Australian Prime Minister Morrison has finally directly addressed the matter of resuming migration after the pandemic.
This past Tuesday,Australian Financial Review Business Summit, he said that as Australia gradually recovers from the pandemic,it was time to consider howtemporary visas could be used to address labour shortages.
Note: references to migration below include not only PR visa holders, but also holders of temporary visas who can reside in Australia long-term, such as international students.
We’ve discussed the pandemic’s impact on migration numbers (TR&PR visas) many times before. Now that we’ve reached March 2021 and Australia’s vaccine rollout is gradually underway, it’s time to put the recovery pathway on the agenda.
Morrison said that after being affected in this way (by the pandemic),the government must remain open-minded about the migration programme.Australia must reconsider the role temporary visa holders play in meeting our economy’s labour needs, because Australians cannot fill these jobs.
“Rather than (saying they) take jobs away from Australians,it’s better to recognise that using temporary visa holders to fill severe labour shortages can actually create jobs in other areas of the economy,particularly in maintainingregional areas’economic growth and services.
“I can assure you that when the pandemic is over, this shortage will not disappear.”
Not sure why, but after reading the Prime Minister’s remarks, we felt a little moved…
189 EOI by occupation
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The federal government’s latest budget estimates that migration intake will fall by 72,000 in the 2020-21 financial year. Net overseas migration is not expected to return to positive figures until 2022-23.
The Prime Minister said that becausethere are currently 54,000 job vacancies in regional Australia,employers can’t find people to fill these positions, and mutual obligation arrangements are no longer enough to fill the gap, let alone meet the needs of fast-growing sectors.
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics states thatagriculture is one of the hardest-hit industries,with horticulture workers alone estimated to be short by about 22,000.
There is alsothe care and aged care sectors,The Prime Minister suggested that once migration resumes, adjustments will be made to meet demand in fast-growing sectors such as care and aged care, because there aren’t enough local workers to be found there.
The government may consider reviewingvisa categories for industries such as agriculture and hospitality services, because these industries have always relied on temporary visa holders.In short, what the Prime Minister wanted to convey is that the government’s attitude remains very open. He simply said, “I think these are clear areas that should receive policy support, and that’s an added value.”
“When Australians don’t do these jobs, the jobs still need to be done.”
Although these are all familiar sentiments, coming from the Prime Minister himself rather than from any advocacy group or expert sends a more positive signal to everyone. The needs have been made clear, and while the stance can’t be translated into action immediately, it can point to the future direction. Realistically speaking, working through the backlog of already-submitted visa applications step by step should allow a batch of people to fill part of the shortage. At the same time, gradually bringing back those who want to return will fill another part of the shortage.
From last Friday to today, the Department of Home Affairs has granted several more Subclass 189 visas, including offshore applicants and non-priority occupations — see the details below.
See the comparison of grant numbers for the 189/190/491 and other visas, before and after the pandemic:Comparing 189/190/491 and other visa grant numbers before and after the pandemic! Have some popular categories actually risen instead of fallen?
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