The Australian Liberal Coalition Federal Government, headed by Prime
Minister Scott Morrison, has been re-elected.
In terms of implications for the #Australian immigration program, we would
expect permanent migration numbers to remain relatively low with the caps
on migration programs reduced.
The composition of the Australian immigration program will be maintained at
about 70 per cent in the #Skilled Migration stream and 30 per cent in the
Family stream.
Over the next three years of this Government, the focus will be on regional
growth and skilled migration. There will be expected stronger incentives for
new people to Australia to settle outside the major cities in areas that will
welcome their skills and expertise. Possibly 23,000 places each year will be set
aside for #regional visas.
Some of these policy changes have already commenced and others will be
announced over the coming months. These include:
- Skilled migrants to be priority processed and afforded access to a larger
pool of jobs on the eligible #occupation lists compared to those who live
in major cities. - Provision of incentives for #international students to study at university
regional campuses under a ‘#Destination Australia’ program. - Provision of an additional one year #Temporary Graduate visa for
international students who have completed their studies at a regional
campus of a university to ensure they can continue to live and work in
regional Australia for longer. - Greater flexibility for work and holiday makers including a third year
option, given certain requirements are met, to resolve labour shortages
in regional areas. - #Work and Holiday and #Working Holiday Agreements between
Australia and other countries not yet included in the program to be
implemented, to allow more young adults from those countries to apply
for Work and Holiday and Working Holiday visas. - Increase in the proportion of migrants who are sponsored by Australian
businesses. - Increase in the number of state-territory nominated places.
- Additional five year #Designated Area Migration Agreements, which
should assist employers experiencing skill shortages and sponsor skilled
workers. - Launch of a new #Global Talent – Independent program aimed at
attracting the very best talent from around the world. - Introduction of a dedicated #Accelerator Support Program to assist first
generation migrants looking to develop a start-up business. - Tailored #Aged Care Labour Agreements to support migrant
communities to allow aged care providers to hire overseas workers with
specialised skills who will support older Australians from multicultural
backgrounds.
- Skilled migrants to be priority processed and afforded access to a larger
We will provide details on these and other proposed changes to the
Australian Immigration program over the coming months.
Please contact us for more information.