But some are challenging a recommended overhaul of the family-reunion and skilled-migrant streams, saying the existing conditions can just be improved.
"The waiting lists for those visas are obnoxiously long, that often people die waiting for their visas."
That is Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia chairman Joe Caputo, responding to a Productivity Commission recommendation on family-reunion visas.
Last year, the Federal Government asked the commission to examine options for improving the country's economic outlook through migration.
The commission has now deemed the family-reunion stream in need of major change.
It argues visa prices should be substantially increased to recover the costs to government associated with migrants in the parent-reunion category.
The commission says those migrants are usually non-English-speakers who work less and rely more on public healthcare and government payments.
The visa-price increase would be in the "contributory" category, where sponsor children already pay tens of thousands of dollars for faster processing.
In the "non-contributory" stream - where, for a lower fee, parents can wait up to 30 years for a visa - the report says eligibility criteria should be reduced to those cases with "strong compassionate grounds."
It says temporary visa arrangements for parents could be made more flexible if sponsors pay for income and health costs.
Joe Caputo says the recommendations go too far.
"We believe that the proposals are draconian, that the current system is very punitive in terms of the non-contributory aspects of the parent visas. As far as the (Immigration) Department's figures themselves, (they) say the waiting lists for those visas are obnoxiously long, that often people die waiting for their visas."
The Productivity Commission was asked, in particular, to examine introducing higher charges for permanent-migration applicants as an alternative to the existing streams.
Under the proposal, requirements such as skills or a family connection would be dropped.
There would be limited access to social-security payments, subsidised education and healthcare for successful candidates.
The commission says such a program could fiscally benefit the government, but warns economic considerations should not lead immigration policy.
It says it does not support a price-based system.
Joe Caputo says he agrees with that, insisting migrant intake should be demand-driven and merit-based, bringing in a mix of people.
"It's been proved historically that it's been good for the economy, that the fact that Australia is now amongst the G20 and amongst the wealthiest countries of the world is viewed in part, also, through our migration program, that people have come here and they've brought with them their skills, their knowledge, their know-how and, of course, the openness to the world. Now to actually make it more difficult and to talk about market forces and increase the prices of visas and the like, it means excluding a lot who can contribute."
The Productivity Commission also suggested changes to permanent skilled migration.
It proposes targeting the migrants who could make the greatest economic contribution, younger people who are more skilled and more proficient in English.
The commission recommends reducing the age limit from its current 50 years and providing greater weight in the points-based system for younger applicants.
Adult Multicultural Education Services, AMES, helps prepare new migrants for employment.
Chief executive Catherine Scarth says more should be done to help skilled migrants adapt to the Australian labour market.
"Often, it's simple things like how a CV, or resume, is laid out. Australian employers have a particular, I suppose, set of criteria that they're looking for, and they need those things to be addressed. Often, Australian employers now are doing things like using behavioural questions. So they're more interested in someone's soft skills,* if you like, rather than the actual qualifications. And lots of migrants struggle to understand why that is, when people who are highly credentialed overseas and that's been recognised by the Australian government, therefore, they think that should be enough."
Catherine Scarth says employers want to know how someone will fit into the workplace.
But she says some employers also need help seeing the value of international workers.
"To some extent, that's also getting employers to understand, 'How does the experience that they may have had overseas equate to what they might have had here?' And the successful companies realise that, actually, employing a recent migrant, you're also employing someone who has multiple language skills and understanding of potential markets in other countries."
Assistant social services and multicultural affairs minister Zed Seselja says the Government will listen to the affected communities in considering the commission's advice.
"It's not a decision of government. It's merely a report from a very respected body, the Productivity Commission, making recommendations to government. In terms of the message, obviously the Government is going to consider it. It will obviously consult with communities before any decisions are taken. But I think people should rest assured that we've got a strong commitment."
