Australia’s migration system is “broken”, encouraging 1.8 million guest workers to be “permanently temporary” due to strict caps on permanent migration, a landmark review has found. The review, released by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, calls for “major reform”, warning that fixing the system cannot be achieved by “further tinkering and incrementalism”.
The review urges the Albanese government to ditch skills lists, allow more workers in caring occupations, and tackle long wait times for family visas. It notes that while successive governments have imposed caps on permanent migration – currently 195,000 – the temporary migrant cohort has doubled since 2007 to 1.8 million, creating a situation “akin to guest-workers seen in some other countries”.
The rise in “permanently temporary migration” has caused harm to Australia and migrants, undermining community confidence. The review found skills lists and employer sponsorship programmes are outdated, and Australia risks falling behind in international competition for highly skilled migrants. It also highlights labour shortages in lower-paid occupations, particularly in the care sector, and widespread exploitation of temporary migrant workers.
The review recommends lifting the salary threshold for employer-sponsored visas from $53,000 to $91,000, as demanded by unions, and potentially abandoning labour market testing. It also flags that family reunion wait times can take up to 40 years for parents to join their children permanently. The system is described as “neither fast nor efficient” and often perceived as unfair, with complexity increasing costs and incentivising use of migration agents.
