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Australian industry calls for skilled migration reform

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-06 07:02 UTC → 2026-10-15 01:55 UTC · added removed

Australian industry and business groups continue to advocate for skilled migration reforms to address critical workforce shortages in manufacturing, infrastructure, health, and agriculture. In the construction sector, the labor deficit has become remains a central concern. Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia, stated has reiterated that the industry currently lacks approximately 140,000 workers and faces an annual deficit of 85,000 people without policy changes. Wawn criticized continues to criticize requirements that force sponsored workers to go offshore to obtain visas, arguing these delays hinder the completion of housing and infrastructure projects. Labor shortages are also intensifying in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Data from the employment marketplace Seek shows hospitality and tourism job advertisements rose 3.6 per cent in August, with a 6.2 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter when seasonally adjusted. Specifically, demand for wait staff rose by 11 per cent and cook positions by 6 per cent. The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Hotel Association noted that following a July freeze on working-holiday-maker visas, job listings on Seek jumped from the mid-40,000s has highlighted acute shortages, noting approximately 7,000 vacancies for chefs and cooks. Concerns have grown regarding changes to the mid-60,000s. These developments follow earlier warnings from working holiday visas, specifically the Australian Industry Group capping of second-year visa places at 45,000 and the Australian Chamber reduction of Commerce and Industry, who argued third-year places from 31,000 to 5,000. In regional areas like Far North Queensland, these workers are vital; one Cairns hospitality company reported that working holiday makers represent roughly 45 per cent of its staff. These industry warnings coincide with an intensifying political hostility toward migration and arbitrary debate over net overseas migration. The federal Labor government aims to lower annual net migration to 225,000 by mid-2028, while the Coalition has pledged to reduce figures to 100,000 during its first two years. One Nation has also advocated for periods of negative net migration. Business representatives argue that the domestic labor pool is insufficient to meet current demands and that such targets could threaten national economic growth and exacerbate housing and skills shortages. growth.

Versions

  1. 2026-10-15 01:55 UTC Australian industry calls for skilled migration reform
  2. 2026-10-06 07:02 UTC Australian industry calls for skilled migration reform
  3. 2026-09-17 00:47 UTC Australian industry calls for skilled migration reform
  4. 2026-09-10 02:45 UTC Australian industry calls for skilled migration reform

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