Fact Sheet 20 - Migration Program Planning Levels
On this page
Australia's permanent immigration program has two components. Migration, for Skilled and Family Stream migrants and those granted a Special Eligibility class visa and Humanitarian, for refugees and others in humanitarian need.
Information about the Humanitarian Program is available.
See: Fact Sheet 60 Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian Program
Migration Program
The 2011–12 Migration Program is set at 185 000 places. This comprises:
- 58 600 places for family migrants who are sponsored by family members already in Australia
- 125 850 places for skilled migrants who gain entry essentially because of their work or business skills
- 550 places for special eligibility migrants.
The skilled stream comprises 68 per cent of the program and the family stream comprises 32 per cent. This maintains the government's commitment to an immigration policy which seeks to balance social, economic, humanitarian and environmental objectives.
See: Migration Program Statistics
Program Range
The program will be delivered close to the planning level depending on:
- application rates in demand-driven categories such as partner, child and employer nominated and business categories
- the take up of 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.
Capping
A number of visa classes are subject to capping. This means the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship sets a limit on the number of visas that can be granted for that program year. Once this limit has been reached, no further visas can be granted in that class in that program year.
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 January 2012.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2010.