The community organisation Settlement Services International has told an inquiry into regional migration the federal government needs to implement detail into its population policies.
A Senate committee is investigating how to settle migrants in regional parts of Australia
SSI's General Manager of Service Delivery Yamamah Agha says there needs to be tailored support for new arrivals and discussions about what communities want.
The number of migrants issued with regional visas over the first three months of this year has increased by 124 per cent, compared to the same time period in 2018.
The spike comes after the government cut the permanent migration cap to 160,000 places earlier this year, but set aside 23,000 places for regional visas.
In the meantime, Deputy Secretary Immigration and Settlement Services, Malisa Golightly, confirmed the figures for the first time during a public hearing yesterday (16.10.2019)
She says the Home Affairs department has been prioritizing regional visa applications to deal with labour shortages.
It comes ahead of the introduction of two new visa classes that will replace both the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme and Regional Skilled Sponsored visas in November.
