Australia will welcome a record 400,000 new immigrants in 2023

In the year 2023, Australia is likely to welcome a record number of 400,000 immigrants entering the nation in net terms. As a result, political leaders are discussing new housing initiatives for coping with the dynamic landscape. Meanwhile, the applications for Tourist Visa for Australia from India also continue to increase every year.

Nearly 50% of the intake will comprise students seeking to benefit from the elimination of border curbs due to the pandemic. However, the next overseas immigration to Australia is likely to decline to 315,000 in 2024 and probably even further lesser in the upcoming years. It is due to the implementation of the latest measures.

The Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese has assured offering State and Territory Governments more contributions to the immigration policy for easing pressure on capital cities.

The three latest housing initiatives were outlined by Albanese in the National Cabinet Meeting. The forecasts for the population to be included in the Federal Budget were also discussed.

The Cabinet Meeting approved a $2 Billion hike for supporting affordable and social housing and changes in the tax regime for encouraging developers and investors to build additional homes. Further, it was also aimed to harmonize safeguards for rent payers across Territories and States in Australia. However, the Prime Minister ruled out the possibility of implementing uniform laws.

The aim of the Federal Government is to build 1 million homes in the next 5 years beginning from 2024. It is under a national accord for housing spearheaded by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and endorsed by the States.

New Immigration Strategy draft unveiled by Minister of Home Affairs

Clare O‘Neil the Home Affairs Minister of Australia recently published an outline of the draft of a new strategy for immigration. It proposes an increase in the least wage threshold for temporary workers and launching an Australia PR Visa pathway.

Nevertheless, the Government is not seeking to fix a fresh target for immigration and is adopting an outlook for the long term in place of an annual cap.

The view of the Home Affairs Minister is that immigration is not the most crucial question. However, the immigration program has to be streamlined and smaller potentially in the medium term. Quantity is not the truly vital aspect here, added the Minister.  

Elaborating further, Clare O‘Neil said that in the post-pandemic times, we have to boost productivity and there are acute shortages of workers. It is perhaps inevitable that we have to manage a slightly bigger immigration program in times ahead, she explained.

The crucial review of the Australian immigration framework has advised extensive changes for attracting highly skilled workers and simplifying the Visa process. The latter was termed as “crazily intricate and slow”.

Further, the review has recommended an Income Threshold for Temporary Skilled Immigration which has remained stagnant since 2013. Enhancing the safety of vulnerable and lower-paid immigrant workers has also been suggested.

The review has also condemned the outdated immigration program and its pathetic delivery of service which can hinder Australia from alluring the best global talents, it adds. The lengthy wait times for Australia Parent Visas and the push for sending immigrants to regions have also been highlighted by the report.

The review was led by Martin Parkinson former chief of public service along with a panel of immigration experts who declared that Australia has been progressing without a direction devoid of proof for supporting the success of the immigration system.

The number of temporary immigrants in Australia since 20027 has swelled to 1.8 million from 1 million. Meanwhile, the nest skilled Permanent Immigration has remained at roughly 30,000 annually in the last 20 years.

Parkinson said that the efficiency of the system is not determined. It does not permit us to recognize individuals who have maximum chances of success and are advantageous for Australia, he added.

Key review highlights problems with the immigration system

The assessment of the embattled immigration system of Australia has been published that has paved the way for the biggest overhaul of the immigration setting in a generation. It was commissioned by the Government of Australia in November 2022. Martin Parkinson former Chief of Public Service led the review along with Joanna Howe professor at the University of Adelaide and John Azarias former Deloitte partner.

The review has emphasized that Australia will have to do away with the “eternally momentary” mindset. The Home Affairs Minister of Australia Clare O‘Neil had lamented that the overhaul of the ‘complicated mess’ of immigration was needed desperately while announcing the review.

The highly anticipated review of the immigration system in Australia has highlighted various drawbacks and outdated features of Visa processing. The various consequences and areas of improvement have also been outlined.