Australia’s working visa jobs list contains hundreds of occupations that are either unskilled or have no genuine skills shortages, resulting in the “wrong overseas people” being brought into the country, a leading advocacy group has warned.
A Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) analysis found the skilled migration list used by Home Affairs was outdated and included 691 jobs – more than half – that should be removed as they were either fiercely contested by locals, relatively unskilled, or required local knowledge.
The roles recommended for removal included pet groomers, actors, dancers, acupuncturists, antique dealers, beauty therapists, deer farmers, lifeguards, real estate agents, caravan park managers, marriage counsellors, funeral directors, flower growers and even migration agents.
“The list inexplicably includes jobs that need Australian specialised knowledge, such as aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health worker, solicitor and taxation accountant,” the SPA said.
The SPA called the situation a “complete betrayal” of Australians, pointed to data from last month showing there were 3.61 million people (22.2% of the workforce) who were unemployed or under-employed in February this year, and said visa allocations should match job offers.
SPA National President Peter Strachan said the past two decades proved that so-called “skills shortages” could not be alleviated by mass immigration.
“If skilled migration was the solution, how is it that after adding 5.5 million migrants to Australia’s population this century, the skill shortages seem worse than ever?” he asked.
“Most labour shortages are caused by the high population growth itself. We have many more construction workers per million Australians than just about any other developed country, but they’re not keeping pace with the need for new homes.
“The Grattan Institute reports that migrants who arrived in Australia less than five years ago account for just 2.8% of the construction workforce, which accounts for 4.4% of all workers in Australia.
“The signal is that all temporary visas are pathways to permanence as advertised on The Home Affairs web site, where applicants are advised that they can: live, work and study in Australia indefinitely; sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia; apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.”
The full list can be found on the SPA website here.
Earlier this month former Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson warned that nearly half of all skilled migrant visa holders were working below their skill level, and ANU professor Peter McDonald revealed last year that new skilled arrivals from offshore made up just 12% of the permanent migration program.
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