The Australia Federal Election 2022 and What It Means For Migrants

The Results Are In!

Parliament House, Canberra, Australia

Australia just had its federal election and the Liberal-National Coalition party (the Coalition) who has been in power for the last decade has now lost the government to the Anthony Albanese-led Australian Labor Party (ALP).

The Parties' Position on Skilled Immigration

Image credit to SBS News

The outgoing Coalition government had made “Strong Border Protection” one of their campaign slogans. As the Government in charge during the pandemic, they were responsible for closing the borders to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Australia's tough border restrictions have led to the country being known as Fortress Australia, and the Coalition government taking multiple brickbats (and some praise too) for their policies and decisions. Their position on skilled migrant workers were to not introduce any reforms on migrant cap, introduced back in 2019, until the 160,000 limit is reached, which had led to some protests from Australian businesses.

ALP had campaigned on a promise to bring in more skilled migrant workers as a temporary solution to labour shortages. As summarised by EY, according to the ALP National Platform, their key goals include:

• Meeting skills shortages

• Protecting local employment opportunities and working conditions

• Preventing exploitation of temporary workers, particularly international students and working holiday makers

EY further noted the following from the ALP's platform:

• policies to favour permanent over temporary migration reflecting concerns that a growing cohort of migrants are 'permanently temporary'

• tougher labour market testing requirements including removal of waivers in free trade agreements

• measures to ensure temporary migration does not have an adverse impact on training and employment opportunities for the local workforce

• greater protections against the exploitation of temporary workers

• increased penalties on the employer for exploitation and non-compliance

• greater role of unions in some immigration processes

What does this mean for migrants, prospective migrants and businesses?

For many of us, unless you are a citizen, you would not have had any part of this election at all. However, that doesn't mean that the resulting policies enacted will not have an impact on you. While campaign promises aren't written in stone, like a dim fog lights shining through misty Blue Mountain winding roads, it does provide some illumination on what lies ahead.

For...

...those already here

• A clearer path to permanent residency For those stuck in a limbo of permanent-temporary residency, there is hope that there will be less ambiguity and more support (and hopefully more affordable options) for getting to a permanent residency status.

• More protection from exploitation For those who are stuck in the black economy, being underpaid and exploited, further protections will be introduced such as "whistle-blower" status (which will allow for them to remain in Australia and recover lost wages), increase fines for employers who exploits such workers and breach other obligations.

• More competition for opportunities There will be a need to further improve your credentials, knowledge, qualifications, widening your network, to differentiate yourself from the the inbound talents

...those who will be joining us soon

• More community support needed for new migrants Reforms to federal and state migration programs (including Regional Migration) will need to be understood and communicated clearly to new migrants. Targeted support through training, education, mentorship, and community-level programs will be more important with increased influx of migrants.

...Employers

• Businesses will need to adapt to working with employees from different cultures, background, working styles if you want to continue to grow your companies in a labour shortage environment.

At The Second Class Collective, we are by nature a hopeful group, and where others see risks, we see opportunities. We'll continue to develop and bring you more developmental programs, articles, workshops and events to ensure you do not fall on the wayside as the country moves forward.

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