Just now, the Minister of Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge, gave a speech on the language requirements of the new PR applicant, which was broadly divided into the following sections:
The population of Australia, which does not speak or can hardly speak English, is on the rise
The negative impact of the lack of English communication skills on immigrants, Australian society and democracy in Australia
The solution the government is considering
Key points:
First, the language requires that the New deal Scheme be extended to all new PR applicants (there is no mention of any visa categories to be exempted);
Second, tend to develop a set of English tests, focusing on oral English and listening, rather than necessarily using international standards;
(III) consider the provision of mandatory language courses;
Fourth, the new English test may also be applied to naturalization applications;
V. Identification of exemptions for persons under the age of 16 and over the age of 60
One of the disputes over last year's naturalization amendment was the addition of four IELTS-6 English requirements. In October, the first version of the amendment bill could not be passed by Parliament. Not long ago, it was reported that the government intended to submit a new version by July 1 of the new fiscal year. Now the government has decided to extend mandatory English requirements to all new immigrants because of rapid population growth that does not speak or can hardly speak English.
The Minister of Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge, said the move was aimed at enhancing the integration of Australian society, with about two hundred thousand new immigrants entering Australia every year. There are also many categories of permanent residence visas in Australia that do not have language requirements, such as spouse immigrants. Parents and partial investment migrants, coupled with asylum-seekers, have long suffered from a massive lack of English-speaking immigrants that could split Australian society.
Census data show that the number of people in Australia who speak little or no English has been steadily increasing, with three hundred thousand permanent residents in 1981, five hundred and sixty thousand in 2006, six hundred and fifty five thousand in 2011 and more than eight hundred and twenty thousand in 2016! In parts of Sydney and Melbourne, the proportion of people will be even higher.
According to this growth rate, about 1 million people in Australia will not say or hardly speak English in 2021. If the number of children is excluded, it is only postponed to 2026.
The Government has discussed the language of immigration for six months with immigration groups, businesses and academics, and will then explore the following issues in depth on the basis of the recommendations of the consultations:
IELTS is an English test developed primarily for skilled and academic immigrants and is certainly applicable to skilled immigrant applicants. But if you switch to other categories of applicants and aim to strengthen social cohesion, Australia's own English test, which will focus on listening and speaking, may be more appropriate.
2. If only naturalized applicants are required to pass the English proficiency test, new immigrants may escape this problem by not naturalizing, which is why the English requirement extends to new PR applicants.
Australia hopes that applicants will need basic English conversational skills' basic conversational English capability' before acquiring permanent residence, which will most effectively stimulate more new immigrants to take the initiative to learn English.
The formal language requirement for immigrants is not a precedent set by Australia. Many large immigrant countries have this rule. Canada, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom all require immigrants to reach the IELTS level of 4 or 5 points.
Australia previously asked mainly about skilled immigrants' English skills, according to, Alan Tudge, which means that only about 29 percent of applicants have passed the language test before getting the PR, and it is estimated that new language requirements will affect an additional 130000 new immigrants a year.
Deputy applications aged 189,190 and above fail to meet the language requirement of Functional English IELTS at the time of submission, with an average of A $4885 per second installment.
Similarly, 489186 and 187 are required to pay 4890 Australian dollars.
The government now offers 510hours of free English courses for new immigrants with lower English proficiency, some of which can be extended to 1000 hours, and the government has invested A $300m for the project, called Adult Migrant English Program. The Soyuz party has increased by 50 million since it came to power. But the course is not mandatory, and even many immigrants don't know about it. In the case of immigrants to Australia through humanitarian aid, one in three did not attend the course.
Prime Minister says: "Primary School level" difficulty, Australia does not need to apologize for this
The government is aware of concerns that English is too demanding, so any new tests will be aimed at conversational communication or elementary-school English.
Both the interior minister and the prime minister said it was normal to have the ability to speak English to emigrate, and the government did not need to apologize.
Labour said: "if you are not sure, don't say it!"
Migrants need help from the government, not "immature little advice." Labour Party MP Nick Champion says he learned from conversations with immigrants that their first concern is how to find a job and the second is language. Immigrants face many problems and need substantial help.
He revealed that the relevant parliamentary committee had already made some practical proposals, but the government did not take them immediately.
Labour immigration spokesmen said they were skeptical about the government's data and needed to see more details, and similar arguments have been repeatedly raised.
Green Party Nick Mckim: "White Australia" policy!
Nick Mckim directly criticized this is "White Australia" policy embodiment, stop pandering to Pauline Hanson is the biggest help to immigrants!
（分析研究经验做出结论） sum up
Language and work experience requirements have been at the heart of immigration policy reforms in recent years, and previous changes have largely affected skilled migrants, such as high-paid English exemptions guaranteed by employers, as the number of non-English-speaking immigrants grows. The government has found it no longer enough to raise the demand for skilled migrants, who account for about 30 percent of the annual quota after all, taking into account the widespread lack of English-speaking refugees.
It can be seen from the statement of the Prime Minister to the Minister that the main purpose of the new language requirement is to improve the daily communication ability of immigrants, and that there is such an examination to encourage new immigrants to take the initiative to improve their English level. It is no doubt more difficult for older parents to emigrate.
NewStars believes it is more likely to introduce mandatory English training courses than failing to pass an exam to apply for PR,.
Similar to the previous situation, the introduction of new requirements may not be able to pass parliament.
