Lobbyists representing more than 60, 000 Australian businesses have criticised Mr. Tan for cutting back on technology and family migrants whose permanent intake has fallen to their lowest level in a decade.
Australia's permanent migration fell by 20, 000 compared with the previous fiscal year, mainly due to a 12000 drop in skilled migrants and a 8000 drop in family migrants.
(Australian Industry Group,Ai Group, the leading Australian industrial group, said the cuts were "disappointing".
"We are a staunch supporter of the immigration program and it is disappointing to see this figure fall sharply below the 2017-18 intake ceiling," said (Innes Willox), head of Ai Group.
The proportion of technical visas to total intake is about 68%, thanks to the government, he said.
But he encouraged the government to "close to the maximum intake", or one hundred and ninety thousand, in the current fiscal year. Despite a drop in real figures this year, the official government ceiling remains at one hundred and ninety thousand.
"skilled immigrants bring the greatest economic benefits to Australian society through their direct contribution to our country's employment and skills base," he said.
"the expertise that many people bring to us by deepening our entrepreneurship, innovation and international connectivity has also generated greater benefits for us."
The Australian Federation of Commerce and Industry has slammed immigration cuts, saying employers have paid a political price for government's failure to keep up with infrastructure needs in developing cities.
"this is a real crisis," said CEO Pearson (James Pearson) of the Federation of Commerce and Industry. "this is a problem, especially for township enterprises serving township areas. Politicians have failed to properly plan for population growth in Sydney and Melbourne, and Australia's villages and towns are paying for it because our skilled immigrants have been quietly cut back. "
Interior Secretary Dutton (Peter Dutton) said the cuts were the result of a more rigorous review process by Unionparty government, with new data matching techniques helping to uncover some "fraudulent" applications.
"We will not allow people with fraudulent applications and false information to come in," Dutton told reporters in Kunzhou on Friday.
"if you put these people in here, like Labour, and you don't have enough documentation to meet the demands of our reviewers, these results are not going to work for the economy."
In February, Finance Minister Morrison (Scott Morrison) responded to a call by his colleague Albert for a cut in the immigration cap to defend the economic benefits of the plan.
"as skilled immigrants, they have to pay taxes," the chancellor responded at the time. "they actually made a net contribution to the economy."
Australia's small Business Council says its members will be hurt, particularly in sectors such as retail and manufacturing.
"right now, I hear from members that it's getting harder and harder to recruit skilled workers," said the committee's strong (Peter Strong). "this is feedback from the IGAs (independent grocer), so this may not be a good message. We need to make sure that our immigration intake continues to rise, which is wise, and that we need immigrants in our workforce. "
Labour's former MP, Mr Abanes (Anthony Albanese), said the drop in immigration was a "good result".
"of course, if there's more integrity in the system, that's a good result," he said on Friday. "remember, according to government's own figures last year, there were 20, 000 fewer people. If they are more strict with their own systems to ensure the integrity of the system, then, of course, this is a good thing. "
CEO Campbell (Emma Campbell) of the Federation of Minority Communities said the cuts in family visas would also have an impact on the economy.
Skilled immigrants usually use family visas to bring their partners or parents to Australia.
"We need a diverse immigration system," Campbell said. "Family reunification and family immigration visas help contribute to a strong, socially cohesive Australia, and they also make an important contribution to the economy."