The Government says it will better target visas for general practitioners to areas of doctor shortages.
From January the 1st next year, the Government will set a planning target of around 2,100 overseas trained doctors per annum to contribute to overall doctor numbers – a reduction of 200 GPs.
On the other hand, religious organisations will be able to employ migrants as bishops and ministers without contributing to a fund designed to support 300,000 Australian Apprenticeships.
The Turnbull government announced the Skilling Australians Fund in last year’s budget, where employers who hire a migrant worker under a temporary skills visa or an employer-nominated visa would be forced to pay a “levy” into the fund.
But 2018 Budget papers reveal religious groups will be exempted.
![Clockwise from top left: Tamba Banks of the Jaru tribe, whose family once lived in the Bungle Bungles, [known to her people as Billingjal], is one of the traditional owners of the Purnululu national park. Credit: Barry Lewis/Corbis via Getty Images; Bushfire Source: Supplied / Tasmania Fire Service; Professor Nalini Joshi Source: Nalini Joshi](https://images.sbs.com.au/dims4/default/781ea33/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsbs-au-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4c%2Fcb%2Faebd6dc1480a9b5eca8788a0e754%2Fcopy-of-sbs-audio-youtube-end-card-2-3.jpg&imwidth=1280)
