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Australia will increase its permanent migration intake by 35,000 visas to 195,000 in 2022/23, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil suggested that there could be thousands more nurses and engineers settling in Australia in the next year as a result of the increase.
The current Labour government has previously hinted that Australia would change its migration program to address skills shortages and attempt to fix the current visa backlog by reassigning staff.
News of the allocation change came on the second and final day of the Jobs and Skills Summit, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles announced the government would spend A$36.1 million hiring 500 more surge staff to fix the accumulation of unprocessed visas.
“In addition to clearing the backlog, this will help deliver the permanent migration program, said Giles.
Prime Minister Albanese has previously hinted that Australia would shift to more permanent forms of migration, in order to avoid an overreliance on temporary workers.
“There is a consensus that there is a need for an increase [in migration intakes], and also a consensus that it is not just about the numbers but about the make-up of our migration system, that we need to move towards more permanent migration rather than a reliance on temporary labour,” he said.
Several Australian States have already broadened the criteria for their state nomination visa, expanding the occupation lists for those wishing to apply and Western Australia has doubled its intake to 8,140 places.
Australia is a very secure country to live in and was ranked the 10th safest country in the Global Peace Index, an annual report which analyses how safe it is to live in countries around the world.
The unemployment rate in Australia is at one of its lowest rates in history and many industries are calling out for more workers.
This increase in Australia’s permanent migration intake, offering 35,000 more visas, indicates the government’s willingness to change the rules and offer more opportunities to migrants.