Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

Seeking a PhD student for our grant entitled “Temporary migration, visa pathways and integration outcomes” project, supported by the Australia Research Council, University of Western Australia (UWA), the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Australian National University (ANU).

Australia hosts around 1.8 million temporary migrants, many of whom lack a clear pathway toward permanent residence. In 2023 Dept of Home Affairs commissioned a review of the migration system which found that Australia’s migration system requires a ‘10-year rebuild’, citing temporary migration as ‘the greatest policy reform challenge’ because of the risks it poses to social cohesion and migrant exploitation.

Project goals are:

(1) Develop a typology of pathways to permanent residence and citizenship by considering the type, number, and duration of temporary visas and identify variations by arrival cohort and key socio-demographic characteristics. (2) Determine the role of different temporary visa pathways in shaping labour market outcomes, family formation, and sense of belonging, and establish the mechanisms through which visa status influences integration outcomes. (3) Identify the impact of migration policy interventions and the role of broader societal conditions on these processes by comparing Australia to other high-migration countries. (4) Assess the impact of transient and temporary populations on sense of belonging and community engagement in receiving communities, and (5) Develop and disseminate a comprehensive and robust evidence base to inform migration policy development.

The PhD candidate will collaborate with the project team to develop a research program under the overarching project goals, working most closely with A/P Parsons at UWA.

Specifically, the candidate will work with Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA), developed over many years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which provides comprehensive rich individual-level panel data of all residents in Australia from 2006-2024.

To be eligible candidates must fulfil UWA's requirements for enrolment in a higher degree by research.  

The PhD candidate, while contributing to the project goals, will have significant autonomy over their projects.  This work will primarily be carried out at UWA, although opportunities to collaborate with various institutions nationally and internationally will arise

The Grant Holder reserves the right to award the scholarship prior to the closing date if a suitable candidate is identified.

The candidate should hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics or similar, having demonstrable experience in R, Python and/or Stata (or similar), with advanced knowledge of coding and casual inference being sought after. Candidates with backgrounds in economic theory in addition, will be particularly favoured, and prior professional and international experience will be a plus.

In the first instance, send your CV, university transcripts, cover letter and recommendation letters (if available) to christopher.parsons@uwa.edu.au, with the "2026 Application for a PhD Scholarship at UWA" in the title of the message. 

christopher.parsons@uwa.edu.au