CANBERRA (XINHUA) – Australia’s Home Affairs Minister has committed to an overhaul of the country’s “broken” migration system.
In a speech to a workforce summit yesterday, Clare O’Neil declared that Australia must shift away from “permanently temporary” migration and focus on making it easier for skilled workers to move to the country permanently.
“Australia’s migration system is broken. It is unstrategic. It is complex, expensive, and slow,” she said. “It is not delivering for business, for migrants, or for our population.”
O’Neil said significant structural reform was needed to rebalance programmes, but it could take years to fix the system, making Australia an unattractive destination for migrants.
“It is relatively easy for a low skill, temporary migrant to come to Australia, but difficult, slow and not particularly attractive for a high-skill, permanent migrant to come here,” she said.
The government has identified international students as an untapped market, with many forced to leave after graduating from Australian universities and around 50 per cent of those who stay working in lower-skilled jobs than they are qualified for.
Accelerating recognition of qualifications gained overseas is also a priority.
