The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on Australia’s workforce. While 94% of Australians who lost their jobs or were stood down to zero hours are now back in work, there are still significant skills shortages in the economy.
As a result of COVID-19, over 500,000 temporary visa holders left Australia resulting in significant skills shortages. The Committee has heard that job vacancies in November last year reached 254,000, higher than any point in the last 10 years.
Business NSW told the Committee that half of businesses in NSW are currently experiencing skills shortages. In Western Australia one in three businesses have skilled labour shortages. More than a third (36%) of businesses in the Northern Territory have identified their greatest challenge over the next 3-6 months to be retaining and attracting staff.
The Committee has heard repeatedly that skilled migrants create Australian jobs.
Australia needs to replace the skilled migrants that left our shores as a result of the pandemic. Without the return of skilled migration, Australia’s economic recovery will be severely hampered and it will be harder to create more jobs for Australians.
Employers have made it clear to the Committee that they always prefer to employ Australians over migrants but the skills they need are not always available here.
Skilled migrants are not replacing Australian graduates nor are they replacing unskilled unemployed Australians, but they fill the missing middle of our economy including people who can train Australians and whose presence in a business can create more jobs for Australians.
Australia has always been an attractive destination for migrants. Australia is one of the world’s oldest continuous democracies. A stable, free society with the rule of law; a successful multicultural nation with natural beauty and a temperate climate. But Australia’s excellent response to the health and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and our lack of social unrest has given us a unique opportunity to attract the best and the brightest talent to Australia, not only to fill skills shortages, but also to invest and create new businesses that will provide new employment opportunities for Australians.
Our challenge now, as we enter the next phase of Australia’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, is to ensure we have streamlined processes to make it easier to get the skilled workers Australian businesses need, enabling them to grow and create more jobs. Now is the time to attract highly talented individuals and businesses to Australia. This is an opportunity we will never get again and we need to ensure Australia gets those settings right. The recommendations in this report are aimed at ensuring we can take advantage of that opportunity.
In referring this inquiry to the Committee, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Alex Hawke MP, suggested an interim report be produced by 19 March 2021 given the urgency of these challenges. We have met that timeframe.
This interim report makes recommendations specifically to deal with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The evidence the Committee has received, the issues raised, and recommendations made should assist in steering Australia’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In July this year we will produce a final report which will consider longer term issues regarding the skilled migration program.
I would encourage people who are interested in having a say about the skilled migration program to respond to this interim report. Evidence provided and contributions made will help shape recommendations for the final report.