A story written by Adam Creighton and published in The Australian on 9 August
2017 reports on claims by a researcher that changes to migration rules will reduce
the annual migration intake significantly.
The research was conducted by Bob Birrell – a long term opponent of the migration
program.
An extract from the article:
The study, by the Australian Population Research Institute, suggests such a move
could ease congestion and house price growth. Demographer Bob Birrell says the
number of Australia’s permanent employer sponsor visas will plummet by “at least
two-thirds” and the number of temporary 457 visas issued will fall by “up to half”,
particularly as the government’s changes from March 2018 make it harder for foreign
students to stay on after their studies. The report says the number of permanent employer-sponsored visas will fall by twothirds,
given 250 occupations would in effect no longer be eligible. Employers will be
less interested in sponsorship, too. “They will have to pay additional visa costs and
training levies and they will have to provide evidence that they have labour-market
tested,” the report says, referring to minimum salaries of $53,000 for visa holders.
A link to the full report:
http://tapri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/immigration-reset-7-August-2017-
final.pdf
