Correspondence with David Gruen regarding overseas arrivals and departures

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This FOI release comprises internal ABS emails, media materials and correspondence concerning the Overseas Arrivals and Departures (OAD) series and its relationship to Net Overseas Migration (NOM), released in response to a request for correspondence with Minister Andrew Leigh's office from May to August 2025. It includes the 14 August 2025 media release on 2024-25 travel patterns, internal briefings and talking points, and the ABS media statement of 21 August 2025 cautioning that OAD permanent and long-term movements should not be used as a measure of overseas migration. Staff discussions cover why OAD and NOM differ, including the treatment of students on repeated long-term visitor arrivals and departures, and the historical divergence between the two series, which averaged 42 per cent over the past 12 quarters. The material also records media coverage and criticism that the ABS was seeking to censor the migration debate, and the agency's response that its journalist contact was independent and without political direction.