Overall, we believe that immigration policy to ensure it gives due consideration to the risks” of value creation and economic dynamism that migration can bring to our “upside economy, as well as protecting against some of the more commonly noted risks”. “downside Our recommendations below go into these issues in greater detail. A summary of the key issues and recommendations identified by ISA is provided in Table 1. Table 1. Summary of key issues identified in ISA submission Modernising Australia’s visa arrangements More could be done to promote the attraction of ideas, knowledge, talent and capital to Australia, including through international promotion activities. Visas related to the attraction of innovation, science and research (ISR)-related skills to Australia should include a pathway to permanent residency to ensure attraction of class talent. Relevant work experience, such as that gained during doctoral studies, be recognised for relevant academic occupations ahead of proposed changes coming into effect in March 2018. ISA suggests reforming the criteria of Entrepreneur visas to facilitate attraction of startup founders including through allowing sponsorship by a recognised startup accelerator program. ISA supports regular reviews of the STSOL and MLTSSL by one agency (with input from other relevant agencies) to ensure that these occupation lists are agile and keep pace with domestic skills gaps, both now and in the future. While Australia works on developing its domestic skills, skilled migration remains an important source of skills for Australia’s ISR system. Temporary and permanent residence Following changes to the visa system in April 2017, and readjustments in July 2017, there is still some way to go to ensure that Australia remains open to attracting the talent and investment necessary to support Australia’s ISR system. Consider a salary threshold (for example, above $180,000) as an exemption criteria to the skilled occupations lists (STSOL and MLTSSL) for visa applicants under subclasses 186, 187 and 457, initially limited to an annual quota of 100 places, to encourage attraction of skills in high-demand frontier occupation areas that may not yet be identified on these occupation lists. Reinstate the 50 years age limit to the permanent migration programme, particularly in occupations where business, management and leadership skills are required. Review the current capping level of the skilled migration scheme in response to a growing economy and competition for international talent. Simplifying Australia’s visa requirements An efficient visa system would be aided by a DIBP website-available schema that represents the wide variety of visas and their relationship to one-another.
Overall, we believe that immigration policy to ensure it gives due consideration to the “upside risks” of value creation and economic dynamism that migration can bring to our economy, as well as protecting against some of the more commonly noted “downside risks”. Our recommendations below go into these issues in greater detail. A summary of the key issues and recommendations identified by ISA is provided in Table 1. Table 1. Summary of key issues identified in ISA submission Modernising Australia’s visa arrangements More could be done to promote the attraction of ideas, knowledge, talent and capital to Australia, including through international promotion activities. Visas related to the attraction of innovation, science and research (ISR)-related skills to Australia should include a pathway to permanent residency to ensure attraction of talent. Relevant work experience, such as that gained during doctoral studies, be recognised for relevant academic occupations ahead of proposed changes coming into effect in March 2018. ISA suggests reforming the criteria of Entrepreneur visas to facilitate attraction of startup founders including through allowing sponsorship by a recognised startup accelerator program. ISA supports regular reviews of the STSOL and MLTSSL by one agency (with input from other relevant agencies) to ensure that these occupation lists are agile and keep pace with domestic skills gaps, both now and in the future. While Australia works on developing its domestic skills, skilled migration remains an important source of skills for Australia’s ISR system. Temporary and permanent residence Following changes to the visa system in April 2017, and readjustments in July 2017, there is still some way to go to ensure that Australia remains open to attracting the talent and investment necessary to support Australia’s ISR system. Consider a salary threshold (for example, above $180,000) as an exemption criteria to the skilled occupations lists (STSOL and MLTSSL) for visa applicants under subclasses 186, 187 and 457, initially limited to an annual quota of 100 places, to encourage attraction of skills in high-demand frontier occupation areas that may not yet be identified on these occupation lists. Reinstate the 50 years age limit to the permanent migration programme, particularly in occupations where business, management and leadership skills are required. Review the current capping level of the skilled migration scheme in response to a growing economy and competition for international talent. Simplifying Australia’s visa requirements An efficient visa system would be aided by a DIBP website-available schema that represents the wide variety of visas and their relationship to one-another. class
isa-submission-to-visa-simplification-transforming-australia-visa-system.docx