Fact Sheet 20 - Migration Program Planning Levels
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Australia's permanent immigration program has two components:
- The Migration component consists of Skilled Stream migrants, Family Stream migrants and migrants with a Special Eligibility class visa.
- The Humanitarian component is for refugees and others in humanitarian need.
The planning level for the 2012–13 Migration Program is set at 190 000 places. The Humanitarian Program is set at 13 750 places.
Information about the Humanitarian Program is available.
See: Fact Sheet 60 Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian Program
Migration Program
The 2012–13 Migration Program is set at 190 000 places. This comprises:
- 60 185 places for family migrants who are sponsored by family members already in Australia
- 129 250 places for skilled migrants who gain entry essentially because of their work or business experience, business qualifications, skills or sponsorship
- 565 places for special eligibility migrants who are former permanent residents and have maintained close business, cultural or personal ties with Australia.
The Skill Stream comprises 68 per cent of the program while the Family Stream comprises 31.7 per cent.
See: Migration Program Statistics
Program Range
A number of factors will influence how the visa subclasses are distributed within the program, including:
- the number of applications made in categories that are in high demand such as partner, child and employer nominated and business categories
- the number of applicants who take up places in state-specific and regional migration categories
- the extent of national skill shortages and the ability to attract migrants to fill these vacancies
- the availability of high standard applicants in the skilled categories.
Caps
A number of visa classes can be capped. This means when the number of visas set by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship within a class has been reached for that program year, no further visas can be granted.
See: Fact
Sheet 21 Managing the Migration program
Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au
The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Recorded information is available outside these hours.
Fact Sheet 20. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last reviewed May 2012.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2010.