How Albo plans to turbocharge immigration

The increase will bring the permanent migration rate for 2022-23 to 195,000 places, which includes an additional 9000 places for regional visas within the skill stream for a total of 34,000.

The number of state and territory visas will also see a massive increase from 11,200 last year to 31,000 this year.

Post-study work rights for international students will also be extended from two to four years for bachelor’s degrees, three to five years for master’s degrees, and four to six years for PhDs.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles told the Jobs and Skills Summit in September that there was a backlog of almost one million visas when Labor came into office in May.

The former Coalition government had cut migration program funding to the Home Affairs Department by $875 million over four years while keeping the 160,000 number unchanged, leading to major blowouts in visa processing times.

“We understand that when people wait and wait, the uncertainty can become unmanageable,” Mr Giles said.

“Since I became Minister, I have heard hundreds of stories of people waiting for their visa application to be progressed. Partners separated, not knowing when they would see each other again. Businesses unable to plan an investment decision because they don’t know when their applications will be finalised. This is not good enough, and reflects a visa system that has been in crisis.”

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said the increases were essential to tackle the skills shortage.

“This is very real and it is affecting the lives of Australians,” she said.

“Teachers at the end of their tether. Nurses who cannot work the double and triple shifts they have been pulling for the last two years. Funerals being delayed. Flights being cancelled because there aren’t enough ground staff. Fruit is rotting on trees in our regions because there’s no one to pick it.”

Ms O’Neil stressed “our focus is always on Australian jobs first”, but the impact of Covid had been “so severe that even if we exhaust every other possibility, we will still be many thousands of workers short, at least in the short term”.

“I want emphasise that one of Labor’s priorities is to move away from the focus on short-term migrants, toward permanency, citizenship and nation building,” she said.

Labor says the changes “could mean thousands more nurses and technology workers settling in the country, this year”.

“This is about making the big switch to an immigration program that demonstrates who we are and what we are about,” Ms O’Neil said.

“This is a turning point in our history as momentous as the post war ‘populate or perish’ program that was the foundation of our post-war reconstruction, nation building and national security.

“Our immigration system can be a powerful promoter of Australia’s open, free, prosperous, democratic society around the world, so let’s start giving that system the love and care that it needs.”

The Albanese government has also announced a review of Australia’s migration system to report by the end of February 2023.

The review will “outline the objectives of our immigration system and guide future reform — with a focus on Australian productivity, unlocking the potential of all migrants, the need for a streamlined and internationally competitive visa process, and sponsorship opportunities for emerging jobs and industries”.

Ms O’Neil said Australia needed to move “away from a system focused almost entirely on keeping people out, to one that recognises that we are in a global competition for talent”.

She said the current system was “fiendishly complex” for potential migrants with “more than 70 unique visa programs, each with their own criteria and subcategories”.

“People who want to live here can end up spending years filling out forms, at considerable personal expense, and then only be allowed to stay for a short while,” she said.

The 195,000 annual intake will be comprised of 142,400 places allocated to the skill stream and 52,500 in the family stream, plus 100 available for the special eligibility stream.

No decision on the humanitarian intake has been announced.

The current program allows for 13,750 places in 2022-23, plus an extra 16,500 places over four years for Afghan refugees.

Earlier this month, Mr Giles announced more than two million visas had been processed since the government came into office.

While the number in the backlog had reduced from nearly one million in June 2022, Mr Giles said the current number on hand was about 872,000 due to the dramatic rise since borders reopened.

“The Albanese government has ramped up activity to accelerate processing times and end the uncertainty for those who have been waiting a long time for a visa decision,” he said.

“The Department of Home Affairs has already added 260 more staff to support visa processing, and more are being recruited and trained in the coming weeks and months.”

Mr Giles said Australia had received nearly 2.22 million new applications since June 1 2022, compared with nearly 495,000 for the same period in 2021.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will hand down his first budget on Tuesday, October 25.

[email protected]