Clare O’Neil, the minister of home affairs, described the steps the government will take to address the problem.
As the federal government concentrates its reaction on labour shortages being hampered by processing delays, 60,000 permanent visa applications submitted by skilled workers living overseas will be given priority in order to reduce Australia’s visa backlog.
It has been discovered that the government is currently dealing with a backlog of nearly a million visa applications across a number of visa categories, a problem caused by the COVID-19 border shutdown.
The Department of Home Affairs has increased staff and diverted resources to deal with the visa backlog, which has increased wait times for applicants.
But Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has now said that the government’s strategy will give talented foreign applicants priority, with a concentration on the fields of health, education, and elderly care.
She said on ABC Radio on Wednesday that “the real focus for me is what we can do within the restrictions of the system to quickly move through that backlog.”
“The change is giving priority to people from abroad who want to come work here, and we’re processing those applications as rapidly as we can,” said the spokesperson.
According to recent government statistics, there are currently 961,016 visa applications pending in all categories, of which 560,187 were submitted by non-Australian citizens.
57,906 skilled employees who want permanent visas are included. 13,806 more people from abroad are requesting temporary visas.
This initial response, according to Associate Professor Anna Boucher of the University of Sydney, would simply be the first step in addressing the “huge” immigration backlog.
As the unemployment rate continues to decline, she said, “It’s a drop in the ocean when we are talking about a backlog that is close to a million and we need close to half a million jobs.”
“Even if they took all of those people waiting for permanent visas and all of the people waiting for temporary visas, it’s still not going to cover the scope of the talent need.”
The government will examine how the migration programme may be customised to solve long-term difficulties during a jobs summit on the first and second of September, according to Ms. O’Neil, who has acknowledged that the first plan is a short-term solution.
Our immigration policy is a sacred exercise in nation-building, she continued, so we need to give it some serious thought, have a fruitful community discussion, and properly plan it.
Ms. O’Neil, who recently travelled to Sri Lanka, also used her interview to emphasise that Australia was still dedicated to turning back boat arrivals because she was concerned that the country’s economic crisis, which is also affecting South Asia, would inspire more individuals to take the risk.
Reiterating that Operation Sovereign Borders is Australian government policy is the most critical thing I can do in my role, she said.
You will be turned back if you board a boat thinking you can establish a life in Australia.
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