By: Dong Xing (Read the original article [abc.net.au])
Interview guest: Kirk Yan(Director of Newstars Education & Migration Melbourne branch, MARA-registered migration agent with years of experience and in-depth research in interpreting migration policy and forecasting changes, editor-in-chief of the Australian Migration Weekly Bulletin, affectionately known by students as “God K”.)
The Australian federal government’s decision to increase the permanent migration quota by 35,000 has been welcomed by migrant workers and visa applicants, though concerns have also been raised about the processing backlog and inadequate protections against the exploitation of migrant workers.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil announced at the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra that the cap on permanent migration for this financial year would be raised to 195,000.
“Based on projections, this could mean that thousands of nurses and thousands of engineers will settle in this country this year,” she said.
She also acknowledged the increasing pressure Australia faces in the global competition for migrants.
“The best and brightest are moving around the world and they want to live in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom — countries that are rolling out the red carpet to welcome them.”
Senior Melbourne registered migration agent Kirk Yan said the increase in the migration quota was welcome news, but added that the more important next step was to translate the quota into action — that is, issuing visa invitations and granting visas in a timely manner, so that more eligible, skilled individuals would choose to remain in Australia or come from overseas.
“Many of the former government’s policies introduced short-sighted measures towards prospective migrants and international students, causing a large number of skilled workers and students on temporary visas to choose to leave Australia over the past few years,” he said.
“Now, when the government talks about increasing quotas, words like ‘temporary’ keep coming up. I hope they can properly understand the true medium- to long-term supply and demand for Australia, and set the appropriate migration policies in advance — rather than waiting until the problems become severe before attempting to address them with stopgap measures.”
Applicants call for faster visa processing
Various groups and individuals have voiced dissatisfaction on numerous occasions about the lengthy processing times for permanent visas, with applicants even staging petition protests.
Following the Home Affairs Minister’s announcement, engineers and nurses in Australia and offshore who are awaiting permanent residency applications told ABC Chinese that the increase in the migration quota must be accompanied by faster processing, otherwise the backlog of applications will grow as migration numbers rise.
Zhang Wenjun holds a Subclass 190 state-nominated migration visa application. This 35-year-old electrical engineer in the new energy sector lodged his visa application back in 2019, but has since received no processing update from the Australian immigration authorities, leaving him deeply frustrated and disappointed.
“I think increasing the migration quota is certainly good news — it shows that the new government values skilled migration,” he said. “I hope the government will genuinely implement this positive policy, with a particular focus on clearing the backlog of pending visas — especially for Subclass 190 applicants who applied in the second half of 2019. For people like us, three years of waiting is an extremely long time.”
Mr Zhang believes Australia has a strong demand for new energy expertise, and that China holds leading technological advantages in solar and wind energy. Drawing on more than ten years of industry experience, he is confident that he can become “a driving force for Australia’s economic recovery”.
The Jobs + Skills Summit Issues Paper published by the Australian Treasury noted that over the next 30 years, demand for “green” products will reshape the economics of Australian manufacturing, with lower-cost renewable energy becoming increasingly attractive.
“Last year, an Australian company told me that if I had the right visa, they would hire me — they also struggle to find the right people locally,” he said.
Beyond offshore applicants, in-country applicants in shortage occupations seeking permanent residency are also worried that slow visa processing will cause difficulties in the Australian labour market.
Yvonne Ma graduated from the University of Melbourne with a nursing degree and in April 2021 began working at an aged care facility in Melbourne as a mental health carer.
“At work, colleagues often say it would be great if more healthcare workers were recruited,” she said.
Ms Ma believes that increasing the migration quota is “a fairly normal move”, given how scarce labour is in Australia right now, but she said the inefficiency of visa processing leaves applicants at a complete loss.
“Some of my friends are in similar situations to me — also in nursing, and applied at around the same time. Their Subclass 190 and Subclass 189 visas were approved almost instantly after invitation, but the older applications that were lodged earlier still haven’t moved,” she said.
“More people applying for visas now means there could be more of a backlog.”
A long-overdue announcement
Julie Williams, National President of the Migration Institute of Australia, told ABC Chinese that she welcomed the government’s new policy and supported the Labor government’s shift in focus from temporary visas to permanent visas.
“This provides security for skilled workers while offering stability for employers,” she said. “At a time when skilled workers are urgently needed across all industries to drive business activity, this policy has been a long time coming.”
She was pleased that the government had also turned its attention to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold, noting that this would help “limit the exploitation of migrant workers by ensuring they receive employment conditions and remuneration comparable to those of Australian employees”.
Additionally, the Migrant Workers Centre welcomed the proposal to increase migration numbers but hoped to see improvements to the visa system and better protections for all migrants.
The centre’s director, Matt Kunkel, said in a statement: “All workers must have confidence to raise workplace exploitation issues.”
“Whistleblower protections are critical to ensure migrants are not forced to choose between defending their workplace rights and remaining in this country.”
“Our migration system is not just about adjusting intake numbers. We must care for and support those who come to our country, provide certainty in their lives, and make them full partners in our community.”
Kirk’s recent video highlights
29 Aug – 2 Sep Migration News Roundup | Jobs Summit migration quota officially announced, visa backlog clearance
1:29 Migration quota officially set at 195,000 — 500 additional visa officers, Jobs Summit migration-related announcements
11:05 Victoria Subclass 190 — not even requiring a job now! Sincere submission advice
11:44 NSW state nomination information session — new details shared and analysed
13:25 Labor government clears 100,000 visa backlog in three months — recent grants update
14:33 This week’s grants and invitations data summary
If you have any questions about migration to Australia, feel free to add Kirk on WeChat for a consultation
