Photo credit: Daily Mail
A record number of working visas have been issued to holidaymakers with the figure surpassing 200,000 for the first time.
DailyMail.com reports that the huge influx poses a political challenge for the Albanese government, as it has promised to cut down on high immigration levels due to a housing shortage. The government also raised concerns that the inflow is fuelling consumer demand and keeping prices high.
A surge of British backpackers is leading the immigration, and it has almost doubled, in number, over the past three years as they take advantage of loosened rules instituted by the former Morrison government.
The changes raised the maximum age of visa holders from 30 to 35, allowed a three-year stay and no longer required 88 days of regional work, meaning overseas visitors could stay put in the cities if they so wished.
This has led to 47,000 British working travellers calling Australia home this November, up from 31,000 last December and 21,000 the year before. Home Affairs in June announced there had been a 300 per cent increase in applications for third-year visas.
Australia in November also hosted a record number of working holidaymakers from France, 23,700 and Ireland 21,800. there were also 14,800 from Japan, 13,400 from Italy and 12,700 from South Korea.
Former immigration department official Abdul Rizvi said the changes Scott Morrison introduced had drastic demand for working visas, but the strong labour market and other deals also helped open the floodgates.
Immigration has become a politically sensitive issue as Australia continues to suffer a housing crisis with the continued high number of international students is also putting pressure on rents in the big cities.
Labour had aimed for a net overseas migration intake of 395,000 during the last financial year, down from a record 528,000 previously. However, Mr Rizvi, a former immigration department deputy secretary, estimated 450,000 to 475,000 people were likely to have moved to Australia in 2023-24.
Treasury’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast released this month showed 340,000 migrants arriving in Australia in 2024-25. That’s significantly higher than the 260,000-level forecast for this financial year in the May budget.
