VC-backed startups allowed to sponsor skilled migrants under migration overhaul
It's too hard to get a skilled visa in Australia but too easy to come through the back door. A new migration strategy to be released on Monday aims to flip this on its head.
Startups backed by a registered venture capital fund will be able to sponsor foreign workers as part of a new strategy which aims to shift Australia’s migration program from lower to higher skilled migrants.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles will on Monday release the Albanese government’s long-awaited migration strategy, which will create a new three-tiered system for skilled migrants, raise the minimum salary for sponsoring a temporary skilled migrant and launch a crackdown on non-genuine international students.
The government will attempt to use the release of the strategy to shift the political spotlight away from weeks of immigration controversy after a High Court decision forced it to release 148 immigrant detainees, six of which have allegedly already reoffended.
Complicating matters further, the strategy is the product of a review ordered in September 2022 when the immigration debate was centred on skills shortages. Since then the focus has shifted to sharp rises in migration driven by international students and other temporary migrants, amid dual housing affordability and cost of living crises.
