Burke's quiet visa change prioritises onshore workers

Australia's government is shifting its skilled visa processing to prioritize individuals already within the country, a move aimed at reducing net overseas migration. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke issued a ministerial direction that places jobs in defense at the top of the industry preference list for permanent residency. This aligns with the May budget's outline to reserve 70% of the 185,000 permanent visa places for onshore applicants. The strategy is designed to cosmetically lower net overseas migration figures by converting temporary visa holders, already counted in Australia's population, to permanent status, while simultaneously slowing the intake of new arrivals. This approach comes under pressure from the Coalition and One Nation parties, who advocate for significant migration cuts. Alan Gamlen, director of the ANU Migration Hub, noted that converting existing temporary visas to permanent status is a key lever for reducing the backlog. He explained that this allows prioritization of individuals already contributing to the economy, rather than adding to a queue of new arrivals. However, processing bottlenecks persist, with a substantial number of people on bridging visas. Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary in the Department of Immigration, believes the changes will have a minimal impact on the overall target for net overseas migration. He pointed out that Australia currently hosts around 3 million temporary visa holders, and the government aims to better manage the pathway from temporary to permanent residency for students and skilled workers. While defense and AUKUS-related roles are prioritized, the immediate impact on numbers is expected to be small. Workers in construction, health, and aged care will also see faster processing.

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It allows them to prioritise applications from people who are already here and contributing and working, rather than sort of adding to this potential queue or backlog of people who're coming into the country afresh on new visas.