It has been reported on Thursday, 27 April 2023 that the Australian government is planning significant changes to its immigration system in order to speed up the entry of highly skilled workers into the country and streamline the process of permanent residency.

Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil has stated that the current migration system is broken and failing businesses, migrants, and Australians alike, and thus changes are necessary. The federal Labor government said that the system used to select skilled migrants will be modified.

Currently, the points-based system is used to select skilled migrants, but this will be modified to include candidates who are better for the Australian economy. The proposed changes will be made on the lines of Canada and Germany’s immigration systems, which allow for easy immigration of foreign nationals. Some of the proposed changes to the immigration system include making the visa process for highly-skilled professionals quicker and easier, taking steps to retain international students, allowing temporary migrant workers to move from their current job and be given up to six months to find work with another employer within the same sector or type of work, and allowing temporary skilled visa holders to apply for permanent residency by the end of this year.

Australia has already raised its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 to address staff shortages, and from July 1, the migrant wage threshold of temporary skilled workers will be raised to A$ 70,000 from A$ 53,900.

This move is expected to help prevent exploitation of temporary migrant workers, which has been a major concern. The proposed changes to Australia’s immigration system aim to attract more skilled migrants, as the country faces an ageing population.

In summary, some proposed changes to the new immigration system:

1. The government also said that the visa process for highly-skilled professionals will be made quicker and easier.
2. Steps would be taken to retain international students.
3. Temporary migrant workers will be allowed to move from their current job and be given up to six months to find work with another employer within the same sector or type of work.
4. Temporary skilled visa holders, who had been denied the opportunity to apply for permanent residency, will be able to do that by the end of this year.
5. Family reunion is important for a strong community, but long wait times of up to 40 years for parents to join their children are an issue. The review proposes a parent visa lottery to prevent backlogs and a more attractive temporary visa product for parents that may replace the permanent parent program in the long run. However, family program reform will be considered separately from the final strategy for 2023, and skilled migration improvements will take priority.