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Accounting bodies say the process should focus on skills rather than job titles, and reject a proposed wage threshold.
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Make migration flexible, fair and simple, Canberra urged
20 December 2022
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10 minute read
The government should simplify migration processes to entice skilled individuals back to Australia and help solve the talent shortage, say accounting bodies in a joint submission on the issue.
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CPA Australia chief executive Andrew Hunter said the recent Jobs and Skills Summit was just a start.
“The increase in the migration cap after the Jobs and Skills Summit was a great first step,” said Mr Hunter. “More needs to be done in 2023.
“We want the federal government to continue with higher levels of skilled migration and we want to see a public awareness campaign launched to support these workers.
“Flexibility is desperately needed in the migration system to attract new migrants. Australia should support and encourage skilled migration by making the processes simple, fair and flexible.”
Changing from an occupation list to a skills list was one crucial change, said CPA Australian and CA ANZ.
They said the occupation list was outdated because jobs were transforming quickly and so the nation could be missing out on talent in areas of growing need by remaining rigid to specific occupations.
“Our immediate focus must be to remove the barriers that prevent migration from enhancing our country’s productive capacity,” said CA ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen.
“We must evolve our migration system to focus on skills over occupations because this is what employers are seeking, reflecting the rapid job transformation underway in Australia and other economies.”
Mr Hunter agreed and said the government also needed to start recognising education methods not directly comparable to university degrees, as short courses and other training channels increased in popularity.
“The workforce of the future will not be defined by job titles,” he said.
“We want the federal government to scrap occupations-focused migration lists. We need people with the right skills for the future, not the right job titles.
“The way skills are being learned are also changing. Microcredentials and short courses need to be recognised for skilled migrants.”
Both associations said a Grattan Institute recommendation to replace the occupation list with a wage threshold would only create more barriers.
ABS data this week revealed the median annual income for migrants was $45,351 in 2019-20 compared to $52,338 for the population as a whole, but the associations said a threshold would remove potential job opportunities for migrants.
CPA Australia and CA ANZ said, “Accountants and other professionals take time to earn their stripes, which may keep a lid on the wages they command until they do.
“Once they achieve their professional designation, CAs and CPAs can confidently look forward to strong earnings growth.”
The use of a wage threshold instead of occupation list would require prospective migrants to first secure a job, according to the associations.
While the CPA Australia and CA ANZ advocated for the change from a migration occupation list to a migration skill list, having none at all would increase the barriers for possible workers, they said.
“The practical effect of no list but an income threshold would require all prospective migrants to first secure a job,” said the submission.
“However, what matters more is prospective migrants’ abilities to fill roles over their working lives in Australia and their lifetime earnings potential.
“In the absence of a crystal ball, assessment is the best indicator of both.”
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