Immigrants earning $85,000 must get Australia PR: Grattan Institute

The Grattan Institute has demanded that all immigrants with a salary of $85,000 must be qualified for Australia PR Visa. In its latest report, GI recommends extensive modifications to the Australian immigration system.  These changes will be attractive to global talents including applicants for Australia PR from India. It will also avoid neutralizing the benefits of overseas skilled workers, adds the report.

The Institute has cautioned that young and globally mobile talents are finding it less attractive to immigrate to Australia. It is because of the tedious visa requirements, adds the Institute. Further, excess dependency on workers with low skills is decreasing wages and resulting in exploitation.

The report will be tabled before the inquiry into the immigration system by the Australian Parliament. It seeks to target the brightest and best global talents in Australia for enhancing economic growth and smoothing the transition to a net-zero emission nation.

The recommendations also include eliminating programs favoring aged immigrants and streamlining the system. Currently, high-earning immigrants are prevented from staying for long-term, it adds.

Economic Policy Program Director at Grattan Institute Brendan Coates has said the current immigration system is complex and obsolete. It does not conform to the fast-paced global economy and causes delays in processing. We must not target PR Visas for skill shortages lasting for 1 or 2 years and let these people remain for decades, he said.

Many emerging occupations that need to be developed in areas such as Cyber Security are not even considered occupations by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It is because these are very new.

A greatly simplified system

The global competition for the most talented international professionals is fierce now. Immigration Experts have said that Australia has to revamp its strategy. The nation has conventionally regarded as the chosen destination for skilled workers.

However, Australia is witnessing intense competition from nations like Canada, the UK, and the US that are altering their policies for attracting more immigrants.

The major recommendations of the Grattan Institute include vital modifications to the Australia Visas sponsored by employers. Provisional Skilled Visas are currently available only to workers in specific occupations. They must earn a minimum of $ 53,900 annually.

Grattan Institute has recommended permitting any employer to sponsor Australia PR Visas to immigrants having an annual salary of $85,000. Further, all immigrants earning more than $ 70,000 must qualify for provisional sponsorship.

Transitioning to a system of selection of immigrants based on their salaries is a highly simplified system said, Coates. It actually better mirrors whether the skills of the people are valuable or not, he added.

Brendan Coates said that the new system will boost the budget of Australia by $ 125 Billion in the next thirty years estimated by the Grattan Institute. It will also offer confidence to both parties involved.

The employer is assured that the salary of $ 85,000 will help in retaining the needed worker. The employee will have an evident pathway to Australia PR Visa.

The report has revealed that immigrants having a salary of $ 70,000 upon arrival mostly receive a big hike in salary over time.  However, those receiving lesser than this tend to stagnate in low-income, low-skilled sectors with frequent exploitation.

The points-tested Subclass Visas are generally working according to the report. However, it has asked for higher stress on the skills of secondary applicants that includes family members and spouses. These account for nearly 50% of the annual PR Skilled Visas allocation.

The applicants surpass the available Australia Visas allocation. We must prioritize either applicants who are single or couple applicants having higher skills, said Coates.

The Business Investment and Innovation Program can be ended. The report has said that the recipients are usually older and with less salary than the immigrants sponsored by employers.

Trust being eroded

Increasing low-skilled provisional immigration for addressing the scarcity of workers will decrease salaries for Australians earning low, warns the report. It will increase exploitation in sectors reliant on them and erode the trust of the people in the immigration system, it adds.

The Labor Party has assured that a Registered Nurse will be there in each center for aged care every hour weekly by mid of 2023. It anticipates immigration to play a major role in fulfilling this target.

The report acknowledged that the care sector can need an instant hike in the inflow of less-skilled immigrants. However, it asks the Government to increase salaries in the sector and this is the only remedy for resolving long-term shortages.

A need for boosting short-term immigration can be understood but it is dangerous sad Coates. It risks exploitation of these workers and decreases the salaries of low-paid care economy in Australia’s workforce predominantly feminized, he explained.