Australia is in the midst of reevaluating their immigration priorities.
While immigration has historically played a major role in Australia’s economic development, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly slowed down overseas arrivals.
In August, Australia announced their plans to welcome a half a million new immigrants by the year 2023. With the launch of the Migration Policy Plan, Australia intended to address the labour shortages arising out of emergencies, and increase the country’s overall GDP growth in the long term.
Despite the growing concerns regarding unemployment, data from the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has shown that the arrival of migrants has not made any negative impact toward the wages or labour participation rates of Australian-born workers.
In fact, despite major setbacks from the pandemic, Australians have asserted the need for immigration in the overall development of the country. Among the developed economies, Australia still holds one of the biggest migration programs, with over 70% of issued visas going out to migrants in the skilled occupation classes.
Recently, the Morrison administration announced their plans to include a reset of the migration program in the upcoming federal budget to be released on October 6.
In response to this announcement, Melinda Cilento, chief executive of the think tank CEDA, stated,
“Now is the time to take stock of the current system and recalibrate for the future, to help Australia come back better.”
With this new reset and the plan to welcome half a million new immigrants by 2023, it seems Australia is also intent on reaffirming their commitment to immigration and its importance to their economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Australia’s SkillSelect program is the online immigration system that organises and manages all permanent residency applications that they receive from skilled foreign nationals. Applicants are normally required to take a skills assessment test prior to submission.
In order to submit an application through SkillSelect, you need to make an Expression of Interest (EOI). Skilled workers and business people from other countries may be required to participate in a skills assessment test before being able to submit an Express of Interest (EOI).
Expressions of Interest submitted through SkillSelect are valid for two years. The SkillSelect program is primarily in charge of Australia’s economic migration.
Want to find out if you are eligible for SkillSelect? Just fill in our eligibility form for a free assessment and we’ll get in touch with you within 1-3 business days.
Like and follow our Facebook page or join our LinkedIn community to get the latest updates on immigration news.
