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On 22 February 2023, the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Clare O’Neil, announced in a Media Release that the Government will be overhauling the Australian migration system in response to the ongoing skill shortages caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Jobs & Skills Summit outcomes.

Opportunities and Problems of Current Migration System

A few opportunities and problems were identified with Australia’s current migration system:

  • Untapped potential in the population of migrants who are already here, this includes international students (many who depart after finishing their studies) and the partners of skilled migrants who are also qualified but unable to engage well with the labour force.
  • Use of outdated occupation lists to determine workforce needs.  This is a particular problem in tech, where the skills needs of industry move really quickly.  So a data-driven approach to building those lists which reflects the strategic needs of the workforce is required.
  • An ineffective labour market testing process that in some cases is little more than a box ticking exercise.
  • A points system which doesn’t differentiate properly on age, income or skills.

Australia’s share of the global pool of skilled migrants has almost halved over the past three decades.  Highly valued migrants from around the world face bureaucratic delay coming to Australia, and red carpet treatment migrating elsewhere.

The journey to change our migration system started at the Jobs & Skills Summit in September 2022, where the call for substantial reform of our migration system was unanimous.  Businesses small and large wanted a bigger permanent program.

The Labor Government increased the number of permanent migration visas available in 2022/2023 from 160,000 to 195,000 places.  This means there are an extra 35,000 permanent visas to address parts of the Australian economy currently experiencing severe shortages.

The visa backlog has been drastically reduced (almost a million unprocessed visas sitting in the system in May 2022, now fast approaching half a million).  The Jobs & Skills Australia was established, a new part of government that will provide expert, evidence-based advice on skills shortages, vacancies and the overall state of the labour market.  And Minister Andrew Giles is working to design a better system to prevent migrant exploitation.

New Model for Migration System

The Australian Government is looking at eight big changes that will drive a new model for migration:

  1. Design a program where the structure, rules and administration meet the objectives of why our migration system exists, and what problems the migration system should solve.
  2. Redesign the fundamental structure of the migration system, and rebalance the temporary and permanent programs.  Which includes a discussion on the long-term management of the migration program as a whole (including working with State Government colleagues to address infrastructure, services and housing).
  3. Remove policies which create ‘permanently temporary’ conditions and being clear on where migration is truly temporary.
  4. Sharpen focus on skills by having clear strategic thinking behind who Australia needs and where they will come from, as well as a streamlined process that does not deter prospective migrants.  With part of the goal to deliver skills to regional Australia and to small business.
  5. Unlock migrant potential by improving the speed and ease with which migrants’ existing skills on arrival are recognised, and increasing support to transfer the skills of secondary applicants and others into the labour market.
  6. Better coordinate and integrate the needs of the labour market, training and education system and the migration system by giving Jobs & Skills Australia a formal role in our migration system for the first time.
  7. Design a migration system that prevents migrant worker exploitation.
  8. Fix the administration of the migration system (simplify the arcane rules and reduce complexity).

The Government’s Migration Review Team is currently preparing a draft architecture for the new migration system with further details to be released in April 2023.