Unit 1
Unit 4 
Policy Approach
Immigration - Policy Approach
Australia’s approach to immigration has changed dramatically over the last few years. As you learn about this topic, remember that in this subject we aim to analyse the economic impact of the policies that have been put in place. When you start searching for information online you will find that there is a great deal of controversy about Australia’s approach to immigration. This is largely because of the way in which the Howard government chose to deal with the illegal immigration of people who arrived by boats (although it should be noted that the process of mandatory detention was actually started by the Labor Party in 1992). The truth is that this represents a very small proportion of the people who come to live in Australia each year. For example, in 2009 there were 2,726 people who arrived by boat to claim asylum in Australia; in the same year around 300,000 new migrants were expected to settle here.
This discussion has distracted many people from the policies that have been put in place, and the economic impact that these policies might have. In broad terms the Australian government will accept people who want to come and live in this country for two reasons:
Humanitarian Migration
The asylum seekers that were mentioned above are seeking to come and live here on humanitarian grounds, but there are many other people who also apply under this banner. For example, if a person would like to live with their immediate family here in Australia, they will often be granted residency.
General Skilled Migration
It is also true that there are many people who would like to move here and believe that they have skills that would benefit the Australian economy. These people are able to gain access by possessing qualifications in a specific area, or by gaining sponsorship from an employer.
Since the election of the Labor Party in 2007, the following changes have been made to Australia’s immigration policies:
1. In 2006/07 net migration to Australia was just over 177,000 people. Today that number is significantly higher. The government has acted to increase the number of people who are able to gain access to residency in Australia. This maintained the trend that was started by the previous government.
2. In response to the global financial crisis, the government reduced the number of positions available for permanent skilled migration. The number fell by 14% to 115,000 per year.
3. By the end of 2009 the government began to make changes to the Skilled Occupation List. This is a list of jobs that are considered to be difficult to fill with the available local workforce. On May 17th 2010, the government reduced the number of jobs on this list from around 400 to 181. This list became law on July 1st 2010.
In addition, the current government has moved away from processing asylum seekers offshore. When people do arrive by boat, the government attempts to ensure that they are intercepted before they arrive on the mainland, and then taken to a processing facility. For example, Christmas Island is an Australian territory that has been used for this purpose.
 | Current Page: Immigration - Policy Approach
|  |
