Exclusive first look: Federal Budget breakdown! Border reopening in mid-2022, international students to return by the end of this year! 160,000 PR quota unchanged in the new financial year, priority for onshore applicants!
At 7:30 just now, the Federal Treasurer handed down the Federal Budget for the 2021–22 financial year. If last October’s 2020–21 Budget was about emergency response, transition and temporary measures, then this 2021–22 Budget — the first year of the post-pandemic era — marks the start of recovery, with every industry hoping it will bring a turning point.
Federal Government Budget
The 10 areas receiving the most funding in the 2021–22 Federal Budget
2021–22 financial year: the 160,000 quota stays unchanged
The overall PR quota of 160,000 places remains unchanged, and the allocations for the Family stream (77,300 places) and the Skilled migration programme (79,600 places) also stay the same (the detailed breakdown hasn’t been announced yet), the government will continue to focus on onshore applicants, give them priority, and keep working hard to reduce the backlog of partner migration applications.
On the partner category, we’re seeing the backlog shrink very quickly (as followers of our WeChat Moments and migration weekly bulletin will have seen), and judging by processing speed alone, some onshore partner 820 visas are being granted within just a few months, with the 820 and 801 for long-term relationships granted together, and the offshore 309 is starting to move too. With the backlog clearing quickly, but new applications not yet fully catching up, could there be a bit more room, when that happens, for another popular category in family migration — parent migration?We‘ll wait and see.
More flexible visa policies
Australia will make use of its effective control of the pandemic, and to capitalise on this advantage, will streamline the visa process for highly skilled talent once circumstances allow (likely when the border reopens), and will also simplify tax law,
allowing international students working in tourism, hospitality, agriculture and healthcare and aged care to work unlimited hours — the Immigration Minister revealed this last Saturday, and the Department of Home Affairs website has already been updated.
International students can start returning by the end of 2021
The Budget forecasts that Australia’s international border will reopen in mid-2022,
with a small number of international students able to start returning from late 2021, increasing gradually through 2022. Inbound and outbound travel will stay at low levels through 2021 and the first half of 2022, after which international tourism will gradually recover.”
The forecast for net overseas migration numbers previously released by the Australian Treasury
Department of Home Affairs portfolio budget
There isn’t much news this year.The one thing worth noting is that migration-related AAT appeals have also been facing long delays, so the government will boost support for migration appeals, funding the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to hand down further final decisions on migration and refugee matters, and will appoint an additional judge to the Federal Circuit Court in 2021–22, with a second judge to follow in 2022–23.
We believe that in the period ahead there will be more migration-related news, and if you’d like to keep tracking the detailed quota allocations and policy adjustments, you can scan the QR code below to request to join the group, noting: Budget(if you’re already in the 11 May livestream group, no need to add again)
Other important announcements from the Federal Budget
The post-pandemic surge in employment (fewer JobSeeker recipients, plus higher company tax revenue from rising commodity prices) will cut this year’s budget deficit by $52.7 billion, with the deficit announced in this Budget at $161 billion, down from the $213.7 billion forecast in last year’s Budget released on 6 October.
The extra $52.7 billion freed up will go towards a third round of stimulus spending ahead of the next federal election. This will help the federal government make its biggest single investment yet in some essential services, as well as roll out a new round of post-pandemic recovery stimulus for industries hit hard by the pandemic (including tourism and hospitality).
On who wins and who loses in daily life and work under this Budget,
you can check the link below.
A $550 million programme aimed at attracting global businesses and talent from other countries to set up in Australia, including cutting red tape in administrative procedures and changing tax rules to encourage employee share schemes. Employee share schemes let staff hold shares in their employer at a discount and enjoy tax concessions. The ATO will also offer fast-tracked tax advice services for foreign investors, while simplifying the rules on individual tax residency.
New or expanded housing policies, including the Family Home Guarantee, the New Home Guarantee, and the First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS), all aimed at helping Australians “find a way into” the housing market.
The JobTrainer programme will be extended for another 12 months, worth $1 billion, providing free or low-cost courses to thousands of people, helping them work in fields such as aged care, IT and childcare.
Infrastructure spending will reach $10 billion, covering major projects across every state and territory. The federal government will fund Melbourne’s new freight hub and the upgrade of the Western Highway, worth about $2 billion. Road projects in Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT are also expected to be funded, along with freight and rail upgrades in WA and Queensland.
For the aged care sector, $10 billion a year will be invested, covering reforms and governance for home care and residential aged care, plus workforce skills and training measures.
On women’s issues, a four-year, $353.9 million Women’s Health Package will fund cervical and breast cancer initiatives; a $1.7 billion childcare subsidy, along with measures to boost women’s retirement savings, will also help.
The Department of Health will receive more than $500 million in extra funding each year, most of which will be delivered through the Primary Health Networks the federal government established in 2016, aimed at providing on-the-ground services directly to rural and disadvantaged areas with the most urgent mental health needs, and those hit hardest by bushfires, floods, COVID-related issues and youth unemployment.
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Employer sponsorship becomes the new hot pathway for international student migration!?Click “Original Link” to find out about the 482 visa with the lowest entry bar!
