The Migration Strategy, released today by the Australian Government, outlines major improvements to Australia’s migration system to meet the nation’s future demands and deliver for Australia—its people, businesses, governments, and migrants.
Today, more than half of all Australians were born abroad or have a foreign parent.
The Migration Strategy establishes five primary goals for Australia’s migration system. To achieve these goals, the government will implement eight essential steps, backed up by more than 25 new policy pledges and existing commitments.
The first comprehensive review of the migration system in a generation, the 2023 Review of the Migration System (the Migration Review), found ‘a lack of clarity on what Australia has been trying to achieve through migration is at the heart of the problems the system faces today’.
Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM led the Migration Review and noted that the system was ‘so badly broken’ that it required a ‘10-year rebuild’.
Temporary Skilled Migration
Australia’s temporary visa programs allow people to come to Australia for a broad range of specific purposes such as to visit, study and work. A proportion of temporary visa holders apply for an extension of temporary stay, while some temporary visa holders opt for permanent stay through the Migration Program.
One of the many actions, the Australian government has proposed to take in the Migration Strategy is to target temporary skilled migration to address skills needs and promote worker mobility.
A new Skills in Demand visa with three targeted pathways, and visa settings that encourage migrant worker mobility in the labour market could be launched. Further, a new Specialist Skills Pathway to make it easier for Australia to attract highly skilled workers, for example in the technology or green energy industries is proposed.
A Core Skills Pathway to meet targeted workforce needs, with a simpler, regularly updated occupation list for the skills Australia needs is also on the anvil. Finally, new visa settings that give migrant workers more mobility in the labour market to help tackle worker exploitation and drive productivity are to be taken up along with streamlined visa processing.
Permanent Skilled Migration
For reshaping permanent skilled migration to drive long-term prosperity a commitment to explore a reformed points test for permanent skilled migration, and a new Talent and Innovation visa for migrants who can drive growth in sectors of national importance has been considered in the Migration Strategy.
The Migration Strategy also puts focus on regional visas and the Working Holiday Maker Program to support regional Australia and its workers. Working Holiday Maker Program allows young adults to have a 12-month holiday, during which they can undertake short-term work and study.
The government also aims a system-wide simplification agenda that will streamline visa settings, reduce visa classes and make the system easier to use. The Migration Strategy of Australia commits to the removal of over 20 unnecessary and duplicative visas to simplify the visa system.
The Australian Government has invested in the following immigration-related measures within the 2023-24 Budget:
Allocate approximately 70 per cent of places in the 2023-24 permanent Migration Program to the Skill stream and approximately 30 per cent to the Family stream, where partner and child visas will remain demand-driven.
Increase the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) from $53,900 to $70,000 from 1 July 2023.
Provide an extra two years of post-study work rights to Temporary Graduate visa holders with select degrees, to improve the pipeline of skilled labour in key sectors.