Fragomen Applauds Latest Steps Announced by Minister O’Neil Related to Reform of Australia’s Migration System

SYDNEY – 27 April, 2023 – Fragomen, the world’s leading provider of immigration services, offers the following response to Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon. Clare O'Neil’s National Press Club address on the future of Australia’s Migration System.

“Fragomen supports the initiative to reform Australia’s migration system. We recognize the important economic benefits brought to our country by providing greater opportunities and easier pathways for immigrants from all over the world. There are numerous reasons to improve the current system, including addressing our critical skills shortage across several sectors which will work to increase our competitiveness on the worlds’ stage. Many other countries are struggling with similar issues but have yet to go forward with comprehensive reform. We applaud this effort and look forward to working with the government as it comes to fruition.”

The Minister made three key statements:

• From 1 July 2023, that the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) that determines the minimum market salary level under the standard Temporary Skilled Shortage (TSS) visa will increase from AUD53,900 to AUD70,000. This is the first increase in a decade.
• By the end of 2023, all temporary skilled workers on the TSS short term stream will have a pathway to permanent residency within the existing capped permanent program; and
• During May and June of this year that there will be consultation with state and territory government and key stakeholders - unions, business groups and civil society - on the outline of the Migration Strategy and the critical policy shifts proposed, with the release of the final strategy later in 2023.

Fragomen works with Australian and global companies to bring talent to the country and has seen first-hand the critical need for a better migration system as well as ways that it could be improved to benefit the government and businesses alike and the prosperity of Australia. The firm looks forward to participating and continuing to provide views on this critical reform to the migration program and system, including initial solutions regarding a three-tiered sponsored visa approach, permanent pathways, and in the policy design and enforcement to address migrant worker exploitation.

We continue to recommend the following areas for reform, and consistent to more recent submissions to Government inquiries:

• Introduction of a dedicated intra-corporate transfer (“ICT”) visa, in recognition of an increasingly globalised workforce, and the unique multinational company specific knowledge and skills that intra-corporate employees bring to Australia. ICT visas are common in several key countries around the world including the US, UK and Singapore;
• Flexibility and portability of sponsored temporary visas including relaxation of the current more restrictive settings in transitioning to permanent residence;
• Revision of the Labour Market Testing requirements;
• Introduction of external review processes for skills assessments that are required for temporary and permanent visas;
• Adjustments to the Accredited Sponsor program so that trusted and compliant employers are recognised and are provided with more beneficial processing arrangements;
• Simplification of the rules and administration related to the migration program;
• A better mechanism to define skills shortages, including the removal of, or broader consolidation of the current set of occupation lists;
• More defined and clearer pathways to permanent residence, including that temporary visa holders have a pathway to permanent residence;
• Broadening eligibility for skilled permanent residence programs, including an increase to age limits, and expanding occupations eligible for the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa. Fragomen also recommends a relaxation of the qualifying period for the subclass 186 visa under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream;
• Review of the Global Talent program criteria, to provide greater clarity and prevent delays in processing of Expressions of Interest. This will help to ensure that the subclass 858 visa remains a truly fast-tracked pathway to permanent residence, while ensuring the integrity of the program as a means of attracting exceptional talent to Australia; and
• Measures that protect Australian local employment and training and that reduce the potential for worker exploitation.

About Fragomen

Fragomen is a leading firm dedicated to immigration services worldwide. The firm has 6,000 immigration professionals and support staff in more than 60 offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. A member of the Am Law 100 and Am Law Global 100, Fragomen offers immigration support in more than 170 countries. Fragomen’s professionals are respected leaders in the immigration field, and the firm is regularly recognized as a leading employer of minority and female attorneys.

The firm supports all aspects of global immigration for corporate, academic, nonprofit, and individual clients, including strategic planning, quality management, reporting, case management and processing, compliance program counseling, representation in government investigations, government relations, complex matter solutions, and litigation.

Fragomen is a long-time leader in the immigration technology space and continues to lead the way in the digitization of the immigration journey. It has created Fragomen Technologies Inc., a Fragomen subsidiary focused on the nexus of law and technology to further enhance its technology offering.

These capabilities allow Fragomen to work in partnership with individuals and corporate clients across all industries to plan talent strategy, facilitate the transfer of employees worldwide, and navigate complex challenges. For detailed information about Fragomen, click here.

Media Contacts:

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Alison Swenton Arjoon, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer
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