News & Insights

The Jobs and Skills Summit was held on 1 – 2 September 2022 at Parliament House to address economic and employment issues currently facing Australia. Key stakeholders came together to agree on actions to build a stronger economy and a more productive and better-trained workforce.

Immediate actions out of the summit

Immediate actions arising out of the Summit specifically to address the skills shortages and strengthen the migration system.

These measures include:

• increasing permanent Migration Program planning levels to 195,000 which was originally allotted as 160,000;
• providing $36.1 million additional funding to assist with accelerating visa processing and address the visa backlog through the hiring of 500 extra personnel at the Department of Home Affairs;
• increasing the duration of post study work rights for recent graduates in skill shortage areas; and
• continuing the relaxation of work restrictions for student visa holders until 30 June 2022.

What requires further review

Areas for further review include:

• assessing the skilled migration occupation lists;
• expanding pathways to permanent residence for temporary workers;
• increasing the Temporary Skills Migration Income Threshold;
• addressing labour market testing shortcomings; and
• the possibility of industry sponsorship for skilled visas.

The Government is also committing to addressing migrant workplace exploitation, regional labour shortages and encouraging more migration from the Pacific region through current pathways in addition to the creation of a new pathway.

Potential migration changes on the horizon

There has been significant frustration with the inconsistency visa processing times, and it is promising to see concrete steps being made to address the backlog during the summit. We are wary, however, of the government looking to make Labour Market Testing requirements more stringent and implementing industry sponsorship for skilled visas. These measures are likely to increase red tape for business wanting to address severe skills shortages.

That being said, the “immediate actions” outcomes of the Jobs and Skills Summit are well timed to hopefully meet an industry wide shortage of workers as a result of the pandemic in an effort to fast-track our economic recovery and address severe skilled labour shortages.

If you have any questions about the changes to visa laws, the Employment, Safety and Migration team at Macpherson Kelley are well placed to assist. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one of our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.