Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has conceded that his proposal to slash temporary migration – unveiled on 6 October – would oblige thousands of graduate-visa holders, international students and even qualified aged-care staff to leave Australia and re-apply from overseas. The Coalition wants net overseas migration cut to 100,000 for two years, primarily by axing the Graduate-485 stream, capping student numbers and imposing an offshore-lodgement rule for most temporary visas. Business and education peak bodies warn the plan could exacerbate critical labour shortages. Industry lobby Master Builders Australia said it was “crazy” to send skilled construction workers home only to ask them to re-enter on a new visa, while Universities Australia labelled the graduate-visa abolition an “own goal” that would damage the $40 billion international-education sector. Treasury modelling previously found that every 40,000 fewer migrants costs the budget $79 billion over a decade. Taylor argues that a sharper focus on high-salary skilled visas and a new 15,000-place “major project” visa will offset the headline reductions. Yet critics note that skilled programs are demand-driven and already oversubscribed, questioning where the extra specialists will come from. For employers, the risk is immediate: companies relying on Graduate-485 holders for entry-level professional roles could lose staff mid-contract, adding recruitment costs and compliance headaches. Aged-care providers fear the policy will hit regional services hardest if transition provisions fail to cover their workforce. Mobility teams should scenario-plan for sudden offshore re-application requirements and potential gaps in bridging-visa coverage. With an election likely within 12 months, multinationals are advised to monitor bipartisan policy signals. Even without legislative change, the debate itself could influence Home Affairs’ discretionary processing priorities and student-visa approval rates in the near term.
Source: ABC News
