Australian visa changes for 2023-24: What we know so far - By Emma Brancatisano

Australian visa changes for 2023-24: What we know so far – By Emma Brancatisano

Source : sbs

Ahead of the government’s federal budget this month and following a review of Australia’s migration system, here are the visa changes and opportunities coming into effect this year.

Fr. Shamindra Jayawardane — New visa pathways begin on 1 July 2023. Source: SBS News / Getty

Australia’s migration system is set for an overhaul after a 186-page review released last week warned it is “not fit for purpose” and risks exploitation of temporary workers.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil made two announcements off the back of it, and those keen to secure an Australian visa are hoping to hear more in the federal budget on 9 May.

What visa changes have already been announced for 2023-24?

Citizenship pathway for New Zealanders

From 1 July 2023 (the start of Australia’s financial year), New Zealanders who have been living in Australia for four years or more will be eligible to apply directly for Australian citizenship. They will no longer need to first apply for and be granted a permanent visa.

The changes apply to New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV) who arrived here after 26 February 2001. Those who are long-term residents will be able to have their period of permanent residence backdated.

The New Zealand stream of the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa is currently closed to new applications and will permanently close on 1 July.

New visa for Pacific migrants

A new visa will be introduced, providing 3,000 places for eligible migrants from Pacific countries and Timor Leste.

Spots for the Pacific Engagement visa (PEV) will be allocated by a ballot process each year, and those selected will be able to apply for permanent residence in Australia.

Applications will be able to be lodged online from July.

Changes to student visas

In an effort to address workforce shortages, student visa work restrictions were relaxed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and removed last January. This allowed primary and secondary student visa holders to work over the usual limit of 40 hours per fortnight.

But from 1 July, student visa work restrictions will be re-introduced and capped at an increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight.

Also from this date, some holders of subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visas will be able to stay in Australia for a longer period.

The extension means a stay period of four years for Bachelor’s degree graduates (up from two years), five years for Master’s degree graduates (up from three) and six years for doctoral graduates (up from four).

Changes for Working Holiday Makers

A concession allowing Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) to work for the same employer or organisation for longer than six months without requesting permission will also end on 1 July. The six-month working limitation was temporarily relaxed in January 2022 to address labour shortages during the pandemic.

Any work that is carried out before 1 July will not be counted towards the six-month limitation period. This means WHMs can work for any employer for up to an extra six months even if that work started before 1 July.

What other upcoming immigration changes do we know about?

The

review of Australia’s migration system

, led by former public service boss Martin Parkinson, found that while some aspects are performing well, key areas are “broken”.

It delivered 38 “reform directions” for the government to consider and

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has so far made two announcements.

Migrants will need to earn more

Firstly, the minimum salary an applicant needs to receive sponsorship from an employer from 1 July has increased.

The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) has not been raised since it was frozen at $53,000 a decade ago. It will jump to $70,000, where it would have been without the freeze.

“This is the first increase to the TSMIT in a decade. It is a down payment on the type of migration system the Albanese government wants to build,” Ms O’Neil said in a statement on the day the review was released.

Skilled workers will have a pathway to permanent residency

Secondly, the government said it would also provide all skilled temporary workers with the opportunity to apply for permanent residency by the year’s end.

Former deputy secretary of Australia’s immigration department Abul Rizvi said both changes are positive.

“I think the clearing of the pathways to permanent residence for skilled temporary entrants is indeed a good step.”

Referring to the TSMIT increase, Mr Rizvi said holding the minimum salary since 2013 was a “poor decision” that led to negative outcomes for migrants and Australians.

The migration review “tries to make the system more targeted, more efficient. And I think both of those things can only be good,” he said.

“I think it also highlights the role of immigration in Australia’s future and that’s also useful.”

What visa changes will be announced in the budget?

Mr Rizvi said the review and wider strategy has implications for the upcoming federal budget.

“I think it’s likely there will be further announcements in the budget,” he said.

But any changes will take time, he added.

“I think what we can expect … is even further changes beyond that [the budget] as the government works out the details of how to implement some of the recommendations.”

In his government’s first budget in October, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

made changes to the country’s migration program

that included an additional $576 million over four years to the Home Affairs department for activities including visa processing.

Mr Rizvi said that increase should be continued on an ongoing basis.

“That’s certainly something I’ll be watching out for,” he said.

What else did the migration review recommend?

The review found Australia’s migration program is failing to attract the most highly-skilled migrants and enable businesses to efficiently access workers. At the same time, it found “clear evidence of systemic exploitation and the risk of an emerging permanently temporary underclass”.

Australia’s visa settings have “unintentionally enabled a cohort of migrants to become permanently temporary” the review stated.

Among its reform directions is a three-tiered assessment system, fewer visa types, a focus on holding onto international students, and changing Australia’s points system to select migrants who will likely make the “greatest long-term economic contribution”.

Migration lawyer Rebecca MacMillan from law firm Holding Redlich welcomed the review and reforms as being broadly “sensible” but warned there is a long road ahead.

“It’s hard to know how quickly all this will happen,” she said.

“The recommendations would need some serious thought around how they will be introduced.”

Some of the proposals outlined in the government’s migration strategy include building a mainstream temporary skilled pathway – using an improved approach to determining the skills needed and “doing away with outdated, inflexible occupation lists” – providing a fast, simple pathway for specialised, highly skilled workers and broadening the program to encompass all skill levels.

The government will conduct consultation in May and June, with plans to release the final migration strategy later this year.

Is Australia welcoming more migrants?

Official figures provided to SBS News last week

showed Australia’s net overseas migration (NOM) is expected to reach 400,000 this financial year and 315,000 in 2023-24.

NOM is the difference between incoming and outgoing migrants and includes both permanent and temporary residents.

After the pandemic prompted a sudden halt to overseas arrivals, October’s budget papers had tipped Australia’s NOM to recover to only 235,000 over this financial year and next.

The forecasts show a two-year acceleration that is well above initial estimates, before a period of stabilisation.

Ms O’Neil has insisted the government’s strategy was “not about more people”, while deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley has accused Labor of pursuing a “big Australia” policy.

Mr Rizvi said the surge in net migration was driven by two factors – a series of COVID-era-related migration policy settings, and a “really hot labour market”.

“Put those two together and it was almost inevitable that net migration would surge,” he said.

He said what will happen in future is another matter, as a series of steps are being taken to tighten the system and COVID policy settings are wound back.