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Australia is planning to tackle its backlog of permanent residence applications by prioritising 60000 applications from skilled workers residing abroad. This step is being taken as a response to the workforce shortages being faced by Australia owning to processing delays. It has been revealed that Australia has been facing a backlog of almost one million across various visa categories, a problem arose owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clare O’Neil, Australian Home Affairs Minister, has said that Australia immigration would prioritize applicants from offshore, with focus on health, education and aged care. Currently, there are 57906 PR visa applications from overseas skilled workers in the processing stage in Australia.
However, immigration experts are of the opinion that prioritising the applications of skilled workers alone is not enough to tackle the severe labour shortage crisis being faced by Australia. Even Minister O’Neil has admitted that this plan is only a short-term response. She said the Australian government would discuss how the migration program could be tailored to address the long-term challenges with regard to labour shortage crisis at a job summit to be held in September.
Future Australia immigration Target
The previous Morrison government had capped the permanent migration program at 160000 per year. But owing to COVID-19, immigration fell into negative levels, for the first time after the second World War. Australia reopened the international border only on 21 December 2021 and ever since, there has been a gradual rise in migration numbers. But the businesses in the country have still been waiting to hire staff for filling skill shortages. In this context, the Australian Chamber of Commerce has urged the Australian government to expand the annual migration program to 200000 people, in order to boost the economic recovery of the country. They are of the opinion that lack of enough workers is holding back the growth of Australian economy.
Australia is one of the favourite destinations for migration and overseas education. Better career opportunities, high standards of living and higher pay are some of the factors that make Australia attractive for migrants. Are you interested in Australia migration or education? Talk to the Australia immigration experts of CanApprove and find your best options. Connect with us now.
