Australian authorities announced plans on Monday to tighten visa rules for international students and low-skilled workers, a move that could halve migrant admissions over the next two years, Reuters reports.
Under the new rules, international students will have to score higher on English language tests and a student’s second visa application to extend their stay in the country will be scrutinised more closely. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said during a media briefing:
Our strategy will bring migration numbers back to normal. But it’s not just about numbers. It’s not just about this moment and the experience of migration our country is having at this time. This is about Australia’s future.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “migration system is broken” and that Australia’s migration flows needed to be brought back to a “sustainable level”. O’Neill noted the government’s targeted reforms were already putting downward pressure on net overseas migration and would further reduce migrant numbers.
The decision comes after net immigration was expected to hit a record 510,000 in 2022-23. Official figures show it will fall to around a quarter of a million people in 2024-25 and 2025-26, roughly the same level as before the COVID programme came into force.
O’Neill believes the growth in net overseas migration in 2022-23 will be driven mainly by international students.
Shares in IDP Education (IEL.AX), which provides employment and training services for international students, fell more than 3 per cent in afternoon trading.
Australia boosted annual migration figures last year to help businesses recruit staff to fill shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to strict border controls and kept foreign students and workers out for nearly two years. But the sudden influx of foreign workers and students has added pressure to an already tight rental market, and homelessness in the country is on the rise.
A poll for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Monday found that 62 per cent of Australian voters believe the country’s migration levels are too high.
Australia’s Labor government, long reliant on immigration to supply one of the world’s tightest labour markets, is seeking to speed up the entry of highly skilled workers and ease their path to permanent residence. A new specialised visa for highly skilled workers will be created, with a one-week processing time, enabling businesses to hire the best migrants in the face of stiff competition from other developed countries.
