Recently, the Productivity Commission (PC) released its five-year Productivity Inquiry report containing recommendations that could significantly impact Australia’s skilled migration program. The report aims to address the decline in productivity growth that Australia and other advanced economies are facing.
Australia’s migration program plays a vital role in productivity by providing a supply of skilled migrants and matching them with jobs that need to be filled. The report recommends ways to improve the net fiscal impact of permanent migrants on the country’s public well-being, primarily by contributing more to taxes than drawing from Australia’s social safety net.
One of the key recommendations of the report is the abolition of business skills visas . According to the report, this visa category performs poorly on almost all fronts and has a negative net fiscal impact on the country. The report suggests that employer nominated visas have the highest NFI at $557,000 over the primary visa holder’s lifetime, while business skills visas are the only skilled visa category that is negative at -$117,000 for the primary visa holder. Therefore, on average, business skills visa holders are a drain on Australia’s public purse strings.
Another recommendation of the report is to remove occupation lists but increase the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for temporary and permanent skilled visas . This means that the visa system will be better calibrated to recognise ongoing Australian employment, income levels, and when the potential migrant first arrived in Australia. In addition, a new permanent visa for occupations in the human services sector, primarily the aged and disability care sectors, is recommended due to sustained labour shortages.
These recommendations may significantly affect Australia’s migration system and affect your future migration plan to Australia. Why not contact Alex Halim & Associates Group to learn out more.