International students and exploitative employers will face greater scrutiny as the government tries to rein in migration levels from historic highs and reform a broken system.
Overseas net migration peaked during the
, hundreds of thousands more than past years.
This was largely caused by the return of international students and tourists after the population shrank during the COVID-19 pandemic and though things have generally returned to normal, the number of migrants is expected to remain elevated, and the government wants to bring this down to “sustainable levels”.
“Our migration strategy is a bold plan to get migration working again for all Australians,” she said.
provided 38 recommendations after discovering the Australian migration system was not “fit-for-purpose”.
Not only did it fail to attract highly skilled migrants, it has facilitated worker exploitation among lower-paid migrants by creating power imbalances that unscrupulous employers abuse.
In response, the government’s migration strategy has outlined eight actions to reform the system including boosting pathways for skilled migration, like new types of visas, cracking down on worker exploitation, simplifying the visa process and addressing the international education system in particular.
The new language requirements alone would prevent tens of thousands of students and graduates from receiving visas.
This is because more than half of graduate visa holders are working significantly below their skill level, even those who graduated from degrees tied to skill shortages like engineering and IT.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson welcomed the government’s plan and said it would “make it easier for students to navigate”.
The strategy also commits to developing a public register of approved sponsors to bolster oversight and suggests improving post-arrival monitoring and compliance through coordinated efforts with the tax system.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the strategy was carefully crafted to balance the needs of the country with the national economic interest.
“We want to make sure that migration is not a substitute for training Australians, but is a complement to that,” he told reporters on Sunday.