Australia’s 2024-2025 budget was published last night. It includes significant changes to Australia's visa system. These measures aim to balance economic growth, social cohesion, and national interests. Let’s dive into the key updates:
Migration Program Planning Level
The Government will set the 2024–25 permanent Migration Program planning level at 185,000 places. It will allocate 132,200 places (around 70%) to the Skill stream. This is a slight reduction of 5,000 places compared with the 2023–24 planning level of 190,000 places.
From 2025–26, the Government will extend the planning horizon for the permanent Migration Program from one year to four years.
Work Experience Reduced for Subclass 482 Visas
The work experience requirement for the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa will reduce from two years to one year for all applicants from 23 November 2024 onwards.
It is not clear how this change will be implemented, considering that new Skills in Demand visa is expected to replace subclass 482 visas by the end of 2024.
Trade Skills Assessments
The Government will work to develop a modern IT solution for the assessment of trade skills for skilled migrants by Trades Recognition Australia.
Work and Holiday visa - China Vietnam and India
From 2024-2025, the Government will introduce a visa pre-application (ballot) process for the capped Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa program for China, Vietnam and India. A ballot charge of $25 will apply and it will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index in future years.
Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES)
The Government will implement a new Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) program for Indian nationals from 1 November 2024.
MATES will provide a new mobility pathway for 3,000 Indian graduates and early career professionals (aged 18 to 30 years at the time of application), with knowledge and skills in targeted fields of study to live and work in Australia for up to two years.
The visa will have a pre-application (ballot) charge of $25 and an application charge of $365, both of which will be indexed to the consumer price index in future years. This measure is part of the Australia-India Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA).
Visitor visas for Indian Nationals
The Government also lengthened the validity of the Visitor visa (subclass 600) Business Visitor stream for Indian nationals from up to three years to up to five years.
The New National Innovation Visa
The current Global Talent visa (subclass 858) will be replaced by the new National Innovation visa from late 2024. The National Innovation visa will target exceptionally talented migrants who will drive growth in sectors of national importance. No further details on visa eligibility are available at this stage.
Business Visa Program (BIIP) Closure
The Business Innovation and Investment visa program (BIIP) will cease. Refunds of visa application charge will be provided from September 2024 for those who wish to withdraw their BIIP application. The budget implies that a new visa to replace BIIP program will be implemented however no details are provided.
Net Overseas Migration
Net Overseas Migration (NOM) is the net gain or loss of population through international migration to and from Australia. In other words, the number of people entering and staying in Australia for at least 12 months, less the number of people leaving Australia. It is a indication of how quickly Australia's population is growing due to immigration.
In the year ending 30 June 2023, overseas migration contributed a net gain of 518,000 people to Australia's population. This was the largest net overseas migration estimate since records began. The spike is attributed to the removal of Covid-19 travel restrictions, allowing people to travel freely again.
In the 2023-2024 year, the Government expects a sharp decline in NOM. The 2024-25 year is expected to see a further decline in NOM to 260,000, similar to pre-Covid figures.
Stay tuned for more updates on changes to Australian visas. Subscribe to the next ImmiUpdate below.
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Elan Rysher is a Registered Migration Agent and Qualified Student Counsellor. He is the main Writer for ImmiUpdates and the founder of Rysher Migration. Being a former migrant himself, Elan is passionate about helping others fulfil their Australian dream.
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