Migrants and money in the spotlight as inquiry continues

The Productivity Commission is due to discuss the effects of payment as the primary basis to determine who enters Australia.

Members of Australia's Productivity Commission are due to talk about the benefits and costs of migration, and the effects of using charges as the primary way to determine who enters Australia. Source: AAP

The possibility of using a fee to determine which migrants enter Australia will be discussed in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Productivity Commission's current inquiry, Migrant Intake into Australia, is looking into the broader issues of migration costs and benefits - both permanent and temporary - and using fees to set migrant intake numbers.

In March, Treasurer Joe Hockey wrote to the Commission, asking it to conduct the inquiry and to look into a specific scenario of using fees as the primary basis for selecting who enters.

"This should include examination of a specific scenario in which entry charges for migrants are the primary basis for selection of migrants," Mr Hockey said.

Mr Hockey directed the Commission's scenario to waive charges for refugees, not include requirements of skills and family connections, but keep qualitative restrictions regarding health, character and security.

One of the inquiry's broader aims - to investigate the costs and benefits of migration - was mentioned in the 2015 Intergenerational Report.

The Report, released in March 2015, said migration had a positive effect on the number of Australians participating in the labour force.

"Migrants tend to be younger, on average, than the resident population, and therefore increase overall labour force participation rates," it stated.