Fragomen Welcomes Several Migration Measures in 2024-2025 Australian Budget, But Notes Some May Have Negative Economic Impact

SYDNEY – 17 May 2024 – Fragomen, the world’s leading provider of immigration services, carefully reviewed the Australian government’s Federal Budget for the 2024-25 financial year, specifically the numerous provisions addressing migration and visa pathways for global talent. The firm welcomes a number of measures as a positive step for bringing more skilled workers into the system to fill labour shortages, other measures could go further to meet the needs of businesses in critical and growth sectors such as healthcare, IT, energy, infrastructure and education.

“The government’s 2024-2025 budget migration measures address key elements of policy that will positively impact Australia, confirming the government’s ongoing commitment to system reforms to drive greater economic prosperity and restore its integrity,” said Teresa Liu, Managing Partner of Fragomen's Australia and New Zealand practice. “However, to maintain Australia’s ranking as one of the top countries for attracting and nurturing global talent, measures such as the cap on international students and potential changes stemming from the new National Innovation visa coming later this year, may have an adverse effect. We encourage the government to look at the impact of these provisions more closely as they are implemented.”

"Migration is a cornerstone of Australia's economic strength and sustainability. Sound migration policy helps address critical skills shortages, an ageing population while also helping drive advancements and innovations, ensuring Australia remains a competitive and vibrant nation,” said Chris Spentzaris, Fragomen Partner. “We are closely monitoring other changes and updates, including the release of the new Core Skills Occupations List, changes to labour market testing requirements and a recalibration of the points test to further assess the broad impact to Australian companies and the economy.”

The following key migration measures will be implemented:

• Introduction of a new National Innovation visa in late 2024 to attract exceptionally talented migrants and replace the Global Talent visa and the Business Innovation and Investment visa programs (BIIP).
• Reduction of Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 work experience requirement from two years to one year from 23 November 2024. This change will likely carry across to the new Skills in Demand visa set to supersede the TSS visa program in late 2024 and will also open up opportunities for graduates and early career professionals to meet eligibility criteria for the Skills in Demand visa.
• Introduction of a new Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) program for Indian nationals from 1 November 2024.
• Extension of Business Visitor visa validity periods for Indian nationals from up to three years to up to five years.
• Assessment and consideration of a modern technological solution for the assessment of trade skills for skilled migrants by Trades Recognition Australia to make skilled workers more rapidly available to employers.
• Introduction of a ballot process for Work and Holiday visas for nationals of China, India and Vietnam.
• Cap on international student intake numbers across all education providers.
• Investment of $1 billion AUD over five years to establish and support the operation of the new Administrative Review Tribunal, set to replace the current Administrative Appeals Tribunal and $115.6 million AUD to address court backlogs associated with higher numbers of applications for judicial review of migration decisions.
• Investment of $100 million AUD to the Department of Home Affairs to support the performance of core functions including Australian Border Force operations and immigration compliance activities.
• Allocation of $15 million AUD over three years from 2024-25 for information and education activities about workplace safeguards, protections and compliance measures relating to migration laws.
• Allocation of $1.9 million AUD for a data-matching pilot with the Australian Taxation Office of income and employment data to be used to crack down on migrant worker exploitation and abuse of Australia’s labour market and migration system.

About Fragomen

Fragomen is a leading firm dedicated to immigration services worldwide. The firm has nearly 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. Fragomen Technologies Inc., a Fragomen subsidiary, focuses on the nexus of law and technology to further enhance the firm’s productivity, efficiency, innovation and overall 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.

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