Earlier this week, the Minister for Home Affairs released the Government’s 100 page Migration Strategy which provides a road map of the changes that will be introduced from early 2024 and beyond, targeting migration into key skill shortage roles to increase productivity and secure Australia’s workforce needs. The Department of Home Affairs will publish more details about each of the changes closer to their implementation date.
The strategy outlines 8 action areas:
1. Targeted Temporary Migration through:
- A new 4- year, temporary skilled visa to replace the sponsored subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa. This new visa will seek to address evolving employer and skills needs while supporting worker mobility. It will include 3 pathways:
(i) the 'Specialist Skills' pathway will target mainly professionals earning over $135,000 per year. The Minister has committed to median visa processing times of 7 days for this stream and up to 3,000 places per year under this program. Whilst there will be no occupation lists for this visa stream, trade occupations, machinery operators, drivers and labourers will not be eligible under this stream and will need to use the other available pathways or visas;
(ii) the 'Core Skills' pathway will address the $70,000-135,000 cohort and will be guided by a ‘skills in demand’ list to be developed by Jobs & Skills Australia; and
(iii) the 'Essential Skills' pathway targeting workers earning under $70,000 and is likely to involve union oversight, restrictions to certain industry sectors (aged care and disability sectors, for example) and capped annual numbers
- Simplified Labour Market Testing (LMT) for temporary sponsored roles – the Government has already abolished the requirement to mandatorily advertise with Workforce Australia. Further LMT proposals include increasing the advertising window from 4 months up to 6 months while gradually phasing out LMT as Jobs & Skills Australia skills shortages data improves and a Core Skills Occupation List is created as an LMT alternative.
- A more flexible Skilling Australian Fund Levy payment structure trial which may include monthly or quarterly instalments rather than upfront levy payments
- Increased worker mobility by giving visa holders more time to find a new sponsor if their sponsorship ceases, and providing a publicly available employer sponsor register
- Annual indexation of the 'Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold’ (TSMIT) to reflect annual movements in Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings
2. Reshaping permanent skilled migration to drive long-term prosperity including:
- Clearer permanent residence pathways for employer sponsored visa holders
- A review of the Points Test for General Skilled Migration, including a proposed ‘fast track’ for graduates already working in skilled jobs
- Temporary Graduate visa reforms including higher English requirements, reduced periods of stay, reducing the age limit from 50 to 35 years of age and restrictions on moving back onto a student visa from a Temporary Graduate visa
- Revising the Global Talent and Business Investment programs to have a sharper focus on migrants who will make outsized contributions to Australia. A new 'talent and innovation' visa may be considered
3. Strengthening the integrity & quality of international education including:
- Higher English requirements for student visa applicants
- Limits on the types of courses available for student visas, while maintaining a focus on tertiary university courses
- Visa Conditions to stop course ‘hopping’
- Higher scrutiny of student visa applications including those from ‘higher risk’ countries and education providers, and a new Genuine Student test (how likely is the student to return home at the end of study?)
- Further regulation of Education Agents and International Education Providers
4. Tailoring regional visas and the Working Holiday Maker program to support regional Australia and its workers
- Reshaping visa programs for regional Australia, including fast tracking applications from regional areas
- More involvement of States and Territories in regional visa planning and
- Reviewing the Working Holiday program to limit worker exploitation
5. Deepening our people-to-people ties in the Indo-Pacific including:
- A specific visa for Tuvalu citizens, with an initial allocation of 280 visas, to live, work and study in Australia
- Delivering a new Pacific Engagement Visa (by proposed lottery system)
- Expanding and simplifying entry for Southeast Asian business people
Through these and other initiatives the remaining key actions will be taken:
6. Tackling worker exploitation & the misuse of the visa system
7. Planning migration to get the right skills in the right places
8. Simplifying the migration system to improve the experience for migrants and employers.
Increased Foreign Investment Review Board Fees for existing & vacant properties
The Treasurer has also announced that investments in existing properties will increase threefold and vacancy fees will double. There will also be increased ATO compliance monitoring of foreign investors. More information can be found on the Treasurer’s website.
Do you have questions about what these proposed migration program changes mean for you, your family or a sponsored employee? We can help you with your next step. Please contact us for an initial consultation - we are here to help!
MARN 1387375
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
