The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has renewed its calls for sweeping reforms on immigration rules to boost economic growth, create jobs, and foster innovation.
In its recent submission to the government’s review of Australia’s migration system, ACCI highlighted the significance of expanding the skilled migration intake and offering temporary migrants a pathway to permanent residency in order to establish a sustainable increase in Australia’s skilled workers.
“A pathway to permanency for all temporary skilled migrants means Australia can be the destination of choice for the world’s best talent. Business isn’t the only beneficiary here. It allows migrants to come here, settle, raise families, and contribute to their local community,” said Chris Barnes, head of trade and international affairs at ACCI.
Barnes said the upcoming overhaul of skilled migration rules should offer greater flexibility for businesses that need access to in-demand workers.
According to the ACCI official, raising the target for permanent skilled migration intake to 200,000 places in 2023-24 and 2024-25 is critical to addressing worker shortages as these cannot be filled by Australians in the short term.
“Australia has thrived because we have attracted some of the most talented people to our shores. However, our immigration system today falls short of meeting the needs of our economy, our businesses, and our workers,” Barnes said.
ACCI also called for cutting the levy employers pay by half in order to attract foreign workers.
“In an ideal world, there would be enough suitably trained Australian residents. Right now, with such a crippling skills shortage, the levy is simply a tax on workers,” Barnes said.
“Business is happy to do its share in contributing to the cost of training Australians, but we need workers now. Imposing a levy of up to $7,200 on businesses will only make it harder to fill the job vacancies holding back our economy,” the ACCI official added.
