Highlights
- Migration Program 2021-22 to carry forward composition and planning levels of Migration Program 2020-21
- Overall planning level of 160,000 places, including 79,600 places for skill stream in 2021-22 Migration Program
- Migration agents call for faster visa processing for skilled visa applicants
Australia’s Migration Program is set annually as part of the federal Budget process and considers the country’s changing economic and health conditions, labour and social cohesion needs.
The next financial year’s Migration Program will have an overall planning level of 160,000 places, including 79,600 places for the skill stream and 77,300 places for the family stream.
No changes to planning levels or composition for skill stream
In a statement to SBS Punjabi, a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs said that in the 2021-22 Migration Program, the Business Innovation and Investment Program planning level remains at 13,500, the Global Talent Visa Program at 15,000 and the Employer Sponsored visa remains at 22,000.
The spokesperson clarified that the immigration minister had recently reallocated places in some skilled visa categories in response to health, border and economic conditions arising from the pandemic. But that decision was applicable to the current program only and would have no bearing on the planning levels for the next financial year.
There will be no change to the composition of Skill stream in 2021-2022, confirms the Department of Home Affairs. Source: Getty Images
While the skill stream remains at 79,600, the Minister has reallocated places in some skilled visa categories. This applies to the 2020-21 Migration Program year only – spokesperson
The department maintains that in 2021-22, the skill stream will continue to focus on visa categories that will help Australia’s economy rebound after COVID-19, with priority given to visa cohorts that drive economic growth, job creation and investment into Australia.
"There will be continued flexibility within the Skill stream to respond to uncertain health, border and economic conditions arising from COVID-19," the spokesperson added.
Former deputy secretary in the Department of Immigration Abul Rizvi said planning levels are flexible and often adjusted to align with the current circumstances.
"If you look at this year's Global Talent allocations, the government was perhaps too ambitious and therefore they have sliced it for the current program year. It's, however, not clear why they have cut business innovation visas because the backlog is huge. They have increased places for Employer Sponsored category which suggests a surge in demand," he explained.
How important are planning levels?
Decoding the department’s planning levels, Melbourne-based migration agent Navjot Kailay says that while ceilings for all streams are critical to the Migration Program, they are simply numbers and not targets.
“If you look at the program outcomes for the past few years before the pandemic, the stream outcomes for almost all subclasses are way below the planning levels. So, what’s the point of setting these levels when the government is not going to achieve them,” Mr Kailay questions.
“If you compare the planning levels for the skill stream in 2019-2020, the department had allocated a total of 108,682 places, but only 95,483 visas were granted, which is nearly 13,000 less than what they had planned. This results in application backlog and, in turn, longer processing times,” he adds.
How important is the skill stream?
Skill stream planning levels. Source: Department of Home Affairs
The skill steam contributes to about 50 per cent of the program and is focussed on highly-skilled migrants in the Employer Sponsored, Business Innovation and Investor Program and Global Talent cohorts.
Mr Kailay says that Australia’s skilled migration system has served the economy well, but there is an urgent need to calibrate the skilled pathways to support the current needs of the businesses and to power the country’s economy as it paves its way out of the pandemic.
“Right now, the situation is extremely critical. While the offshore processing rate is minimal, the onshore skilled visa applicants too are bearing the brunt along with businesses who are facing a shortage of skilled workers. The government must focus on clearing the backlog in order to accelerate the processing times for onshore applicants until the borders reopen,” he adds.
Disclaimer: This content is for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.
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