Bob Birrell

Migration: The Australian Experience

Australia has experienced a massive increase in net overseas migration since the beginning of the mining investment boom in 2003. The Australian Commonwealth Government has dominated the policy changes facilitating this increase. Its focus has been on satisfying employer demands for more workers. It has done this by increasingly outsourcing the selection of skilled migrants to employers. It has opened up both the main permanent entry visa and temporary entry visa subclasses to employer sponsorship. The Australian States have been given a minor role as sponsors of skilled migrants for permanent entry, but only under the strict supervision of the Commonwealth.

Globalization, immigration policy, and youth employment in Australia

Elsewhere in this volume, it has been argued that, from the late 1970s, immigration had become central to a concerted effort by Australian political and business elites, and sections of the intelligentsia, to internationalize Australia’s economy, culture, and society. The maintenance of a robust immigration program was promoted as evidence that Australia was transforming itself from an inward, protectionist society to one which was economically and culturally open. Any retreat from high immigration, it was feared, would be interpreted as a loss of commitment to internationalization.