The Global Adelaide meeting with Alison Lloydd-Wright, Executive Director at the Cabinet Office of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, was an important opportunity to discuss the current state of the Australian migration program and the restrictions it holds on the progress and prosperity of South Australian business and industry. The discussion was far reaching, from migration outcomes and existing challenges to potential immigration reforms that would facilitate South Australian businesses and industries from accessing the Australian migration program to address current and future workforce needs.
One of the primary concerns tabled at the meeting were the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission’s 5-year Productivity Inquiry report, “Advancing Prosperity”. The report details reform options with regards to skilled migration and proposes a one size fits all migration program for Australia, potentially at the cost of regional migration concessions. This follows previous reports, including the 2016 Migrant Intake into Australia report, which recommend that the skilled migration program focus on highly skilled and higher-paid migrants, rather than lower-skilled, lower-paid migrants.
Unfortunately, the Productivity Commission’s report is concerning for regional and low population growth areas. If the Commission’s recommendations are implemented, this will have further detrimental impacts on South Australia’s migration outcomes and the use of the Australian migration program to address current and future workforce needs.
Additionally, the report does not make any reference to regional migration, regional migration outcomes, or regional concessions. The report argues that the thresholds should not be different across regions because regional skill shortages are often due to barriers to geographic mobility other than visa status. However, there is a long-standing concern to meet the skill needs of regional Australia, as evident during the resources boom when there was an imperative to attract skilled labour to remote areas, and for professions like general practitioners that can be in short supply in some regional areas.
One of the recommendations of the report is to increase the minimum salary level for skilled migrant visas, which is concerning for many regional roles and remuneration. If the salary level is raised to $70,000 or $75,000 for a temporary visa and higher ($85,000) for a permanent employer-sponsored visa, many businesses and industries will be unable to access the migration program to address current and future workforce demand.
Despite these disappointing recommendations, they are not surprising given the Australian migration program’s shift to a higher skilled, higher income, and higher lifetime tax contribution methodology at the federal level. This shift is at the direct expense of regional and low population growth jurisdictions, as evidenced by recent migration lodgements and outcomes trends and the distribution and settlement patterns of migrants, including access to the South Australian Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) and the current use of temporary employer-sponsored migration in South Australia, which currently sits at 2.4% of the national program.
The meeting with Alison Lloydd-Wright attracted representatives from associations and industries across South Australia. It was an opportunity to discuss the current state of the Australian migration program and potential immigration reforms. The Productivity Commission’s report recommendations are concerning for regional and low population growth areas, and the implementation of these recommendations could have detrimental impacts on South Australia’s migration outcomes and the use of the Australian migration program to address current and future workforce needs. It is crucial to continue to advocate for regional migration concessions and ensure that the Australian migration program meets the needs of all sectors and regions.