In the past year, Australia`s government`s every move in immigration policy has been a big hit to Australia`s labour market, especially as a result of the change in temporary work visas. In addition, in the near future, Australia`s government will also seek public opinion on the results of the adjustment of business immigration policy.
After more than two centuries of development and change, where is Australia`s immigration policy going in 2018?
1. Review: from the White Australia Policy to the pluralistic Society
For more than two centuries, a large number of immigrants each year have been the foundation of Australia`s economic and social development.
In fact, however, it was not until the second half of the 20th century that Australia`s immigration policy shifted from the white Australia policy, which favours European immigrants, to a preference for pluralistic immigration. It is immigration policy in recent years that makes Australia a multicultural and economically competitive immigrant country today.
The White O policy originated from the passage of the Immigration restriction Act in 1901. The law called for European language testing as a means of limiting non-European immigration, reflecting hostility towards non-European migrants and forming the basis of what became known as White Australia`s policy.
After World War II, the core of restrictive policy was lifted, allowing more and more non-European immigrants to settle permanently in the country.
Subsequently, Australian white policy was formally replaced in the 1970s, regardless of ethnicity, gender or religion. The shift also puts an end to the advantage of British immigrants in prioritizing and acquiring Australian citizenship.
According to official statistics, immigration accounts for 28% of Australia`s population. In fiscal year 2016-17, for example, Indians accounted for the first of two hundred and sixty six thousand permanent immigrants, accounting for 17 per cent of two hundred and sixty six thousand permanent immigrants, followed by Chinese (13 per cent) and Britons (8 per cent).
Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
From the perspective of the immigrant population of non-European countries, the main channels of migration are as follows:
- Skilled migrants (Skilled Program) program is mainly India, China, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Pakistan and South Africa immigrants;
- The family reunification project (Family Reunion Program) is an immigrant from Viet Nam;
- (Humanitarian Program) is the main channel for immigrants from Iraq and Syria;
Second, temporary visa has made a great contribution, and 457 visa reform has attracted much attention.
Temporary visas have surged in recent years, especially since 2012.
As of 2016, tourist visas accounted for 3/4 of the total number of temporary visas to Australia. With the rapid development of Australian tourism, tourist visas have become an important part of Australia`s foreign exchange earnings.
2. The current immigration policy is good for foreign students to apply for skilled immigrants.
At the same time, as one of the initiatives in international trade, the goverment supports the development of education policy, resulting in a significant increase in the number of foreign students entering Australia. In May 2017, there were more than 502000 international students in Australia. Up 14% from May 2016.
More than half of the international students come from China, India, Malaysia, Nepal or Vietnam. Australia`s growing popularity as an educational destination depends on Australia`s immigration policy as an opportunity for students to apply for permanent residency immediately after graduation. In 2016-17, about 55 per cent of those granted permanent residency under the skills programme applied in Australia.
3457 visas are of great concern, 2018 is on the verge of change.
In the 1990s, as employers demanded greater flexibility in meeting the needs of skilled labour, especially in the booming resource mining industry, goverment added immigration policies to accommodate temporary skilled workers.
One such policy is the current 457 visa, which aims to accelerate the entry of highly skilled workers on four-year visas and expand over time to a wider range of occupations.
Since its inception in 1996, the programme has been the focus of successive goverment audits, focusing on two main areas:
- (B) whether there are allegations of exploitation by employers of foreign workers;
- Whether the employer uses the visa to fill a real shortage of skills;
To address these issues and gain the support of right-wing critics, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (Malcolm Turnbull) announced in April 2017 that he would cancel the existing 457 visa program in March 2018 and replace it with a temporary technology shortage (TSS) visa. Compared with the original 457 visa policy, the TSS visa application threshold has been significantly increased, as follows:
- Applicants are required to have at least two years of relevant work experience;
- Qualified change in the list of occupations;
In addition, there are two other temporary work projects in goverment`s existing temporary work visa category, which are much less controversial than the high-profile 457 visas:
- Seasonal worker (Seasonal Worker Program): has imported thousands of temporary workers each year from Tonga, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste and other island countries to work in the Australian horticultural industry since 2012 for diplomatic reasons;
- Job vacationer (Working Holiday): allows 18-to 30-year-olds from designated countries to enter Australia for up to 12 months of work and leisure. Participants are an important source of temporary workers, especially in regional agriculture and hospitality and tourism. Among them, the largest number of applicants from the UK, Germany and Taiwan.
Third, does the increase in immigration do more harm than good?
Since 1901, the (Net Oversea Migration) of Australia`s net immigrants abroad has remained at about 73000 a year, with Australia`s population growing by an average of about 180000.
Over the past 12 years, however, Australia has averaged close to two hundred and twenty thousand net immigrants per year, while Australia`s population has grown by an average of three hundred and seventy thousand a year.
Although Australia`s immigration population has accelerated in recent years, partly stimulating Australia`s overall economic growth. However, according to a recent Macro Business report, the number of immigrants in Australia has exceeded the limits that Australian cities can afford, and a drastic tightening of immigration policy is imminent. The main points of the report are as follows:
1. Overmigration leads to overburdened infrastructure:
First, although Australia is sparsely populated, immigration destinations are relatively single, concentrated in six cities on the east coast. Every year, as much as 75 percent of Australia`s immigrant population flows to Sydney and Melbourne, placing an additional burden on tens of thousands of people in major Australian cities. The infrastructure costs of immigration are too high to keep up with demand.
2. Excess immigration has had a negative impact on Australia`s job market:
On whether immigration can help keep the labour market dynamic, academic demographer Peter McDonald (Peter McDonald) previously said, "think immigration can help our population stay young. This is a kind of demographically nonsense.
It is widely believed that expatriates are more productive than native Australians, and that immigration is therefore beneficial to labour productivity. However, the evidence is controversial, as immigrants generally have lower levels of employment than their education levels and are underemployed and labour-force participation rates are lower than those of the native Australian population.
In addition, an increase in Australia`s population, if not matched by an increase in the stock of household, business and public capital to support a larger population, is bound to "dilute" Australia`s capital base, resulting in a reduction in capital per capita. Productivity has fallen.
3. Excessive immigration will also lead to a serious decline in the standard of living of the population, as reflected in the following aspects:
- Congestion costs are rising;
- (a) the decline in affordability of housing;
- Increased costs of infrastructure (e.g. toll roads and water);
- Environmental degradation;
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As a traditional immigrant country, Australia has always welcomed immigrants from all over the world.
2017 is destined to be a crucial year for Australia`s immigration policy change. Over the past year, we have seen changes in Australia`s immigration policy from looseness to rigour, from the cancellation of 457 visas to frequent adjustments to the employer-guaranteed career list, to the unborn birth of the naturalization bill, and to discussions on the new naturalization bill. A series of changes are highlighting the trend towards tighter immigration policy in Australia.
At the same time, with regard to immigration, the lack of mainstream political representation in Australia has led separatists such as Pauline Hansen Pauline Hanson to exploit the ills of overpopulation to attack Australian refugees. And Muslim and Asian immigrants.
In the midst of the discussion of immigration, we may know that 2018 will be a year of continued adjustment and adaptation of Australia`s immigration policy after a golden age of fast-growing immigrant populations. Let`s wait and see how Australia`s goverment will balance the benefits and disadvantages of immigrant populations.
