DIMA Annual Report 2000-01

Reports on performance outcome one - continued

Supplementing Australia's labour force

Australia's overall labour force growth rate is declining. Some 20 years ago, our labour force was growing at approximately 2.7 per cent per annum. Today this has fallen to 1.6 per cent per annum.

This is projected to decline to around 0.4 per cent per annum by 2015-16. This is due to the combined effect of a declining population growth rate and an ageing population.

It means that instead of an annual increase in the labour force of approximately 170,000 (as now applies), growth rates may slow to the point where over the whole of the decade 2020-30 the labour force may increase by only 100,000.

Against this background, supplementing Australia's labour force from overseas is crucial to our continued economic success.

However, unemployment rates in Australia among unskilled and semi-skilled people are three to four times higher than for highly-skilled people. This means that it is essential that supplementation of our labour force from overseas must focus on the highly skilled and on occupations that are in national shortage.

Contrary to popular opinion, Australia is experiencing a significant 'brain gain'. For the years 1995-96 to 1999-2000, Australia achieved a net gain through overseas movements of around 40,000 managers and administrators, 57,000 professionals and 21,000 tradespeople (Fig. 5).

More people in major occupations in demand such as information and communications technology (ICT), accounting and nursing are coming to Australia than are leaving. Australia is a substantial beneficiary from the movement of skilled workers around the globe due to our world-class immigration arrangements.

Because of the significantly more targeted and rigorous selection criteria that are now used, skilled migrants are performing many times better today than earlier counterparts. Under the new points test used to select most skilled migrants, the principal applicants:

• are younger - around 51 per cent of principal applicants were aged between 18 and 29 in the 1994-95 cohort while for 2000-01 this had increased to around 63 per cent
  
  
• have better English-language skills - of the 1994-95 cohort, around 83 per cent of principal applicants achieved the maximum points for English language compared to about 90 per cent by 2000-01
  
  
• are more skilled with 90 per cent of independent skilled principal applicants scoring the maximum points for skill.
  
  
• Around 50 per cent of these migrants are former overseas students with many having significant post-graduate qualifications from Australian universities. Around half have an occupation that is in national shortage.

Of particular relevance to the community have been developments in healthcare, where processes in the temporary business entry program have been designed to enable the entry of qualified general and specialist medical practitioners to meet demands identified by employer agencies. Many of these visa holders are now providing healthcare services in regional Australia.

In June 2001, the Minister for Health and Aged Care announced the 'Five Year Scheme' whereby doctors with the appropriate qualifications may be conditionally registered to work in rural areas for up to five years.

In support of this initiative to recruit and retain healthcare professionals for regional Australia, the department is facilitating the entry of these doctors through specially streamlined entry arrangements.

Attracting business investment and innovation

Australia is a substantial beneficiary from long-term temporary business entrants and other skilled temporary residents. The aim of business visa policy is to support Australian business and to help trade and investment activities by ensuring efficient and timely visa grant to genuine business people.

Foreign business investors and travellers are able to remain for short or long stays with single or multiple entries to enable them to develop and manage their businesses.

Independent research has shown that business migrants to Australia create employment and wealth in the domestic economy. Business skills migration - generally owners, part owners, senior executives in a business or those seeking to obtain ownership of an investment - has continued to increase.

In 1999-2000, 6,260 visas were granted. In 2000-01 there were 7,360 and the planned level for 2001-02 is 7,900.

Measures implemented by DIMA to support Australian business include enabling many categories of business visitors (including business professionals) to enter on short-stay business visitor visas, rather than on 'sponsored' visas.

Also, a short-stay business Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) was made available to all ETA eligible countries in 2000. In 1999-2000, 63,746 such business ETAs were issued, with 92,425 in 2000-01.

Business travellers also had access to a business visitor ETA valid for the life of their passport and allowing multiple stays of three months. In 1999-2000, 58,287 were issued and in 2000-01 there were 46,740.

Regional Headquarters Agreements have had a significant impact in the Australian economy in recent years. They are designed to encourage international firms to choose Australia as a regional or global base and to promote Australia as a competitive investment location.

In 1999-2000 it was estimated that these agreements created 3,000 jobs for Australians and attracted approximately $700 million in investment. There were 81 agreements in place in that year. The total was 96 in 2000-01.

Overseas companies seeking to attract key personnel are also finding it easier. In 1999-2000, 467 visas were granted to key personnel nominated by overseas companies. In 2000-01 there were 483.

Facilitation of investment in Australia and the development of the Australian economy is fundamental to Australia's management of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agenda.

DIMA represents Australia in APEC as the convenor of the APEC Business Mobility Group (BMG). Comprising all 21 members of APEC, the BMG aims to facilitate trade and investment within the region by removing barriers to travel by international business people.

In support of this aim DIMA has implemented the APEC Business Travel Card, saving business travellers both time and money by, among other things, providing pre-cleared long-term multiple entry to business travellers from participating APEC economies, fast-tracked on-arrival processing and by agreeing to service standards for intra-company transfers within the APEC region.

Further work has also been done to support the growing ICT industry. The Government's Innovation Action Plan, Backing Australia's Ability, announced by the Prime Minister in January 2001, included measures designed to attract highly skilled ICT workers to Australia.

This included use of the contingency reserve allocation of the Migration Program to meet the increasing demand by ICT professionals to migrate to Australia.

Also, incentives were introduced to graduates in key areas who have been educated in Australia (including ICT) to remain, by enabling them to apply for permanent residence without having to leave Australia.

Supporting key export industries

Australia's immigration arrangements have been specifically targeted to support and facilitate key growing export industries. Measures include facilitating the entry and stay of people whose skills are needed by Australian industry and enabling the entry of bona fide travellers who seek the services of Australian industry in general.

Industries supported in this way include tourism, education, ICT, healthcare and international conference management.

Tourist visa grants, both onshore and offshore, reached a record high of 3.54 million in 2000-01, a 9.8 per cent increase over the previous year, with a sustained growth in arrivals from Asia where visitor numbers from some countries had fallen due to the 1997 economic crisis.

Growth in arrivals from emerging tourist markets was also evident. This was achieved while maintaining the integrity of Australia's visitor visa program. The non-return rate fell in 2000-01 to 2.15 per cent from 2.41 per cent in 1999-2000.

To a large degree, this excellent result can be attributed to the successful marketing of Australia as a tourist destination by the Australian Tourism Commission and to a sustained commitment by the Government to deliver tourist visas in innovative ways.

The Approved Destination Status agreement between Australia and the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a unique agreement that allows individuals in privately funded groups to visit Australia without family or business sponsorship. The agreement facilitates access to the Australian tourism market by the fastest growing population of tourist travellers in the world and is delivering dramatic results.

In the period January to June 2000, 5,609 people came on this basis. 18,075 came in the corresponding period in 2001. At the same time a very low non-return rate of approximately 0.2 per cent has been achieved due to stringent compliance requirements by the Australian and PRC governments.

Due to the unprecedented focus on the border that accompanied the Olympics, 2000-01 saw no further expansion of ETA arrangements. It was a period of consolidation, although the Minister announced the inclusion of Portugal to the list of ETA countries by 1 August 2001. Non-return rates for ETA travellers remain low - 1.5 per cent compared with 4.2 per cent for non-ETA travellers.

A related industry developing around Australia's growing attraction as a tourism and business destination, is seeing Australia become a popular venue for international conferences and major events.

The industry is already worth millions of dollars to the Australian economy and has found support in a further DIMA innovation, the International Event Coordinator Network (IECN). Utilising the experience gained through the Olympics, IECN streamlines and coordinates visa applications for people attending these international events by liaising with organisers and overseas posts.

Travellers from more than 100 countries attending conferences and events were assisted by DIMA during 2000-01, in particular the Tasmania Cultural Festival, the Canberra Multicultural Festival and the London to Sydney Air Race. Events that will be facilitated in this way include the Goodwill Games and the Gay Games.

The department's role in supporting the rapidly growing education industry in Australia is illustrated in the student visa program, which supports Australia's international education initiatives by facilitating the growth in the number of genuine overseas students wishing to study with registered Australian education providers.

The program yields major export income and builds cultural, social and economic links between Australia and Asia and the rest of the world. Australian education is highly prized, especially within the region, as reflected in the continued growth of the program.

Student visa grants reached a record of 146,577 in 2000-01, a 23.1 per cent increase over the 1999-2000 level of 119,103. This figure did not include permission to work grants (43,755) and change of provider grants (1,378).

Adding further to the benefits to Australia of temporary entry is the Working Holiday Maker Program. This allows young people from reciprocal-arrangement countries to have an extended holiday in Australia and to supplement their funds by working for short periods of time.

The program also contributes to the development of cultural, social and economic links and long-term trade opportunities between Australia and other countries, particularly promoting international understanding by enabling young people to experience our culture through people-to-people contact.

There was a three per cent increase in Working Holiday Maker visa grants in 2000-01 over 1999-2000 and new reciprocal working holiday arrangements were negotiated with the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

[Previous Page]  [Contents]  [Next Page]