The Australian government has released the 2024 Australian Federal Budget, which includes references to immigration requirements for certain visa categories. No legislation is available yet for any of the budget measures that have been announced. The Migration Institute of Australia has summarized the budget as it relates to immigration and migration changes.
Migration Changes
Permanent Migration Program
The Government will set the 2024–25 permanent Migration Program planning level at 185,000 places and allocate 132,200 places (around 70 percent) to the Skill stream.
From 2025–26, the Government will extend the planning horizon for the permanent Migration Program from one year to four years. (Budget paper 2, p8) The actions underway as part of the Migration Strategy are delivering a better managed migration system.
Government actions are estimated to reduce net overseas migration by 110,000 people over the forward estimates from July 1, 2024. Net overseas migration is forecast to approximately halve from 528,000 in 2022–23 to 260,000 in 2024–25. (Budget paper 1, p 24)
Migration System Reforms
The Government will provide $18.3 million over four years from 2024–25 to further reform Australia’s migration system to drive greater economic prosperity and restore its integrity.
Funding includes:
- $15 million over three years from 2024–25 for information and education activities to provide migrant workers with accurate and appropriate information about workplace safeguards, protections and compliance measures related to migration laws
- $1.9 million in 2024–25 to conduct a data-matching pilot between the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Taxation Office of income and employment data to mitigate exploitation of migrant workers and abuse of Australia’s labour market and migration system (Budget paper 2, p 136)
Southeast Asia Engagement – additional funding
The Government will provide $505.9 million over five years from 2023–24 (and $118.3 million per year ongoing) to deepen Australia’s engagement with Southeast Asia, including measures to implement the next phase of the Government’s response to ‘Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040’.
Funding includes $1.1 million over two years from 2023–24 to improve visa access and provide long validity business and frequent traveller visas for ASEAN member countries and Timor-Leste. (Budget paper 2, p 106)
Visa Changes
Work and Holiday visa – China, Vietnam and India
The Government will introduce a visa pre-application (ballot) process for the capped Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa program for China, Vietnam and India from 2024–25. The ballot process will help to manage program demand and application processing times for these countries. A ballot charge of $25 (indexed to the Consumer Price Index in future years) will apply. (Budget paper 1, p 9)
Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES)
The Government will implement a new Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) program for Indian nationals from November 1, 2024. MATES will provide a new mobility pathway for 3,000 Indian graduates and early career professionals (aged 18 to 30 years at the time of application), with knowledge and skills in targeted fields of study to live and work in Australia for up to two years. The visa will have a pre-application (ballot) charge of $25 and an application charge of $365, both of which will be indexed to the consumer price index in future years. (Budget paper 2, p 7)
Extending the validity of the Business Visitor visa for Indian nationals
The Visitor visa (subclass 600) Business Visitor stream for Indian nationals will extend from up to three years to up to five years. This measure is estimated to increase receipts by $435.0 million and increase payments by $70.9 million over the 5 years from 2023–24.
National Innovation visa, replacing the current Global Talent visa
The Government will implement a new National Innovation visa, replacing the current Global Talent visa (subclass 858) from late 2024, to target exceptionally talented migrants who will drive growth in sectors of national importance.
The Business Innovation and Investment visa program (BIIP) will cease, with refunds of the visa application charge provided from September 2024 for those who wish to withdraw their BIIP application. (Budget paper 2, p 136)
Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa – work experience reduced
The Government will also reduce the work experience requirement for the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa from two years to one year for all applicants from November 23, 2024 onwards. (Budget paper 2, p 136)
TRA ICT improvement
The Government will also progress a business case to develop a modern ICT solution for the assessment of trade skills for skilled migrants by Trades Recognition Australia. A modern ICT solution will make skilled workers more rapidly available to employers and support delivery of the Government’s migration and skilled workforce objectives. (Budget paper 2, p 94)
Refugees, Violence, and Conflict Affected Individuals
Reforms to Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services
The Government will provide $120.9 million over five years from 2023–24 to improve the sustainability of settlement services and promote better economic and social outcomes for refugees and migrants.
Funding includes:
- $86.6 million over five years from 2023–24 for the Humanitarian Settlement Program to support settlement service delivery for refugees and migrants
- $27.0 million over three years from 2024–25 to extend targeted support, including:
- Youth Transition Support services to assist refugee and migrant youth to access education, employment and government services
- specialized support for refugee and migrant women experiencing domestic and family violence as part of the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS) Program
- settlement support for Afghan humanitarian entrants
- $3.8 million over four years from 2024–25 to continue conversational English classes in Community Hubs
- $1.9 million over five years from 2023–24 to extend access to Medicare for Ukrainians and their immediate family members, who hold a Bridging visa E, until June 30, 2027
- $1.0 million in 2025–26 to extend the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot to June 30, 2026, to continue settlement services provided by community volunteers
- $0.6 million over four years from 2024–25 to the Department of Home Affairs to enhance management of humanitarian settlement programs.
Parts of this measure support the implementation of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022–32. (Budget paper 2, p 138)
Support to Individuals from Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories affected by the Hamas-Israel conflict
The Government will provide $2.9 million over two years from 2023–24 to support individuals and their families from significantly affected areas of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Funding includes:
- $2.0 million over two years from 2023–24, for the Australian Red Cross to provide emergency financial assistance to recent arrivals and who have been assessed to be in financial hardship
- $0.9 million over two years from 2023–24 to extend Medicare eligibility to 30 June 2025 for Bridging Visa E holders arriving from significantly affected areas of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (Budget paper 2, p 139).
The Leaving Violence Program
The Escaping Violence Payment trial and Temporary Visa Holders Experiencing Violence Pilot will be extended until June 30, 2025. Building on the successes and learnings of the current trial and pilot, the Leaving Violence Program will commence from mid-2025 following the procurement of an appropriate service provider. (Budget paper 1, p 32) The Government will provide $925.2 million over five years from 2023–24 (and $263.3 million per year ongoing) to make permanent the Leaving Violence Program that will provide financial support, safety assessments and referrals to support services for victim-survivors leaving a violent intimate partner relationship.
Funding includes:
- $152.3 million over three years from 2023–24 to extend and expand the Escaping Violence Payment and the Temporary Visa Holders Experiencing Violence Pilot trials to June 30, 2025, and to continue to provide support services for a further 12 weeks beyond the pilot end date for active cases. The LVP will replace these trials.
- $16.5 million over five years from 2023–24 (and $5.1 million in 2028–29) to continue to provide legal assistance for temporary visa holders leaving a violent relationship.
In addition, $6.1 million over four years from 2024–25 (and $1.6 million per year ongoing) will be provided for continued specialised support for visa holders experiencing domestic and family violence through the Domestic and Family Violence visa support service. (Budget paper 2, p 176)
Government Investments
Establishment of the Administrative Review Tribunal – Addressing Backlogs
The Government will provide $1.0 billion over five years from 2023–24 (with $210.8 million per year ongoing from 2028–29 and an additional $194.2 million from 2028–29 to 2035–36) to establish and support the sustainable operation of the new Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), replacing the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), and to address court backlogs associated with high numbers of applications for judicial review of migration decisions.
Funding for the commencement of the ART includes:
- $854.3 million over four years from 2024–25 (and $208.8 million per year ongoing) for a capped, flexible demand-driven funding model for the ART, enabling it to finalize 100 percent of case lodgements each year, and including improved regional accessibility and piloting First Nations Liaison Officer and user experience and accessibility programs
- $75.1 million over five years from 2023–24 (and $2.0 million per year ongoing) to support agencies with the transition from the AAT to the ART
- $2.4 million in 2024–25 to the AAT for the Immigration Assessment Authority to continue merits review of unsuccessful protection visa applications eligible for fast-track review under the Migration Act 1958, pending commencement of the ART
The Government will also provide $115.6 million over four years from 2024–25 (and an additional $194.2 million from 2028–29 to 2035–36) to address extremely high migration backlogs in the federal courts, including through the establishment of two migration hubs dedicated to hearing migration and protection matters.
This measure builds on the 2023–24 Budget measures titled Institutional Reform to Australia’s System of Federal Administrative Review and Continuation of Immigration Assessment Authority and the 2023–24 MYEFO measure titled Migration System Integrity. (Budget paper 2, p 49)
Staffing of agencies in 2023–24 and 2024–25
Estimated average staffing levels in 2023–24 represents the significant investment in staffing in 2023–24 to rebuild service delivery capacity and capability, along with additional contractor conversions since the 2023–24 Budget.
This includes resources for Services Australia to remediate the impacts of under-resourcing and reduce backlogs, and for the Department of Home Affairs to improve visa processing capabilities and speed up wait times. (Budget paper 4, p 169)
Investing in cyber security
Investments in the Department of Home Affairs, including the establishment of the National Cyber Security Coordinator, means the public service is able to work across the economy to manage and recover from major cyber incidents. Work is also underway to strengthen Australia’s critical national infrastructure by working with industry, including telecommunication providers, hospitals and banks, to better protect infrastructure from attacks and make it more resilient. Additional investments in the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce are supporting work to counter foreign interference in Australia, helping to disrupt foreign interference and espionage threats to Australians at home. (Budget paper 4, p 14)
TRA ICT improvement
The Government will also progress a business case to develop a modern ICT solution for the assessment of trade skills for skilled migrants by Trades Recognition Australia. A modern ICT solution will make skilled workers more rapidly available to employers and support delivery of the Government’s migration and skilled workforce objectives. (Budget paper 2, p 94)
Machinery of Government Changes
- transfer of cyber-security related policy functions from the Digital Transformation Agency to the Department of Home Affairs
- transfer of the identity and biometrics function from the Department of Home Affairs to the Attorney-General’s Department (Budget paper 4, p 29)
Department of Home Affairs – supplementation
The Government will provide $100.0 million in 2024–25 to the Department of Home Affairs to support the performance of core functions including Australian Border Force operations, immigration compliance activities and sustainment of critical systems supporting those operations and services. (Budget paper 2, p134)