{"id":42459,"date":"2023-05-10T14:44:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T04:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/?p=42459"},"modified":"2023-10-19T11:15:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T11:15:11","slug":"the-impacts-of-the-2023-budget-on-migration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/news\/the-impacts-of-the-2023-budget-on-migration","title":{"rendered":"The impacts of the 2023 Budget on migration"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It has been quite the week for the Australian immigration program. \u00a0Our CEO and Global Immigration Leader, Jamie Lingham, provides an outline and commentary of the impacts that are going to be experienced by employers of foreign workers and individual visa holders.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s announcement by the Hon Clare O\u2019Neil in relation to significant changes to the program and yesterday\u2019s budget announcement will be of interest to employers of overseas foreign nationals.<\/p>\n

As often happens, the timing and practicality of proposed changes may not be in step with Ministerial announcements, and as the dust settles, we are getting clarity as to what this means for migrants and companies that sponsor workers who require a visa.<\/p>\n

The key upcoming changes to the sponsored worker program include the increase to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) to $70,000 (plus Super), and a pathway to employer nominated permanent residence for all 482 visa holders, who have held that visa for at least 2 years, regardless of the occupation.<\/p>\n

In addition, last Friday\u2019s announcement in relation to a new Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement appears to set the tone for sponsors of workers in traditionally low-paid industries and our expectation is that similar announcements for the Child Care and Hospitality sectors are not far behind.<\/p>\n

We welcome the proposed changes, but the devil will be in the detail as to how the permanent program will continue to cater to this cohort, especially when the government is calling for a reduced intake of migrants in subsequent years.<\/p>\n

With the number of job vacancies currently sitting at 438,500 (at the time of writing<\/em>), sudden and significant pay increases may only add fuel to the inflation fire, where bringing in skilled and experienced workers will be the respite that burnt-out Australian employees desperately need.<\/p>\n

A further indication as to the intentions for the immigration program has come through yesterday\u2019s announcement of the Government\u2019s Federal Budget 2023. As one would expect, there are several impacts on employers of overseas foreign nationals.<\/p>\n

We have provided a summary below and some suggestions as to actions that can be taken by individuals and companies to minimise the impacts that these changes will have on the bottom line.<\/p>\n

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Migration Places for 2023-24<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The 2023-24 migration planning level will be\u00a0190,000\u00a0<\/strong>places, with\u00a0137,100<\/strong>\u00a0allocated to the skilled migration stream, which is 5,000 less than the places offered in the 2022-23 planning levels.<\/p>\n

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Increase to visa application fees<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Visa Classes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Percentage increase<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Visitor, working holiday, work and holiday, training, temporary activity and temporary work (short stay specialist) visas<\/td>\n\n

15%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Business innovation and investment visas<\/td>\n\n

40%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Other visas<\/td>\n\n

6%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Pacific Engagement Visa and Pacific Australia Labour Mobility visas<\/td>\n\n

Exempt from increase<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

We would strongly encourage clients who can lodge visas before<\/strong> 1 July, to take steps to do so as a matter of priority.<\/p>\n

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Increase to Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Government will increase the TSMIT from the current rate of $53,900 to $70,000 from 1 July 2023.<\/p>\n