Immigration in Australia- Strength in diversity.

International immigration has been the most defining national characteristic of Australia for hundreds of years.

The immediate aftermath of colonisation on our indigenous population and the introspection required of a nation with a history like ours echos over the years and is still playing out in present day. Australia still has a long way to go in facing the myriad complex issues and furthermore to build a stronger and more equitable society for every Australian citizen. That said, It is LINK's view that wave after wave of international immigration has made Australia a stronger place, with growing opportunities for more people, and this ongoing immigration has resulted in a country which punches well above its weight in so many areas such as geo-politics, cultural industries and, of course, sport .

We see strength in diversity, perhaps because the team at LINK is representative of the country at large & stronger for it.

We draw from cultural heritages including Chinese, Middle-Eastern,  Vietnamese, Scottish, English, South African, European & Australian - we see the same in our clients and we share a joint mission of building a better Australia now and into the future   This month has seen some interesting firsts for which Australia should be proud, the swearing in of two Muslim members of parliament Anne Aly & Ed Husic as Federal ministers, the elevation of our nation's first Indigenous Supreme Court judge Lincoln Crowley and finally the appointment of ten women in the federal government's cabinet of 23.

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Building an Australia that is the best possible competitor in an increasingly interconnected world requires a firm commitment to sustaining the levels of immigration to our cities and regions. Not just the idea of it - the execution. For a quarter of a century Australian immigration was the highest contributor to population growth, even higher than the contribution of natural increases, births minus deaths.  It has been many months since the release of data which talks to the fact that Australia suffered a net loss of nearly ninety thousand people over the course of 2020 to 2021, which was the second highest number recorded and bested only by the outflow caused by WW1.

Over the course of the pandemic and into the end of 2021, immigration didn't exactly grind to a halt, however the rate fell 71% year on year to only 145 thousand from the previous year's total of over 500 thousand. The real story is visible once we take a closer look at the composition of those numbers because a large proportion of both of those numbers is made up of returning Australians. The comparison is much more pronounced when looking at temporary visa holders which declined from 313 thousand in 2019-2020 to 28 thousand in 2020-2021.  These numbers have an impact on a variety of areas including broader economic growth, the supply of skilled & unskilled labour, the strength and viability of Australia's renowned education sector, diversity, and housing availability to name only a handful.

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It needs to be said that Australia is grappling with supply issues, both in terms of pipeline of stock as well as materials. In LINK's view this needs to be aggressively countered with decisive action from state and federal governments, as well as private industry, to meet current and growing demand. Broadly speaking we are aligned with the principles of sustainability, affordability in the context of a strong pipeline of stock, infrastructure spending but no principle is more important to us than quality, integrity & transparency in the construction industry.

The 'Big Australia' concept which brings a future-facing mentality to create a country which is internationally competitive hinges directly on sustained immigration. All other impacted areas, construction & housing, education, and the provision of health services - need to gear up to match it. We have all seen stories in the national media about businesses crying out for help, highly skilled job vacancies which can't be filled, restaurants closing due to staffing issues. The current migration program makes an allowance for 160 thousand international visa holders to travel to Australia of which 109 thousand are highly skilled migrant visas, an increase of 30 thousand year on year.

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Alarmingly, under the previous government the Home affairs department suffered a budget cut of $875 million which has arguably impacted processing times for workers vital to the success of the Australian economy. Aside from the fact that there are more than 300 thousand people on bridging visas, the current processing time for some highly skilled migrant visas is on average 6 months, with 25% taking around 9 months. Factors outside of Australia's control are also at play. We have not seen the return to pre-pandemic levels of international immigration from China due to the hard-line lockdown approach and travel restrictions in mainland China. Interestingly, Indian citizens comprise the largest national cohort returning to our shores in very healthy numbers - which we expect is a sign of things to come.

LINK welcomes the focus this issue is getting presently and is cautiously optimistic that it will be addressed in a meaningful way. LINK is a strong supporter of a visa system which is focussed on highly skilled permanent migration with a strong focus on eliminating wage theft in other migrant-worker cohorts. LINK advocates for a system which is both fast and well-funded - but just as importantly the composition of our nation's intake should be nimble to meet changing industry needs, focussed on growth & upskilling our companies. But more importantly it's the enduring impact of immigration policy which pays the biggest dividends for our long-term prosperity from both an economic perspective and on a socio-cultural impact.

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