Population registers and administrative datasets have become the gold standard in migration research, but access has been limited to a few European and east Asian countries. To bridge this gap, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recently set up the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP), which provides access to longitudinal administrative microdata for the Australian population. This paper takes the first step in assessing its reliability and utility for the study of internal migration, paying particular attention to its longitudinal location module. We proceed in three complementary steps. First, we compare the coverage of MADIP to that of the 2016 census to establish whether some groups are over or under-represented. We then examine missing values and mismatches in place of residence at various spatial scales. Second, we calculate a series of internal migration indicators that capture the level, selectivity and direction of internal migration and compare findings from both sources. Finally, we outline some research questions that can be addressed using MADIP and present a case study: the longitudinal retention of immigrants on regional visas.

Aude is a Senior Lecturer at the Queensland Centre for Population Research at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on understanding migration processes and their consequences for individuals, regions and nations particularly from a demographic perspective.

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