Australia’s social cohesion at record low, but 70% believe migrants make country stronger

The social cohesion index score for 2024 is 78, the same as last year but still at its lowest since the survey began in 2007. Photograph: Steven Saphore/AAP

Australia’s social cohesion is proving resilient against financial pressures and anxiety about Middle East unrest but fraying around the issue of immigration, with almost half the population believing it is too high, according to detailed new research.

The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute’s annual survey, Mapping Social Cohesion, measures participants’ sense of belonging, worth, inclusion and justice, political participation, and acceptance and rejection, to form a cohesion index and produce a numerical benchmark that can be compared year on year.