It is good news for all those who are planning to move to Australia for work, as the country is set to make significant changes in its immigration system. The proposed major overhauling of the system is done with the aim to speed up the entry of highly skilled workers into the country. It will also focus on streamlining the process of permanent residency. The federal Labor government said Thursday that the system used to select skilled migrants will be modified.
At present, the points test is used to choose people with the correct skill sets but this will be changed so that candidates who are better for the Australian economy are included.
“Our migration system … is broken. It is failing our businesses, it is failing migrants themselves. And most importantly, it is failing Australians. That cannot continue,” home affairs minister Clare O’Neil said.
The system will be changed on the lines of that of Canada and Germany which allows easy immigration of foreign nationals. It will be modified to attract more skilled migrants as Australia faces the inexorable challenge of the ageing population.
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.
In September, Australia raised its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 up by 350,000, as businesses faced staff shortages. From July 1, the government even said that it would raise the migrant wage threshold of temporary skilled workers to A$ 70,000 from A$ 53,900. This was the first big change in wages since 2013.
The reviewers said they were “greatly concerned by the way the current system heightens the risk of exploitation faced by temporary migrant workers”. In particular, employer sponsorship has “created the opportunity for exploitation … because it stifles the ability and willingness of an employee to report non-compliance”.
Around 90 per cent of full-paid jobs in Australia are now paid more than the current threshold, leading to the exploitation of migrant workers, the government said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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