Reshape Australia’s Migration System | Australia Immigration Updates

The government’s migration strategy, unveiled in December, aims to ensure that the limited skilled visas are allocated to the most qualified applicants. By enhancing the skilled migration process, the government hopes to boost productivity and improve budget outcomes while simplifying and making the process more transparent for migrants.

Recent investments in data infrastructure have been crucial in understanding and unlocking these benefits. Effective policy-making relies on accurate data to assess how the system is functioning and the impacts of various policies. Without data, decisions are based on educated guesses.

Key Data Asset: PLIDA

The Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) is a pivotal tool for public service and independent researchers. It links datasets on incomes, visas, social services, healthcare, demographics, and more, providing insights into the migration system and broader economic issues.

Before PLIDA, understanding the income and employment dynamics of different visa holders over time was impossible. Analysts could only use snapshots from the Census or short-term survey data. PLIDA enables a longitudinal view, tracking migrants through various visas until they become citizens, allowing for precise analysis of diverse migrant experiences.

Impact on Policy

Analysis using PLIDA data has driven recent government reforms:

• Business Investment and Innovation Visa (BIIP): The closure of new applications for the BIIP followed Treasury’s modeling using PLIDA, which revealed a significant lifetime cost to the federal budget per recipient. In contrast, employer-sponsored migrants, who typically have higher incomes and younger ages, provide a net benefit to government budgets.

• Temporary Skilled Visa Reforms: Research indicated that temporary skilled migrants earning below $70,000 struggled to negotiate wage increases, suggesting weak bargaining power. Consequently, the government raised the minimum salary requirement for these visas from $53,900 to $70,000.

  
  

• Points-Tested Visas: The government is reforming points-tested visas, which comprise two-thirds of permanent skilled visas. PLIDA data helps identify migrant characteristics that predict high long-run earnings, guiding adjustments to the points system to select higher-skilled migrants. This could boost government budgets significantly over the next three decades.

Future Directions

Further reforms are being considered, including pathways for high-performing students to remain in Australia permanently and changes to regional visas, including working holidaymaker visas.

Data Security and Utilization

PLIDA is managed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which ensures responsible data use and individual privacy. Only approved researchers can access the data through a secure, anonymized portal. Outputs are vetted to prevent identification of individuals.

Despite these safeguards, PLIDA’s full potential is not yet realized due to limited analytical capability in the public service. Greater investment in analytical capacity is necessary to fully leverage PLIDA for policy-making.

Continuing investments in PLIDA will enable Australia to reap substantial rewards from a well-functioning skilled migration program, ensuring that policies are data-driven and effective in meeting national needs.