Australia's Permanent Migration Program Brings Just 12,000 New Skilled Workers Annually, Research Shows
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Australia's permanent migration program delivers only 12,000 new skilled workers from overseas each year despite a headline figure of 185,000 places, according to new research that challenges widespread perceptions about the nation's immigration intake.
The Australian National University Migration Hub study found that just 12% of permanent migration places go to offshore skilled entrants, with the majority of the program supporting family reunification for people already living in Australia.
"When we see the permanent migration program stated at 185,000, a lot of people think that's 185,000 new skilled workers coming into Australia, but that is not the case," said Peter MacDonald, the ANU demographer who led the research.
MacDonald told ABC News that about 60% of the permanent migration program consists of families of Australian citizens or skilled migrants already working in Australia.
"They're not new skills," he said during Monday's interview.
The findings come as migration numbers have become a flashpoint in Australian politics, with some groups staging protests over claims that high immigration contributes to housing shortages and economic pressures.
However, MacDonald said those concerns are misplaced, noting that net overseas migration fell by 190,000 people between 2023 and 2024.
"The mass migration argument is very misplaced," he said. "Between 2023 and 2024, net overseas migration fell by 190,000 in one year, in just in one year. And it's well and truly on the way down."
The research reveals a stark mismatch between Australia's stated migration goals and reality, particularly in addressing skills shortages. The building industry has identified a shortage of 130,000 housing construction workers, yet the permanent program brought in only 160 housing construction workers in the most recent year for which statistics are available.
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"Almost nothing," MacDonald said of the construction worker intake.
By contrast, the temporary migration program is bringing in about 5,000 building workers annually, highlighting the system's reliance on non-permanent visa holders to fill skills gaps.
"The growth that we've seen over the last few years in skilled labour in Australia has been dominated by temporary migrants, and that includes students, working holidaymakers, so not just the temporary skilled workers, but other categories of temporary migrants," MacDonald said.
The research identifies structural problems within the migration system, including massive backlogs in both employer-sponsored migration and family reunion applications.
MacDonald said employers want to convert temporary workers to permanent status but face significant delays in the system.
"There's a structural problem that there's huge backlogs in the employer-sponsored migration, permanent migration program, but also huge backlogs in the partners of Australian citizens in the family stream," he said.
The study recommends separating the family migration stream from the skills stream to address these bottlenecks and allow greater focus on bringing in workers with needed qualifications.
"We're suggesting that to overcome these problems, we need to separate out the family stream from the skills stream," MacDonald said.
He explained that family migration demand continues growing as young Australians travel internationally and temporary immigrants form relationships with Australian citizens.
"The family stream is growing demand because young Australians travel the world and lots of temporary immigrants come to Australia and fall in love with Australians. So there's a huge demand," MacDonald said.
Under current arrangements, the government treats family and skilled migration as competing priorities within the same overall cap.
"When the two are linked together, the skilled and the family, the government argues, well, if we give more visas to partners of Australian citizens, that means fewer skilled migrants. But it doesn't have to be that way. They can be separated out," MacDonald said.
The researcher raised legal concerns about the current system, citing Section 87 of the Migration Act, which he said grants partners of Australian citizens a right to permanent residence.
"In fact, the law says, the Migration Act, Section 87, that partners of Australian citizens have a right to permanent residence in Australia," MacDonald said.
He accused successive governments of violating this legal requirement by imposing caps on partner visas.
"And so the government after government has been breaking the law by capping the number of partners of Australian citizens," MacDonald said.
The financial impact on affected families is substantial, with applicants paying significant fees while waiting for processing.
"They also pay a very large fee. The people now waiting to get permanent residence, who are partners of Australian citizens, have paid about $1 billion in fees without getting the result that they are entitled to by the law," MacDonald said.
The research challenges common assumptions about Australia's migration program during a period of intense political debate over immigration levels.
Recent protests have focused on claims that high migration numbers contribute to housing shortages and other economic pressures, but MacDonald said these concerns reflect misunderstanding of the actual numbers.
He noted that Australia experienced elevated migration for a brief period following COVID-19 border closures, but described this as a temporary rebound rather than ongoing mass migration.
"We had mass migration, it's true, for a couple of years following COVID, because the borders had been closed and large numbers of people came in when the borders were open. But it's not an issue anymore," MacDonald said.
Instead, he argued that structural problems within the migration system deserve greater attention.
"That's the wrong issue. The issue at the moment is the structure of the program," MacDonald said.
The separation of family and skills streams would allow more targeted policy responses to both areas, according to the research.
"I think if we do that, then we can put greater focus on the skill stream. It'll overcome the partner problem, but it will also allow us to focus more precisely on the skill stream, to look at what we're actually doing," MacDonald said.
He said current arrangements mislead the public about the scale of new skilled worker arrivals.
"Because at the moment, people are kind of fooled that we're bringing in 185,000 skilled workers every year when we're not working," MacDonald said.
The ANU research adds academic weight to ongoing debates about migration policy reform, providing detailed analysis of program outcomes versus stated objectives.
The findings suggest that Australia's migration system may require fundamental restructuring to effectively address skills shortages while managing family reunification demands.
MacDonald's recommendations for stream separation align with calls from various stakeholders for more targeted migration policies that distinguish between different visa categories and their distinct purposes.
The research comes as the federal government faces pressure to address both skills shortages in key industries and concerns about overall migration levels from different political quarters.
The construction industry shortage highlighted in the study reflects broader workforce challenges across multiple sectors, with temporary visa holders increasingly filling gaps that the permanent program fails to address.
The $1 billion in fees paid by partner visa applicants waiting for processing represents a significant financial burden on families while raising questions about system efficiency and legal compliance.
The ANU Migration Hub study provides empirical data for policy discussions that have often relied on perception rather than detailed analysis of program outcomes and structure.
As migration remains a key political issue ahead of the next federal election, the research offers evidence-based insights into how Australia's immigration system actually functions versus public understanding of its operations.
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