Melbourne, Australia – The government will prioritize the permanent visa applications of nearly 60,000 skilled workers currently living overseas as it looks to get on top of a major migration backlog.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil told the prioritization was about bringing more people into Australia to fill much-needed jobs across the economy.
“A lot of the people who are given visas to work in Australia are actually already here,” she said.
“If we continue to operate that way, of course we’re not going to address the skills crisis.
“So, the change is prioritizing people who are offshore who are wanting to come here to work and working through those applications as quickly as we can.”
Wait times for visas had blown out to upwards of 15 for some temporary skills shortage streams as the Department of Home Affairs struggled to deal with an uptick of demand combined with an $875 million budget shortfall left by the previous government.
The government would prioritize front-line workers in healthcare, nursing, and teaching. After nearly a decade on the sidelines, the Labor government is signalling reform of the current skilled migration system.
O’Neil pointed to September’ Jobs and Skills Summit: a gathering of employers, unions, governments, and civil society groups aimed at finding solutions for Australia’s economic problems.
Prior to the election, Labor refused to say if it would raise Australia’s permanent migration levels above the 160,000 cap that was lowered by 30,000 in 2019.
During a debate in May, current Treasurer Jim Chalmers said migration “should never be a substitute for training people”.
