OFFICIAL
Key Brief Number: IG-11
Home Affairs Portfolio
Department of Home Affairs
Budget Estimates Hearing – May 2023
KEY BRIEF
Topic: Migration Strategy and Jobs and Skills Summit
Responsible Deputy: Stephanie Foster PSM, Associate Secretary, Immigration Group
Key Points
Migration Strategy
• At the September Jobs and Skills Summit the Minister for Home Affairs announced the
Government would develop a Migration Strategy.
• On 27 April 2023, the Minister publically released the outline of the Government’s
migration strategy entitled:
A Migration System for a More Prosperous and Secure
Australia - Outline of the Government’s Migration Strategy.
o The outline will form the basis of the Government’s Migration Strategy that expected
to be considered in late 2023.
o The outline is available on the Department’s website.
• The Migration Strategy will seek to deliver policy shifts to ensure that our migration
program is:
o Prioritising the people we need to enhance our economic prosperity and security
o Making it simple and efficient for employers and migrants
o Delivering outcomes for Australians and migrants post-arrival, and will
o Restore Australian values of fairness, integrity and inclusion.
• The Department continues to support the Minister for Home Affairs in the development
of the Migration Strategy as she, and Minister Giles, undertake targeted consultation and
stakeholder engagement.
Review of the Migration System
• The Government’s Migration Strategy is being informed by the review of the existing
migration system recently finalised by Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM,
Professor Joanna Howe and Mr John Azarias.
• The reviewers presented the final report entitled:
Review of the Migration System (the
Review) to Government on 21 March 2023. This report was published on the
Department’s website on 27 April 2023.
• The Review was informed by 483 public submissions and a number of consultations
including unions, industry, academia, migrant communities, state and territory
government agencies, and like-minded international partners.
• Public submissions to the Review have been published on the Department’s website.
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Clearing Officer: Tara Cavanagh, FAS Immigration Policy, Integrity and Assurance Division
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Key Brief Number: IG-11
Jobs and Skills Summit outcomes
• At the September 2023 Jobs and Skills Summit, Government announced a number of
immediate actions to help ease widespread, critical skills shortages.
Actions include:
• Increasing the permanent Migration Program planning level to 195,000 in 2022-23.
o Within the overall planning level, 142,400 (73 per cent) places are allocated to the
Skill stream, returning to the pre-pandemic composition of a roughly 70:30 split
between Skill and Family streams.
o The 2023-24 migration program has been set at a planning level of 190 000 with the
same approximate split. [
Refer to SB23-00287 - Migration Program 2023-24].
• Providing $36.1 million in additional funding to accelerate visa processing and resolve
the visa backlog, which supported a surge capacity of 500 staff
. The Government has
announced that the funding for additional staff will be extended for 12 months.
• Continuing the relaxation of work restrictions for student and training visa holders until
30 June 2023.
o After 30 June 2023, work hours will be capped again at 48 hours a fortnight (was
previously 40 hours pre-COVID).
• Expand pathways to permanent residency for temporary skilled sponsored workers.
o On 27 April 2023, the Government announced that temporary skilled sponsored
workers would have the opportunity to apply for permanent residency by the end of
2023.
• Raise the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) following broad
engagement on equitably setting the threshold and pathway for adjustment.
o On 27 April 2023, the Government announced that the TSMIT would be raised to
$70,000 from 1 July 2023.
• Bring forward a package of reforms to address migration worker exploitation
during 2023.
o The Government will announce measures to address migrant worker exploitation in
the coming weeks.
o Refer to IG-13 (SB23-000290) - Migrant Worker Exploitation.
• The Department continues to consider the remaining actions announced at the Jobs and Skills
Summit, in alignment with the development of the Migration Strategy. These include to:
o Examine the potential for industry sponsorship of skilled migrants
o Assess the effectiveness of the skilled migration occupation lists
o Reform the current labour market testing process following consultation with unions
and business
o Consider policies to address regional labour shortages and improve small business
access to skilled migration, and
o Embed a role for Jobs and Skills Australia’s analysis of skill shortages in setting
priorities of the skilled migration program.
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Clearing Officer: Tara Cavanagh, FAS Immigration Policy, Integrity and Assurance Division
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Key Brief Number: IG-11
If asked: How did this review align with the Treasury Employment White paper?
• The Migration Reform Taskforce are working with Treasury with the aim of ensuring
issues across portfolios are considered and communication has occurred at the senior
officials level.
• The reviewers of the Migration System met with the Treasurer as a part of the
development of the review.
• The Employment White paper is still being developed and the Department will continue
to provide input and support as appropriate.
If asked: Are you using contractors or consultants?
• Yes, Boston Consulting Group is providing expert economic, labour market analysis and
international comparisons to support the Taskforce.
• Boston Consulting Group were engaged following a request for quote process using the
Department of Finance’s Business Advisory Panel. Four panel providers submitted quotes.
• The Department of Finance’s Business Advisory Panel was established as an Open
Tender therefore, all contracts entered into are considered Open Tenders.
• This is a discrete, time limited policy project, for which it would not make sense to recruit
permanent staff.
• Their specific skills will supplement the Department’s strategic and migration policy
expertise, and those of the government agency secondees.
• A contract variation was approved to retain the Boston Consulting Group for continued
work with the Taskforce supporting development of the Migration Strategy beyond the
agreed time period in the original work order.
If asked: How much will this cost (the contractors)?
• The total anticipated cost for the project is up to $3.77 million including GST for the
duration of the project.
• This cost includes variation to retain Boston Consulting Group beyond the initial time period.
• Details of the contract were published on AUSTender in accordance with the
Commonwealth Procurement Rules. (
AUSTender as at 4 May 2023).
If asked: The Review recommended abolishing labour market testing. Why is it still required?
• Labour Market Testing (LMT) continues to be a requirement under the migration legislation.
• The outline of the Government’s Migration Strategy finds that current labour market
testing requirements are complex and regarded as not working and indicates an intention
to move to an evidence-based approach to identifying labour market needs, drawing on
the expertise of Jobs and Skills Australia.
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Clearing Officer: Tara Cavanagh, FAS Immigration Policy, Integrity and Assurance Division
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If asked: What is being done about widespread reports of exploitation, as heard at the
Summit?
• The Government is deeply concerned by the exploitation and abuse of all vulnerable
people, including migrants.
• The Government appointed Ms Christina Nixon to conduct an independent review into
the exploitation of Australia’s visa system, which she completed in March 2023.
o Refer to IG-13 (SB23-000290) - Migrant Worker Exploitation, and, for details.
If asked: does extending work rights to student visa holders pose a risk to integrity of the
Student Visa Program?
• The Department closely monitors the caseload for any changes as a result of adjustments
to policy settings.
If asked: Why has the Migration Strategy outline excluded other critical elements of
migration including family and humanitarian?
• The Migration Strategy Outline has been developed by the Government as a vehicle to conduct
consultations on our migration system as a whole - not one specific stream or program.
• The Strategy Outline itself states:
o
The Government recognises the need for reform of the family program and notes that
this will be considered separately.
o
The Government also remains committed to compassionate and flexible humanitarian
and settlement programs, which are not included in this document.
• The Review of the Migration System recognises the importance of Australia’s
Humanitarian and settlement programs and focuses on potential reform directions that
could remove barriers for this cohort to participate in the community.
If asked: What are the implications for Australia’s population, should all the measures in the
review (or Outline) be implemented?
• Modelling on Australia’s population projections are undertaken by the Australian Bureau
of Statistics and the Treasury.
• The Reviewers of the Migration System were not asked to consider the impact of their
potential reform directions on the population.
• The Review, however, does discuss the need of long-term and holistic migration
planning, noting that Net Overseas Migration is the main driver of population growth.
• The potential implications for Australia’s population from any measure adopted by
Government will be considered in a whole-of-government context;
o including through the Treasury-led Employment White Paper, and the Centre for
Population’s development of the Population Plan.
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Clearing Officer: Tara Cavanagh, FAS Immigration Policy, Integrity and Assurance Division
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If asked: Will the Migration Strategy incorporate all migration system review recommendations,
and if not, which ones are being included/excluded?
• The Review of the Migration System does not contain any recommendations for Government.
o It offers possible reform directions for Government’s consideration.
• It is up to Government to decide if any potential reform directions are incorporated into
the Strategy.
If asked: Is the Government going to limit student visa availability?
• High-performing international students with the skills Australia can make a big impact in
our economy.
• International students have become the dominant feeder into our permanent migration
program so we want to ensure we set a high bar to attract the best and brightest to Australia.
• The Government plans to lift the requirements for student visa eligibility, including by
raising the English language requirements, which will lead to better education and
employment outcomes for students.
• Many universities already require a higher level of English language proficiency for
enrolment, in de-facto recognition that student visa English requirements are not high
enough for students to complete course requirements.
If asked: How will proposed changes to permanent residency and the points test affect
international students/graduates who are likely to have less experience and skills?
• The Government is considering simpler, faster pathways for former students of Australian
education institutions.
• Reforms to support Work Integrated Learning and other forms of work experience will
support students to gain experience in Australia and graduates will be selected based in
their potential to succeed in the labour market.
If asked: How will proposed reforms affect the international education sector’s recovery and
demand for Australia’s education offering?
• The Government believes these reforms will be good for the education sector as a whole
by ensuring Australia is attractive to talented, genuine students.
• Raising the bar on student visa requirements will reinforce Australia’s reputation as a
high-quality education destination, particularly as international students succeed in their
studies and have better employments prospects.
• The opportunity to access a fast pathway to permanent residency will be a big draw-card
for international students, and may encourage high performing students to choose
Australia over other countries.
• Not all students will have a pathway to permanent residency, and it is important that we
are upfront about that to prevent graduates from becoming ‘permanently temporary’.
• These reforms may affect demand for some courses, but it is important that we address
integrity within the education sector.
• Genuine students will still choose Australia because they want to receive a quality education.
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Clearing Officer: Tara Cavanagh, FAS Immigration Policy, Integrity and Assurance Division
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If asked: Will the Migration review have any impact on recent changes to extend post-study
work rights for certain graduates?
• At the Jobs and Skills Summit on 22 September 2022, the Government announced a two-
year extension of post-study work rights for international graduates with select degrees in
areas of verified skill shortage.
• It also announced the establishment of a Post-Study Work Rights Working Group to
advise Government on the ongoing management of this measure to ensure it remains
responsive to changes in labour market conditions.
o The Working Group’s 28 October 2022 report identified tight labour market conditions
in the wake of COVID-19.
• Changes to post-study work rights will go ahead as of 1 July 2023, however, these
arrangements are subject to annual review and further reform of the Temporary Graduate
Visa is being considered through the Migration Review.
• The Review showed students are among the largest cohort of ‘permanently temporary’ migrants.
• We want to restore fairness in our migration system. This means clearer pathways for the
skilled workers we need and clarity for the migrants that have less of a prospect of
becoming a permanent resident.
o Ensuring graduates do not become permanently temporary on temporary graduate
visas is critical to achieving this.
Consultation
• Immigration Operations (Immigration Network Operations & Governance Branch)
• Immigration Programs Division (Skilled Visa Branch, Temporary Visa Branch)
• Finance Division have been consulted in preparation of this brief.
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Clearing Officer: Tara Cavanagh, FAS Immigration Policy, Integrity and Assurance Division
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