example.
• New South Wales (49,740). Sydney is also outside the 494 regional areas. A CNC machinist job in Sydney shows the kind of trade work employers sponsor there.

What changed for 2026-27

The 2026-27 Migration Program, which runs from 1 July to 30 June, sets the Employer-Sponsored planning level at 58,040 places, up from 44,000 in 2025-26.

From 1 July 2026 the CSIT rose to AUD79,423, from AUD76,515 the year before (see the Home Affairs salary requirements page). Roughly, using the official US dollar rates of 16 Oct 2026 (0.6947 US dollars per Australian dollar from the RBA and 16.4262 rand per US dollar from the SARB), AUD79,423 is about R906,000 a year. Rates move every day, so treat that only as a rough comparison.

How to choose your state, step by step

1. Confirm your occupation. Look it up on the combined list of eligible skilled occupations, which shows the list it is on and its assessing authority.
2. Find sponsored vacancies for your trade and note which states they are in. Our Skills in Demand (482) guide for South Africans explains how sponsorship works.
3. Check the licence route in each of those states if your trade is licensed.
4. Decide whether regional life suits your family. Perth counts as regional for the 494; Sydney and Brisbane do not.
5. Start your South African paperwork early. Our breakdown of emigration document costs for South Africans covers the PCC, apostilles and timing.
6. Get your CV ready. List every job's dates, duties and the tools, plant or machines you worked on; Build AI CV can help you set it out the way Australian employers read it.
7. Only then look at where the community is, and use it to plan the landing, not the job.

Optional: a verified Talent Tabloid profile lets employers check your experience and can help your application stand out.

Common mistakes South Africans make when picking a state

• Choosing the city before the job. Moving to where friends live, then finding no sponsor for your trade there.
• Reading state counts as city counts. The 2021 figures above are for whole states.
• Expecting a 494 job in Brisbane or Sydney. Both are outside the designated regional areas.
• Taking visa rules from someone who moved years ago. Thresholds and lists change every program year; check the official page, and for advice on your own case use a registered migration agent.
• Paying someone to "place" you in a particular city. The Department of Employment and Labour says a request to pay for recruitment is likely to be a scam, and buying a job or sponsorship breaks Australian rules and can get a visa refused.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best place in Australia for South Africans?

There is no single best place. The 2021 Census shows New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia hold about three in four South Africa-born people in Australia, but the best place for you is wherever an employer will sponsor your occupation. Treat a community nearby as a bonus once the job is sorted.

Which Australian state has the most South Africans?

New South Wales, by a whisker. The 2021 Census counted 49,740 South Africa-born people there, 49,699 in Queensland and 44,889 in Western Australia. The gap between the first two is only 41 people, so in practice they are level.

Are there census figures for South Africans in Perth, Brisbane or Sydney?

This guide only uses the state-level 2021 Census QuickStats, which count whole states rather than cities. A state figure cannot tell you how many South Africans live in Perth compared with the rest of Western Australia, so check the ABS QuickStats pages yourself before relying on any city number.

Can a subclass 494 regional visa job be in Perth?

Yes. Home Affairs says designated regional areas for the subclass 494 include all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, so Perth is inside them. A 494 job in Sydney or Brisbane is not possible, while other visas such as the subclass 482 are not limited to regional areas.

Does living near other South Africans help me get sponsored?

No. Employers decide who they sponsor and Home Affairs decides who gets a visa, and neither looks at where other South Africans live. A community can make settling in easier for your family, but your trade, documents and skills assessment are what get you the job.

Key takeaways

• New South Wales (49,740), Queensland (49,699) and Western Australia (44,889) held about three in four South Africa-born people in Australia in the 2021 Census.
• Visa rules, the CSIT and your rights at work are the same in every state; licences, bonds and regional visa areas are not.
• Perth counts as regional for the subclass 494; Sydney and Brisbane do not.
• Pick the state where a sponsor wants your skills, then let the community help you settle.

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