Australia to Overhaul Immigration System, Smooth Entry for Skilled Workers

Australia on Thursday proposed an overhaul of its immigration system to get highly skilled workers into the country and smooth the path to permanent residency.

The current system used to select skilled migrants – the points test – will be revised to identify people with the right skills the Australian economy needs to grow, the federal Labor government said.

“Our immigration system … is broken. It’s failing our businesses, it’s failing the migrants themselves. And most importantly, it is failing Australians. This cannot continue,” Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neill said in a speech at the National Press Club.

Australia is competing with comparable countries such as Canada and Germany to lure more skilled migrants, with a growing population fueling demand.

The government said the visa process for highly skilled professionals would be made faster and easier, while steps would be taken to retain international students.

O’Neill said temporary skilled visa holders, who were also denied the opportunity to apply for permanent residency, would be able to do so by the end of this year. But it will not add to Australia’s annual intake of permanent migrants, she said.

In September, Australia raised the number of permanent immigrants to 195,000 this financial year to help businesses facing widespread staff shortages and promised more staff and money to speed up the visa process. Did.

From July 1, the government said it would raise the migrant wage cap for temporary skilled workers from A$53,900 to A$70,000 ($46,250), stuck at the same level since 2013.

The government said almost 90% of all full-time jobs in Australia are now paid more than the current limit, leading to exploitation of migrant workers.

($1 = 1.5135 Australian dollars)

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)