Brendan Coates, Henry Sherrell, and Will Mackey from Grattan institute have written a report for fixing Temporary Skilled Migration in Australia. According to the report, Australia should update its temporary skilled migration program.
If Australia takes these steps, it’ll improve the living standards of Australians and boost the economy. By resetting temporary skilled migration, Australia can attract internationally recognized workers. Additionally, it will prevent workers from being exploited.
Recommendations for Fixing Temporary Skilled Migration
Brendan Coates, Henry Sherrell and Will Mackey have shared their suggestions for fixing temporary skilled migration program in Australia.
According to their report, the current program is quite unpopular with the general public. It wastes many of the potential benefits of temporary skilled migration. Additionally, it causes exploitation of workers by negligent employers in Australia.
So, let’s have a look on the major points of fixing temporary skilled migration in Australia.
- Temporary skilled migration should be targeted towards high-paying jobs in any occupation.
- Australia should replace the existing Temporary Skill Shortage Visa by creating a new Temporary Skilled Worker Visa (TSW). It should follow the same employer-sponsorship model to create a new TSW visa.
- Temporary sponsorship should be available for all jobs with salaries over $70,000 per year.
- Make visas more portable by allowing workers with a TSW visa to switch jobs without losing their visas if they find better job opportunities in Australia.
- Allow unemployed TSW visa holders to stay in Australia for a maximum of 90 days.
- Replace all initial costs with a $1,000 nomination fee and current monthly fee based on the number of workers sponsored.
- Sponsored workers earning more than $120,000 per year should be exempt from proving English language proficiency.
- Australian employers who pay sponsored workers more than $158,500 a year should be exempt from complying with the market salary rate for that job.
- Calculate all wage thresholds based on the average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE).
- Australia should recognize employers that sponsor high-wage workers. It should offer benefits to the accredited sponsors like 5-day processing and fewer checks when moving workers between companies.
- Labor-market testing should be eliminated.
- Enforce rules to improve compliance by increasing random audits and investing in data matching.
- Australia should provide a clear path to PR in Australia for TSW visa holders making over $80,000 a year, as outlined in our 2021 report, Rethinking permanent skilled migration after the pandemic.
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Australian Border Opening | More Skilled Migrants in Future | Complete Overview!
Report by Grattan for Fixing Temporary Skilled Migration
Grattan institute has given a report to show how Australia can fix its temporary skilled migration program. Temporary skilled migration is small. However, it plays an important part in Australia’s overall immigration program.
As far as temporary skilled migration is concerned, Australia has the worst of both worlds. According to the report, Australia should reset its temporary skilled migration program. As it’ll make it easy for Australian employers to sponsor skilled migrants that it needs badly. The Australian Government must ensure that public support for immigration shouldn’t be affected.
Stop sponsoring the low-wage skilled migrants and focus on to sponsor more highly skilled and high-wage temporary skilled migrants.
Australia must stop sponsoring low-skilled, low-wage temporary skilled migrants. As a result, the program could expand and employers will sponsor more highly skilled and high-wage temporary skilled migrants.
Generally, employers can sponsor workers only in occupations considered “in shortage” occupations. Though, it’s not possible for the federal government to identify skills shortages in a timely manner. The current approach also makes it easier for employers to sponsor low-wage workers.
The report suggests limiting the temporary skilled migration to higher-wage jobs in the future.
Currently, 50% of sponsored workers earn less than the average full-time Australian worker. This is an increase from 38% in 2005. The report recommends that temporary skilled migration should be limited to higher-wage jobs in the future.
Highly skilled migrants bring more knowledge and innovative ideas. Their taxes are higher than the benefits and public services they receive.
Temporary Skilled Worker (TSW) Visa – What is it?
The report by the Grattan Institute suggests that Australia should replace a Temporary Skill Shortage Visa with a Temporary Skilled Worker Visa. Using the Temporary Skilled Worker Visa, employers could sponsor workers in any occupation, provided the job paid over $70,000 a year (substantially more than the current threshold of $53,900). Also, the worker was paid at least as much as an Australian doing the same job.
With the Grattan plan, the number of full-time jobs eligible for sponsorship would rise from 44% to 66%. A new visa would allow a person to live and work in Australia for up to 4 years. It’d be possible to renew the visa without any restriction. Furthermore, the pathway to permanent residency in Australia would be clear.
Final Words!
Grattan institute has suggested Australia to reset its temporary skilled migration. Brendan Coates, Henry Sherrell, and Will Mackey have presented a report for fixing Temporary Skilled Migration. They suggested that the Australian Government should impose stricter penalties on employers who mistreat their workers.
There should be more random audits by the Department of Home Affairs. It’s to ensure that employers are paying sponsored workers as they promised. If Australia updates its temporary skilled migration, it’ll make the living standards and economy of Australia better.
Related Articles
- Skilled Migration Program for Offshore Applicants – Update 2022
- How to be Eligible for Independent Skilled Migration in Australia?
- Skilled Migration Programs | Migrate to South Australia
I’m Nasir Nawaz. I’m a registered migration consultant in Australia. I am based in Sydney. I’ve studied Master of Laws at the University of New South Wales. I’m providing immigration services for several years.
Consult with me for legal advice on Australian visas to permanently live, study, and work in Australia.
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
