What Is Australia’s New Migration Policy And How Will It Affect Indians Students And Migrants?

Australia on Monday announced its new migration policy which aims to reduce the net overseas migration by 2025, to almost half of what it was last year.

The recent proposals by the Albanese government will tighten visa processes for international students and migrants. The policy aims to crackdown on migrants living in a “permanently temporary” state which refers to those who keep “visa hopping” to remain in the country.

The government also plans to reduce the post-study work visa duration for international students. However, Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green, said Indian nationals will not be impacted under the two countries’ economic and trade agreements.

What is the new migration policy?

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil on Monday announced steps to overhaul Australia’s “broken” migration system to get “migration working again for all Australians”.

The Home Affairs aims to curb “visa hopping” by “ending settings that allow graduates to prolong their stay in Australia when they have fewer prospects of becoming permanent residents."

The Australian government said it will increase its English language requirements for international students and conduct closer scrutiny of applications so that only genuine students are selected.

The post study work visa will be reduced from three years to two years for postgraduate students and from four years to three years for PhD students.

Clare O’Neil while speaking on air on ABC News said, “International education is a very important sector for our country… The issue at the moment is that we have real integrity concerns about this sector. There are clearly a number of people who are profiting from this sector who are creating ghost colleges, who are creating visa factories and using this to bring people to Australia actually to work and not to study.”

The government will also introduce a new temporary visa named "Skills in Demand” which is designed to attract highly skilled individuals who have “potential to grow the skills and expertise of the Australian workforce".

Australia’s migration numbers peaked last year with about 510,000 being granted visas. The aim is to bring it down to 250,000 by 2025.

In 2022, the Scott Morrison-led government had announced student visa refunds for international students who chose to study in Australia after the country reopened its borders after almost two years owing to the pandemic. The move was to provide a boost to the education sector which was facing major losses.

As the borders reopened the home affairs reported a huge surge in application numbers leading to higher visa processing time and higher rejections.

New Migration strategy won’t affect Indians, says Australian High Commissioner

Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green while speaking to several reporters in New Delhi said, "Commitments agreed between India and Australia under the The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) will be upheld under the new Migration Strategy."

According to Green, "Indian students will continue to be eligible to stay on a Temporary Graduate Visa for two years for a bachelor's degree, three years for the completion of a master's degree, and four years for the completion of a Ph.D."

According to SBS News, Indian student applicants have previously been subject to a ban by some Australian universities, an investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald found earlier this year.

“Five universities — Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, and education agents working for Southern Cross University — are putting in place bans on Indian students from some states to pre-empt greater restrictions being imposed by the Department of Home Affairs,” SBS reported.

The department told the newspapers that since the easing of COVID-19 border restrictions in 2021 they had "witnessed an increase in incomplete applications and presentation of fraudulent information and documentation in student visa applications".

According to SBS, In February, Home Affairs rejected about 94 per cent of applications from India to study in Australia's vocational sector, compared to less than 1 per cent of student applications from countries including the US, the UK and France.