Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s proposal to slash Australia’s net overseas migration (NOM) to 100,000 for two years has drawn immediate fire from business, aged-care and education lobbies. Speaking to ABC News on 7 October, the Coalition acknowledged the plan would hit some temporary visa holders in aged care but argued a ‘transition’ arrangement would soften the blow. The policy would abolish Temporary Graduate visas, force most visa extensions to be lodged offshore and halve intakes of students and bridging-visa holders. Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black described the targets as “a race to the bottom” that would strangle growth and worsen existing shortages in construction, health and technology. Universities Australia warned the cuts would deprive institutions of fee revenue that underwrites domestic research and threatens Australia’s $30-billion international-education export. Independent economist Saul Eslake questioned claims the change would be budget-neutral, noting Treasury modelling shows smaller work-age cohorts reduce tax receipts by up to A$80 billion over a decade. The Property Council and Master Builders echoed concerns, arguing that forcing skilled graduates offshore to re-apply makes Australia less attractive compared with Canada and the UK. For corporate mobility managers, the biggest red flag is uncertainty: employers planning to convert graduate hires to skilled-worker visas could face mandatory offshore processing or find the subclass abolished altogether. Time-to-productivity and retention costs would rise, and regional employers who rely on graduates to fill critical shortages may be hit hardest. With an election still a year away, the Coalition has not published detailed costings or a timeline for implementation, leaving global-mobility practitioners to scenario-plan against a backdrop of political brinkmanship.
Source: ABC News
