‘Wrong way, go back’ might be a response by some to the latest figures and trends in net overseas migration to Australia. The Immigration Department’s most recent statistics suggest that the Skilled Migration Program is failing to place workers where they are needed most, says Dr Bob Birrell head of Monash University’s Centre for Population and Urban Research.
The figures released in the latest Outlook for Net Overseas Migration report show that while business continues to push for migrants to fill gaps caused by the resources boom in WA, new arrivals are streaming into Melbourne and Sydney where the job market is worsening. Four months ago the Government was projecting overall net migration to peak at 191,000 annually by 2015, but the latest data released revises that calculation to 204,000: the increase being largely driven by an expected arrival of additional overseas students.
The jump follows the Government’s decision to offer foreign students a two-year visa with work rights attached, for when they have completed university studies in Australia. Dr Birrell told Neos Kosmos that the figures released show that the Gillard government’s changes to the Skilled Migration Program aimed at getting more workers into the mining states was not having the desired outcome.
“The record levels for the Program have been justified by the government on the grounds that the program is serving the needs of industry, particularly those related to the minerals boom, but the figures show that’s just not the case. There’s been no increase of the share going for instance to Western Australia.”
Victoria’s share of the national intake grew from 24 per cent to 25 per cent, NSW’s share rose from 29 per cent to 31 per cent, but WA’s fell from 17 per cent to 16 per cent. In 2010-11, Victoria received 53,200 permanent migrants, up 3000 on the previous year, while the number in NSW increased by 4300 to 65,700, according to the latest Immigration Department data. Dr Birrell believes the trend reflects the legacy of the points-tested Program which is supply-driven by applicants who are in the main, overseas students wanting to study in the eastern states.
“The government tried to address the problem by increasing the share of employer nominations within the program, but it hasn’t gone nearly far enough,” said Dr Birrell. “It still allows any employer in Australia to sponsor a migrant for permanent residence – any occupation from trade level up, in other words, there’s no targeting to where there are really serious needs, which presumably are the construction industries related to the mineral boom. “It’s the absence of targeting that’s the concern,” says Dr Birrell, “the Government simply has not been prepared to bite the bullet on this one.”
“Just like state-sponsored visas, they’re spread around like blancmange, with SA and Victoria having quite large quotas. In the case of employer nominations, there’s a lot of noise about ‘it’s a good thing that employers make decisions about where the real needs are’, but there are many reasons why employers sponsor someone for permanent residence.
“It’s very likely that the employer would have already brought them out on a 457 visa. The employer gains an advantage on bringing someone in on such a visa, because the employee can’t shift around, has limited bargaining power in the workplace, and there’s an implicit promise that the employer will sponsor them for permanent residence. The consequence of this is thousands of cooks being sponsored on 457 visas.” Dr Birrell’s concerns are not confined to the inability of the Skilled Migration Program to deliver the outcomes planned by the Australian Government. “We have quite a problem in Melbourne and Sydney with youth unemployment at the entry level,” says the Monash University population expert.
“If you increase the number of temporary visas with work rights, who are not likely to be getting professional trade jobs, but will in effect be competing at the entry level, then you are just making it that much tougher for Australia’s youth. It’s a serious issue.”