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Submission to the Regional Migration Discussion Paper
31 July 2024
Migration plays an integral role in Australia’s success. Economic growth has slowed to a crawl in Australia and without population growth (largely driven by migration), Australia would technically be in recession. Migrants also boost the labour productivity of Australian born workers. According to OECD analysis, on average, a region with a 10 per cent larger migrant share (e.g. 33 per cent instead of 30 per cent) has a 1.3 per cent larger regional wage difference. This indicates the positive link between migration and labour productivity.
Migration improves living standards, strengthens our economy and complements local skills. Skilled workers migrate to Australia to help fill skills gaps, offset the ageing population and bring the knowledge and experience needed to grow future industries. Almost half of all Australians are first- or second-generation migrants.
Importantly, migration plays an essential role in Australia’s regional areas, which can find it difficult to attract workers. The current migration system has several features specifically designed to support regional migration, including separate occupation lists, visas and incentive programs. The December 2023 ‘A Migration Strategy for Australia’ highlighted the need to review regional migration settings, emphasising that they must support development objectives in regional Australia and avoid worker exploitation.
We are supportive of the Government’s Migration Strategy and value the strong engagement with business in its continued development. As this occurs, it is crucial that any changes and enhancements to regional migration settings consider and reflect the needs of the industries that contribute to the national economy and the sustainability of regional communities.
BCA members believe that current regional visa and migration policies are complex and make the system hard to navigate. At times, the complexity of navigating regional visa options can reduce the willingness of employers to participate.
Regional migration settings must be simplified. In this submission we offer simple-yet-workable suggestions to facilitate the migrant workforce needed to keep regional Australia running.
Read our full submission here.