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Massive changes proposed for the Migration System

Massive changes proposed for the Migration System

Summary of changes ahead:

DHA will increase the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) from $53,900 to $70,000 from 1 July 2023.
by the end of 2023, Temporary Skill Shortage short stream visa holders will have a pathway to permanent residency within our existing capped permanent program.
New points test for GSM
No GTE for Student visas
Automatic 485 visa grants after student visas
A Parent visa lottery
No Labour market testing for employer sponsored visas
Simplifying the visa system to reduce the number of visa categories. For skilled visas there will be 3 streams – specialized highly skilled, mainstream skilled and essential skills stream.
Occupation list approach will be reformed and skills recognition process to be reformed.
Changes to the skilled points test for skilled permanent residency visas and a newly designed Global Talent visa program
Tightening of student visa program with a focus on integrity and focus on attracting bright students to study in Australia.
Business Innovation and Investment Visa program will be radically restructured to better bring capital and entrepreneurship to Australia.

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Possible reform directions:

Possible reform directions		Measures supporting possible reform directions
Develop a clear migration strategy to guide Australia over coming decades	1.	Adopt a clear set of objectives and principles to guide the migration system and form the foundation of a migration strategy for the next two decades.
	2.	Ensure a single area of government, with deep- expertise, is charged with stewarding the migration system, with all visa products to be designed and delivered by that department.
	3.	Develop an evaluation plan for the migration system, based on the outcomes government wishes to achieve through migration.
	4.	Develop a data strategy to support the migration evaluation plan. The data strategy should cover all migrant settlement and integration outcomes (not just economic) and support investment in better program and outcome data.


Redefine how Australia determines the size and composition of the migration program	5.	Move to planning migration over a long-term time horizon (e.g. 10 years).
	6.	Plan migration based on net overseas migration (which accounts for both permanent and temporary residents), rather than simply relying on permanent migration caps.
	7.	Work across government – and with states and territories – to consider how best migration can help meet place-based objectives, particularly in regional Australia.
Better target permanent skilled visas to maximise economic outcomes and remain internationally competitive	8.	Revisit the allocation of places across the permanent skilled program. In particular, reconsider the size and role of the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP), noting more positive outcomes from the Significant Investor Visa. Consider how to manage the allocation of places to state and territory nominated and regional visas, including possible consolidation of these programs.
	9.	Recalibrate the points test to select migrants with high human capital who will make the greatest long- term economic contribution.
	10	Consider changes to the existing Global Talent visa to improve clarity in the selection criteria and remove the need for a nomination.
Be led by the evidence, in temporary skilled migration	11	Rely on the expertise of JSA to identify labour needs and market salary rates and provide deep insights and input in a way that links migration with skills and training.
	12	Remove the requirement for labour market testing.
	13	Renew and strengthen the role of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration (MACSM) as a tripartite advisory body.
	14	Draw on advice of the JSA to further inform this tripartite approach.
	15	Increase the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), index it to the Wage Price Index, and consider the adoption of age adjusted thresholds.


Adopt principles and guardrails to manage risk in temporary skilled migration	16	Adopt risk-based regulation of temporary labour migration, with three tiers: 1. a ‘light touch’ high salary cohort; 2. a ‘mid-level cohort’ (above the TSMIT, below the high-salary threshold of cohort 1); and 3. subject to further consideration across government, a lower wage cohort in sectors experiencing persistent shortages and who are most at risk of exploitation and displacing Australian workers with similar skills. Regulatory effort should be highest for cohort 3 and lowest for cohort 1.
	17	Allow temporary migrant workers to move from their current employment to find work with another employer within the same sector or job family. Migrants could have up to 6 months to find new employment.
	18	Require all employers of temporary visa holders to register that employment through a light-touch process; those with a history of serious workplace breaches would be deregistered and ineligible to employ visa holders.
	19	Require employer fees and charges to be paid monthly, rather than up-front, to facilitate mobility between employers and increase access for small business by reducing up-front costs.
	20	Provide migrant workers with targeted training on workplace laws and conditions based on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme model.
	21	Improve post-arrival monitoring and compliance including through coordination with the tax system, using tax file numbers (TFN) and single-touch payroll.
Resolve and avoid ‘permanently temporary’ migration	22	Review the drivers that have created a continuing ‘permanently temporary’ cohort with a view to ensuring future cohorts do not emerge.
Restore the Working Holiday Maker program to its original intention	23	Ensure the primary focus of the Working Holiday Maker program is cultural exchange and does not operate to tie migration outcomes to the performance of work. Subject to Australia’s obligations under trade and other international agreements, consider limiting Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visas to one year.
Review approach to Parent visas	24	Introduction of a Parent visa lottery to prevent further application backlogs.


	25	Introduce a cheaper, more attractive temporary visa product for parents that might in the long term replace a permanent parent program.
Strengthen international student outcomes and transitions	26	Review the Student visa working hours cap, including whether unpaid work-integrated-learning, internships and work experience are counted towards the cap.
Strengthen international student outcomes and transitions	27	Provide a Temporary Graduate visa automatically upon study completion.
	28	Align the duration of the Temporary Graduate visa with the time required to identify high potential graduates who will succeed on a permanent skilled visa. Within these parameters, minimise the time former students can remain in Australia on a temporary basis.
	29	Explore options to provide a certain and direct permanent residence pathway for a very narrowly defined group of students.
	30	Align the English language requirements of the Student and/or Graduate visas with skilled visa English language requirements.
	31	Move from the Genuine Temporary Entrant criterion to a Genuine Student test.
Unlock all migrant potential	32	Revisit the scope of settlement and integration support programs, with a view to making them more responsive to local differences in settlement location, and migrant need.
	33	Review the Newly Arrived Resident Waiting Period (NARWP) to help improve government understanding of the impacts of this policy measure on migrant outcomes.
	34	Invest in social enterprises and others that focus on the drivers of migrant economic integration, including for cohorts who face particular barriers in the labour market (e.g. migrant women, and humanitarian entrants).
	35	Lead alongside states and territories a strategy to oversee efforts to streamline skills recognition, particularly for those occupations that can deliver the most benefit to Australia.
Improve and restore clarity to the role of migration in international relations	36	Examine visa processing arrangements for South-East Asia and the Pacific, to ensure we are presenting a welcoming face to our region, while balancing risk.
Invest in policy, service delivery and enabling capabilities	37	Invest in the Department of Home Affairs’ capability to deliver the migration system, including through ongoing investment in ICT systems, technological adoption and data capabilities.
	38	Undertake a phased program of legislative review and reform.