This week, Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil announced it was time to fix Australia’s migration system. The migration changes she proposed are going to have a welcome, and important, impact on Australia’s tech sector.
Addressing the National Press Club, O’Neil said:
“Our migration system is suffering from a decade of genuinely breathtaking neglect. It is broken. It is failing our businesses, it is failing migrants themselves. And most importantly, it is failing Australians. That cannot continue. Because we face big national challenges that migration can help us resolve.”
Although it absolutely wasn’t the first time such a thing has been said, she also admitted that “Australia needs to build better sovereign capabilities, fast”. Understanding that 1. Australia isn’t bringing in the talent we need, nor (2.) making the most of the talent we have, O’Neil says she is working on a plan, one that outlines how the government plans on fixing Australia’s migration system.
Without going into too much detail (or putting too much shade on the previous government), the old migration system favoured temporary visas that followed a list of jobs that were considered important. The 457 visa (a tech-specific way into Australia) has had a turbulent past. But, we’re moving forward and O’Neil, despite making a few people unhappy last year, has the support of some of Australia’s peak tech bodies, including the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and the Tech Council of Australia (TCA).
“We have hundreds of visa categories and subcategories. It is a mess of three-digit visa codes – the 186, the 864, the 408 – so complicated that if I drew you a diagram it would look like a tangled bowl of spaghetti. We have a visa class for just about everything, including one specifically for the crew of superyachts,” O’Neil said.
To fix that, O’Neil has proposed three new pathways for temporary skilled migrants to come to Australia, which the government will now be progressing work on. As it’s still in draft form, the details of what exactly that will look like and how exactly it will boost Australia’s tech sector are unknown, but the change is a welcome one nonetheless.
“The minister’s announcement … is very promising for Australia’s IT industry and our domestic capabilities. It is pleasing to hear the minister acknowledge today the skill shortages we see in the tech sector. We see 23,000 international students complete IT qualifications annually in Australia, the changes to support these students to remain and work in Australia is very promising. There is strong demand and shortages in the IT sector and migration is one of the measures that will help to address these shortages,” AIIA CEO Simon Bush explained.
“We commend the minister on commissioning this comprehensive, root-and-branch review of the migration system and setting out a positive pathway for reform. Australia has some of the best tech talent in the world, but we simply do not have enough to meet demand.” TCA CEO Kate Pounder added.
Over 650,000 people will need to enter the tech sector in Australia by 2030 to reach 1.2 million tech jobs, and around a quarter of these will need to come from skilled migration.