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First and foremost, Australia naturally misses international students, tourists, working holiday visa holders, and skilled migrants.

Australia wants them to return as soon as practical,after handling the return of PR holders and citizens in line with the roadmap,skilled migrants will be prioritised nextand so on,2022 will be a big year ahead for the migration programme, and Australia sees it as a significant opportunity.

The 160,000 PR quota for this financial year can still confidently be filled, and with borders opening, the offshore component is expected to grow.

Existing visa concessions will continue until borders and international travel have substantially returned to normal.

Reopening the border is currently the Department’s top and most urgent priority,with various workstreams progressing — from testing and pilots through to full implementation — being fast-tracked and prioritised wherever possible (for example, Sinovac was recently fast-tracked onto the list of approved vaccines).

In meetings with state premiers, businesses, and various organisations, the shortage of skilled workers has been raised. The Department has heard the message and will make this a priority.

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For a summary of the 2020–21 financial year report, see our earlier article:Official 2020–21 FY PR Data — Chinese New Migrants Top the List for the First Time! Subclass 189/190/491/Employer Sponsored All Exceeded Quotas!

Overall priority groups: immediate family members and critical skills

Priorities within the skilled migration programme

The primary goal remains supporting economic recovery. Three priority skilled migration sub-categories for FY 2021–22:

– Business and investor migration

-GTI

– Employer-sponsored migration

The PMSOL Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List will continue to be updated going forward.

GTI processing

Priority is currently given to sectors that have helped combat the pandemic. There are significant processing delays, and it has been made clear that the GTI is not intended for mid-level skilled workers or entry-level academics — their applications will be processed very slowly,and applicants are advised to consider other skilled visa categories at the same time.

Some pandemic visa exemptions currently in effect

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As at 30 September 2021,approximately 870,000 travel exemption applications had been processed, with the total expected to break 1,000,000. Over 231,000 outward travel exemptions had been approved, and close to 72,000 inward travel exemptions had been granted.

Travel exemption applications are expected to remain in use for some time after borders gradually reopen — for example, for unvaccinated individuals. Updates will continue to be published on the official website.

Approved travel exemption data as at end of September 2021

Inward travel exemptions:Overall approval rate is 32%. The vast majority of critical skills applications relate to healthcare,while compassionate grounds account for the largest share of applications but carry an approval rate of only around 15%.

Outward travel exemptions: overall approval rate is 63.2%.

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presented one of their earlier research reports, whose main recommendation is that reshaping Australia’s migration system post-pandemic should return to a skilled migration-led approach, with a focus on points-based skilled migration and employer sponsorship.

Measured over a lifetime, primary and secondary applicants in the skilled migration programme contribute the most to Australia’s fiscal budget once settled.

Recommendations for reforming the points-based skilled migration system

– Place greater emphasis on younger migrants and their spouses/partners

– Remove certain unnecessary bonus points that have proven to offer limited benefit to the labour market

– Merge the regional state nomination and state nomination categories

– Abolish occupation lists and instead adopt a human capital approach

He acknowledged that points-based skilled migration involves many stakeholder groups — state governments, the education and study-abroad sector, and others — but noted that now is the moment for change.

For more content and recommendations from this report, see:“State-Nominated / Subclass 189 / Employer-Sponsored and other skilled migration should be restored as priorities — their actual contribution is greater!” — Latest government think tank report!