'Permanent skilled visas must target younger, skilled talent': report

According to a recently released report by the Grattan Institute, skilled migration policies should be revamped so that highly skilled, young migrants can stay in Australia for the long term, rather than addressing a short-term solution to skill shortages.

The report published by the Grattan Institute says that permanent skilled visas must target younger and skilled talent. Credit: Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd/Getty Images

Key Points

• Making clearer pathways to permanent residency would increase Australia’s attractiveness compared to other comparable nations, according to a new report published by the Grattan Institute.
• The proposed skilled intake for 2022-23 is 142,200, and it is significantly larger than in recent years.
• Make all jobs paying above $70,000 a year, irrespective of occupation, eligible for temporary sponsorship, according to the Grattan Institute report.
• Make employer-sponsored visas available for workers in all occupations, provided the job pays at least $85,000 a year, the report recommends.

'Australia’s migration opportunity: how rethinking skilled migration can solve some of our biggest problems', report is the submission by the Grattan Institute to the federal government’s migration review.

The report said that 'resetting Australia's skilled migration program would lift living standards, attract global talent, boost Australia's lagging productivity growth and boost federal and state government budgets by billions of dollars each year.'

The Grattan Institute's new report says revamping the migration system could help to solve many of the big challenges Australia faces. Credit: Epoxydude/Getty Images

It notes that the skilled migration program wasn't working as effectively as it should and that better program was needed.

"After the struggles of the pandemic, Australia again faces a number of big challenges: sluggish productivity growth, a growing budget problem as our population ages, and a rapid transition to a net-zero economy," the report said.

Employer sponsorship is now both more complex and less certain, making Australia less attractive to globally-mobile talent.

Grattan Institute's new report

Only a quarter of permanent visas issued over the past decade actually assessed migrants’ skills while the rest came via the family and humanitarian streams, the report said.

Making a slew of recommendations, the report said that permanent skilled visas must target younger and skilled talent and allow them to stay in Australia long term rather than addressing short-term skills shortages.

The Grattan Institute's report recommend to abolish the Business Innovation and Investment Program by saying its recipients are typically older and earn less than employer-sponsored migrants. Credit: freemixer/Getty Images

It has been proposed that permanent employer sponsorship be available to workers earning more than $85,000 per year.

The Business Investment and Innovation Program, which selects older and less-skilled migrants, should be abolished.

The Grattan Institute report's recommendation

"Temporary sponsorship should be available for migrants in any occupation who earn more than $70,000 a year. Labour-market testing should be abolished and sponsorship made portable so that migrant workers can more easily switch employers," it recommends.

The report argues that permanent visas could limit exploitation, but workers may leave the sector unless wages rise, and fewer skilled visas would mean a larger long-term budgetary cost.

Jim Varghese, Executive Director of Springfield City Group, welcomed the proposal of targeting young and skilled migrants by stating it would align well with the Australia-India Trade Agreement and strengthen trade and investment sustainability.

Jim Varghese, former National Chair of Australia India Business Council (AIBC). Credit: Mr Jim Varghese

However, he expressed concern over the proposal to abolish the Business Investment and Innovation program, which selects older and lower-skilled migrants.

"An independent review needs to be conducted on the value to date of older and less skilled migrants," he said, describing the recommendation as 'premature'.

"At the end of the day I would agree that a less prescriptive visa system would help attract the world’s best and brightest in strengthening our sovereign capabilities in areas like cyber security and other critical areas of the supply chains of industry," Mr Varghese said.

Associate Vice Chair of Australia India Business Council (AIBC) Ashok Mysore also echoed similar sentiments.

Ashok Mysore is Associate Vice Chair of Australia India Business Council (AIBC). Credit: Ashok Mysore

"AIBC welcomes the initiative by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil who has tasked a panel of experts in reviewing the immigration system ahead of next year’s budget in a bid to boost economic growth and productivity, particularly in the context of Australia’s relationship with India," he said.

"While there are a range of issues that prohibit Australia maximising the benefits of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), the most significant issue is talent mobility as it relates to Australia’s current migration policy and visa system," Mr Mysore said, while pointing out the importance of creating a pathway for permanent residency for young skilled migrants.

On the proposal to abolish the BIIP program, Mr Mysore said that there were good arguments on investors creating capital for VC funds, create more jobs for Australians, build stronger bilateral relations that results in increased economic and trade transactions.

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