Nationals call for more migrant truckies to ease workforce shortages
Australia faces a shortage of 28,000 truckies. With unions opposing recruitment of overseas drivers to fill the shortfall, the Coalition says it would boost productivity.
The federal opposition has accused the Albanese government of cowering in the face of union pressure over its failure to address a national shortage of 28,000 truck drivers and has backed the recruitment of more overseas drivers.
The Australian Trucking Association has asked the government to add truck driving to the list of occupations on the skilled occupation list for skilled worker visas.
Noting the shortage of drivers, ATA said in a submission to a government committee that the shortage — the equivalent of 13% of the required total workforce — is holding back productivity.
It said 43% of trucking companies reported “severe or very severe” difficulty in recruiting drivers in an industry that the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics notes moves about 80% of non-bulk freight in Australia.
