RESEARCH PAPER SERIES, 2020–21   20 December 2021

Australia's Permanent Migration Program: a quick guide

Harriet Spinks

Social Policy

1 Introduction

As part of its planned Migration Program, the federal government allocates places each year for people wanting to migrate permanently to Australia. ‘Migration Program’ refers to the number of visas issued for permanent residence in skilled, family and special eligibility categories. Temporary entrants are not included in Migration Program figures. New Zealand citizens on a Special Category visa and entrants under the permanent Humanitarian Program are also not included.

The focus of the permanent Migration Program has changed since 1945 when the first federal immigration portfolio was created. Australia’s immigration policies have changed from attracting migrants (primarily from the United Kingdom) for the purpose of increasing Australia’s population, to attracting workers and temporary migrants in order to meet the labour market needs of the economy.

This quick guide briefly outlines the current Migration Program settings and discusses shifts in numbers and focus since 1945. Some impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Migration Program are also identified. This publication is focused on permanent migration and so does not discuss the range of temporary visa programs available, other than in the context of the links between temporary and permanent migration.

Migration Program statistics from 1984–85 to 2020–21 are provided in the Appendix.

2 Australia’s Migration Program

Australia first established a federal department dedicated to immigration in 1945. Since then, more than seven million permanent migrants have settled in Australia through either the Migration Program for skilled and family migrants or the Humanitarian Program for refugees and those in refugee-like situations.

By 1945, the government was keen to boost the Australian population in order to stimulate post-war economic development and to increase the numbers of people able to defend the country in the event of another war.¹ The intention was to increase the population by 1 per cent per annum through immigration, which alongside natural increase would achieve an overall annual growth rate of 2 per cent. As a result of the post-war government’s new focus, the proportion of the Australian population born overseas rapidly increased from 9.8 per cent in 1947 to 21 per cent in 1971. This figure has continued to grow, to just over one quarter (26 per cent) of Australia’s resident population born overseas according to the 2016 Census data.

Over the years, Migration Program planning numbers have fluctuated according to the priorities and economic and political considerations of the government of the day. For the last ten years, planning figures have fluctuated somewhere between 160,000 and 190,000. Between 2013–14 and 2018–19 the planning level was 190,000 places each year, but this was reduced to 160,000 in 2019–20. For the 2021–22 program year the planning figure remains 160,000. (It is worth noting that since 2015, the government has considered the Migration Program planning level as a ‘ceiling’ rather than a ‘target’.)

3 Current program settings

The permanent Migration Program is currently organised into four streams:

• the skill stream, for people with skills in demand in Australia, designed to boost productivity and fill skills gaps in the labour market

• the family stream, for family members (excluding child visas, which are a separate stream) of Australian citizens and permanent residents

• the special eligibility stream, for those in special circumstances who do not fit into other streams, particularly former permanent residents returning to Australia (this stream is very small, with only a few hundred visas granted annually in recent years)

• the child stream, for dependent children of Australian citizens or permanent residents. This stream is demand-driven, and so is not capped, but is estimated at around 3,000 places each year.

The skill stream and the family stream account for the majority of visas granted under the Migration Program. See the Appendix for visa grant statistics by stream from 1984–85 onwards.

In 2020–21 there were 160,052 visa grants under the Migration Program. Table 1 shows the breakdown by stream and category.

Table 1: Migration Program visa grants by stream and category, 2020–21

Stream

Category

Visa grants

Skill Stream

Employer sponsored

23,503

Skilled Independent

7,213

Regional

13,585

State/Territory Nominated

14,268

Business Innovation and Investment

11,198

Global Talent

9,584

Distinguished Talent

269

Total Skill

79,620

Family Stream

Partner

72,376

Parent

4,500

Other Family

496

Total Family

77,372

Special Eligibility

54

Child

3,006

Total

160,052

Source: Department of Home Affairs, 2020-21 Migration Program Report, (Canberra: Home Affairs, 2021); Parliamentary Library.

Skill stream

The skill stream of the Migration Program is designed to meet Australia’s economic and labour market needs through the admission of highly skilled, economically productive migrants. It currently includes the following categories:

• Employer sponsored category, for those who have an employer willing to sponsor them. The relevant visa subclass is the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186).

• Skilled Independent category, for skilled workers who do not have an employer sponsoring them. Migrants are selected on the basis of their occupation, age, skills, qualifications, English language ability and employability. The relevant visa subclass is the Skilled independent visa (subclass 189) – points tested stream.

• Regional category, for skilled migrants who are willing to live and work in a designated regional area. Relevant visa subclasses include the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494), Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) (which is only available to eligible temporary skilled visa holders transitioning to a permanent visa). The two provisional skilled visas (subclass 494 and subclass 491) will lead to eligibility for a Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191), which will commence in November 2022.

• State/Territory nominated category, for those who have relevant skills in an occupation in demand in a particular state or territory and are nominated by that same jurisdiction. The relevant visa subclass is the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190). Each state and territory determines its own criteria for nomination, and is allocated a certain number of places each year.

• Business Innovation and Investment Program, which encourages successful business people to settle in Australia and develop new business opportunities. Relevant visas subclasses are the Business Innovation and Investment (permanent) visa (subclass 888) and Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) visa (subclass 188).

• Global Talent Visa Program, for people who are highly skilled in one of ten target sectors, and can demonstrate they are internationally recognised as outstanding in their field. The relevant visa is the Global Talent stream of the Global Talent visa (subclass 858).

• Distinguished Talent category, for people who have an internationally-recognised record of outstanding achievement in a profession, a sport, the arts, academia or research. The relevant visa is the Distinguished Talent stream of the Global Talent visa (subclass 858).

There is some overlap in these categories—for example, applicants in regional category visas may be nominated by a state or territory, or sponsored by an employer. For most of the above visa categories, prospective skilled migrants to Australia must first submit an expression of interest via the SkillSelect website and wait for an invitation to apply for a visa. For many visas, applicants must also have an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list. The lists aim to identify occupation gaps in the Australian labour market which could be filled using skilled migration, where Australian workers are not available. The combined Skilled Migration Occupation List is revised periodically by the National Skills Commission. It includes a Short-Term Skilled Occupation list, a Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List, and a Regional Occupation List with specific occupations for the regional visas. A Priority Migration Skilled Occupations List was introduced in September 2020 as a temporary measure to facilitate entry of workers in critical sectors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last two decades, changes to the skill stream of the Migration Program have been designed to shift the balance of the program away from independent skilled migrants, who do not have employment arranged in Australia prior to migration, towards sponsored skilled migrants, and those in the business and global talent categories. Each year the Australian Government sets priority categories for the skill stream, and in recent years the Business Innovation and Investment, Global Talent, and Employer Sponsored categories have been identified as the top three priority cohorts.

The Business Innovation and Investment Program offers visas to people who can demonstrate a history of business success and innovation, and are able to make certain investments in Australia’s economy. Visa holders in this category must first obtain a provisional visa, and then transition to a permanent visa after making the required qualifying investment or meeting the relevant business operation requirements. The Global Talent Program was introduced in 2018–19 as pilot scheme, offering a pathway to a permanent visa after an initial temporary visa for three years. In 2019–20, there were 5,000 places available under the scheme. In 2021–22, the program grew to 15,000 planned permanent places. In 2021–22, the Business Innovation and Investment and Global Talent Programs combined are expected to comprise over a third (36 per cent) of the total skill stream of the Migration Program. In 2020–21, the Employer sponsored category accounted for 30 per cent of the skill stream, while the Skilled Independent category accounted for 9 per cent. This represents a notable change from 2000–01, when 50 per cent of skill stream visas went to the Skilled Independent category, and 17 per cent went to the Employer Sponsored category.

Family stream

The family stream of the Migration Program provides for the migration of immediate family members of Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens. Family members admitted under this stream include partners, parents, orphan relatives, aged dependent relatives and carers. There is no skills test or language requirement for family migration as there is for skilled migrants, however applicants must meet specified health and character requirements.

The family stream comprises three main categories:

• Partner, including spouses, de facto partners (including same-sex partners), and fiancés. Relevant visa subclasses are Partner (onshore) (subclass 820/801) and Partner (offshore) (subclass 309/100).

• Parent, including Parent and Aged Parent category visas. Relevant visa subclasses are Parent (subclass 103); Aged Parent (subclass 804); Contributory Parent (subclass 143); and Contributory Aged Parent (subclass 864).

• Other Family, including aged dependent relative, remaining relative, orphan relative, and carer categories. Relevant visa subclasses are Aged Dependent Relative (onshore) (subclass 838); Aged Dependent Relative (offshore) (subclass 114); Carer (onshore) (subclass 836); Carer (offshore) (subclass 116); Orphan Relative (onshore) (subclass 837); Orphan Relative (offshore) (subclass 117); Remaining Relative (onshore) (subclass 835); and Remaining Relative (offshore) (subclass 115).

Until 2015, child category visas were also counted within the family stream of the Migration Program, however these are now counted separately and are not subject to planning levels or caps. Relevant visa subclasses in the child category are Adoption visa (subclass 102), Child visa (offshore) (subclass 101) and Child visa (onshore) (subclass 802).

The largest category under the family stream is the Partner category, which comprised 94 per cent of the family stream in 2020–21 with 77,372 visa grants. This compares to 4,500 visas in the Parent category and 496 visas in the Other Family category for the same period.

Capping and queuing

Some family stream visas are subject to a process known as ‘capping and queueing’. Under section 85 of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) the Minister may determine the maximum number of visas which may be granted in each financial year in certain visa classes. If a visa class is ‘capped’ then once the number of visas granted that year reaches the determined maximum number, no more visas of that class may be granted in that year. Remaining visa applications are then ‘queued’ for processing in the next financial year.

All Parent and Other Family visa subclasses are currently capped and queued, and demand for these visas significantly outstrips supply, resulting in very long processing times for these visas. At the time of writing, the Department of Home Affairs web site states that new applications for Contributory parent category visas are estimated to take at least 64 months to be released for final processing, and new applications for non-contributory Parent category visas will likely be queued for at least 30 years before being released for final processing. This difference in processing times is due to more places being allocated to contributory Parent category visas than to non-contributory ones—there were 3,600 contributory parent visas granted, compared to 900 non-contributory visas in 2020–21. While the contributory Parent and Aged Parent visas, have a shorter waiting time, they also have considerably higher visa application charges than the non-contributory visas, at around $48,000 for the former compared to around $6,500 for the latter.

Section 87 of the Act prevents Partner and Child visas from being capped. However, Partner visas are still subject to planning levels, and the Department states that there is ‘scope in administering the program to consider planning levels and prioritise processing accordingly’ (p. 29). Consequently, there is a significant ‘pipeline’ of Partner visa applications awaiting finalisation and it can take up to two years for an application to be finalised. The Government has responded to concerns over delays in Partner visa processing by making more places available in this category over the last two years (see below).

The use of planning figures and processing priorities to limit the number of Partner visas available each year has been criticised by a former senior Immigration Department official, and by Labor MP Julian Hill, as being unlawful on the basis that it operates as a de facto cap on Partner visas in breach of section 87 of the Act. Issues relating to the cost, fairness and timeliness of processing of Partner and other family visas are currently the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry, which is due to report in March 2022.

4 Trends in the Migration Program

Balance between skill and family streams

The emphasis of Australia’s Migration Program has changed from its original focus of attracting migrants to increase Australia’s population, to an emphasis on attracting skilled migrants to meet Australia’s labour market needs. This has resulted in notable differences in the balance of the program between the skill and family streams.

Historically, more permanent migrants arrived under the family stream than the skill stream, but since the mid-1990s the balance has shifted markedly in favour of the skill stream. In 1996 the Howard Government explained the reasons for this shift:

The Government has revamped the Migration (Non-Humanitarian) Programme to improve the focus on Australia's social and economic needs ... While maintaining an ongoing commitment to family reunion, the 1996–97 Programme of 74,000 incorporates a significant shift towards skilled migration. Skilled migrants make a particular contribution to Australia's economic development and their representation will be increased in the Programme.

In 1996–97, skilled migration made up 37 per cent of the Migration Program. The split between the two streams subsequently shifted in favour of the skill stream, and has been roughly two-thirds skill and one-third family. In 2019–20, the skill stream accounted for 70 per cent of the total Program. However, 2020–21 saw a return to a more equal balance between skilled and family migration due to a decision by Government to attempt to clear a significant backlog in Partner visa applications.

Figure 1: Migration Program 2011–12 to 2020–21, percentage of skill and family streams

Source: Department of Home Affairs, Report on the Migration Program, (Canberra: Home Affairs, 2011 to 2021 editions); Parliamentary Library.

The increase in places for Partner visas is also designed to assist in meeting the Migration Program planning levels in the context of COVID-19, by granting visas to people already in Australia on temporary visas. This will somewhat alleviate the impact of border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which have significantly affected the ability of new migrants to enter Australia.

This more equal balance has been retained in the planning levels for 2021–22, although it is described by the Department of Home Affairs as a ‘temporary measure’. When announcing the 2020–21 planning levels the Government stated:

This will give more certainty to those wanting to settle in Australia with their partners and plan for their futures. It will address nearly all the present applicants awaiting finalisation of their visa. It is expected that 75 per cent of Partner visas will go to those already in Australia.

It is important to note that reported totals of visas granted under the Migration Program (both skill and family streams) include both the primary applicant (that is, the person who applied to migrate) and secondary applicants (the primary applicant’s dependent family members). Thus, while most of the places under the Migration Program are allocated to the skill stream, many people granted visas under this stream are in fact family members of skilled migrants. Some of these family members may also have skills in demand in Australia, but the visa application process does not require this (and many secondary applicants are children). In 2019–20, less than half (46 per cent) of skill stream visas granted went to primary applicants, meaning more than half of skill stream visa grants went to secondary applicants.

Temporary to permanent migration

While fluctuations in the size and composition of the permanent Migration Program are significant, arguably the greatest change in immigration patterns to Australia in recent decades has been the growth of long-term temporary migration. Temporary migrants do not comprise part of the Migration Program, however temporary migration has increasingly become the first step towards permanent settlement in Australia for many people.

This change has been facilitated by policy settings making it possible for temporary migrants to transition to permanent visas, which governments have at times encouraged as a means of optimising the skilled migrant intake. In 2014, for example, then Immigration Minister Scott Morrison noted that the temporary skilled migrant visa program ‘enables us to handpick those migrants for permanent residency who have already demonstrated their ability to make a contribution - that is what our immigration program is supposed to be all about.’

The growth of ‘two-step’ migration is demonstrated by the changing composition of Australia’s permanent skilled migrant intake over the last ten years. Figure 2 shows the numbers of permanent skilled visas granted each year since 2004–05 to people who were offshore (outside Australia) at the time of application, and people who were onshore (in Australia on a temporary visa). As can be seen, the proportion of permanent skilled visas granted to people already in Australia has grown substantially. In 2004–05, onshore visa grants made up around 37 per cent of all permanent skilled visa grants. By 2013–14 this was up to almost 60 per cent, then hovered at around 55 to 58 per cent for several years. In the last two years the rate has been higher still, at around 70 per cent, pushed up by government efforts to deliver the Migration Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 2: Permanent skilled visa grants to applicants by location (offshore and onshore), 2004–05 to 2020–21

Source: Department of Home Affairs, Report on the Migration Program, (Canberra: Home Affairs, 2011 to 2021 editions); Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), Population Flows: Immigration Aspects, (Canberra: DIBP, 2005 to 2010 editions); Parliamentary Library.

5 Further reading

• Department of Home Affairs, ‘Migration Program statistics’ web page.

• Department of Home Affairs, The Administration of the Immigration and Citizenship Programs, eighth edition, October 2021.

• Department of Home Affairs, Planning Australia’s 2022–23 Migration Program, discussion paper, November 2021.

6 Appendix: Migration Program outcomes by stream, 1984–85 to 2020–21

Year

Family stream¹

Child visa²

Skill stream

Special Eligibility

Total

1984–85

43,000

1,200

10,100

200

54,500

1985–86

62,100

1,300

16,200

400

80,000

1986–87

70,700

1,900

28,500

600

101,700

1987–88

77,500

2,000

42,000

600

122,100

1988–89

70,400

2,300

51,200

800

124,700

1989–90

64,500

2,100

52,700

900

120,200

1990–91

59,300

2,000

49,800

1,200

112,200

1991–92

53,700

2,200

41,400

1,700

98,900

1992–93

42,600

2,700

21,300

1,400

67,900

1993–94

40,700

2,500

18,300

1,300

62,800

1994–95

42,000

2,500

30,400

1,600

76,500

1995–96

53,870

2,830

24,100

1,700

82,500

1996–97

34,993

2,183

34,676

1,735

73,587

1997–98

29,093

2,188

34,446

1,113

66,840

1998–99

29,967

2,071

34,895

888

67,821

1999–00

29,855

2,162

35,352

2,868

70,237

2000–01

31,337

2,124

44,721

2,415

80,597

2001–02

35,920

2,162

53,507

1,465

93,054

2002–03

38,113

2,681

66,053

1,225

108,072

2003–04

39,567

2,662

71,243

890

114,362

2004–05

39,245

2,491

77,878

450

120,064

2005–06

42,744

2,547

97,336

306

142,933

2006–07

47,071

3,008

97,922

199

148,200

2007–08

46,808

3,062

108,540

220

158,630

2008–09

53,128

3,238

114,777

175

171,318

2009–10

56,710

3,544

107,868

501

168,623

2010–11

51,243

3,300

113,725

417

168,685

2011–12

54,904

3,700

125,755

639

184,998

2012–13

56,335

3,850

128,973

842

190,000

2013–14

57,262

3,850

128,550

338

190,000

2014–15

56,950

4,135

127,774

238

189,097

2015–16

57,400

3,512

128,550

308

189,770

2016–17

56,220

3,400

123,567

421

183,608

2017–18

47,732

3,350

111,099

236

162,417

2018–19

47,247

3,248

109,713

115

160,323

2019–20

41,961

2,481

95,843

81

140,366

2020–21

77,372

3,006

79,620

54

160,052

Sources: Department of Home Affairs, Historical Migration Statistics and 2020–21 Migration Program Report.

1. Excludes Child visas for comparative purposes.

2. From 2015–16, Child visa outcomes (excluding Orphan Relative visas) are no longer part of the managed Migration Program   .

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Notes

[←1]

.    J Jupp, The Australian People: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 62.