Migration Program 2022-2023
It’s been close to two months since the financial year 2022-23 commenced and these have been interesting days for the migration industry. States and territories have started to open their nomination programmes, the Jobs and Skills Summit is about to start in Canberra form 1st September and there is a general anticipation of imminent changes to happen.
But before we go into that, let us look at what is the current situation-
As mentioned earlier, states and territories have started nominations with states such as Western Australia making significant changes such as adding new occupations to the eligible list, waiving application fee and reducing work experience requirements. Invitations for offshore skilled workers have also resumed after a break of about 3 years.
This year too, there is a planning level of 160,000 places with 109,000 places for skilled migration and 50,000 places for the family stream, predominantly made of Partner Visas. Interestingly, there is no ceiling on Partner and Child visas which will be granted on a demand driven basis and are not subject to a ceiling unlike in previous years.
The chart below, shows the Migration planning level for 2022-23 as compared to the previous year.
Migration Program planning levels as announced as part of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 Federal Budgets
| Visa Stream | Visa Category | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
| Skill | Employer Sponsored | 22,000 | 30,000 |
| Skilled Independent | 6,500 | 16,652 | |
| Regional | 11,200 | 25,000 | |
| State/Territory Nominated | 11,200 | 20,000 | |
| Business Innovation & Investment | 13,500 | 9,500 | |
| Global Talent (Independent) | 15,000 | 8,448 | |
| Distinguished Talent | 200 | 300 | |
| Skill Total | 79,600 | 109,900 | |
| Family | Partner (Demand driven: estimate, not subject to a ceiling) | 72,300 | 40,500 |
| Parent | 4,500 | 6,000 | |
| Child (Demand driven: estimate, not subject to a ceiling) | 3,000 | 3,000 | |
| Other Family | 500 | 500 | |
| Family Total | 77,300 | 50,000 | |
| Special Eligibility | 100 | 100 | |
| Total Migration Program | 160,000 | 160,000 | |
A feature that jumps to the eye is that Global Talent (Independent) pathway that was launched with much fanfare by the previous Liberal government a few years ago has seen a drastic reduction of 6552 places and it appears therefore that this stream is losing its steam.
State and Territory allocations for 2022-2023 are as follows:
| State | Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa | Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa | Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) |
| ACT | 800 | 1,920 | 10 |
| NSW | 7,160 | 4,870 | 260 |
| NT | 600 | 840 | 15 |
| QLD | 3,000 | 1,200 | 235 |
| SA | 2,700 | 3,180 | 70 |
| TAS | 2,000 | 1,350 | 10 |
| VIC | 9,000 | 2,400 | 170 |
| WA | 5,350 | 2,790 | 40 |
| Total | 30,610 | 18,550 | 81 |
It is not likely that the current skills shortages in Australia would be met with these allocations so it will be interesting to see what the coming days will unfold. It is anticipated that the coming together of business and union heads along with political leaders in the Jobs & Skills Summit (1-2 September) will look at ways to address skills shortages by increasing migration.
Some changes that are likely to happen are:
- The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) which is the salary threshold for nominating overseas workers has been $53,900 for several years and in all likelihood it will be increased.
- Lift on permanent migration caps with a focus on Skilled Migration.
- Visa processing times could get reduced as more officers are redirected to visa processing from other areas.
Everyone is aware that it is essential for our post Covid recovery that Australia remains attractive to highly skilled applicants. A major overhaul of our Migration program is required to make that happen. Will it happen? When and how remains the question.
Watch this space for the latest information as they unfold…
