In brief
This year’s budget contained measures targeted at fast-tracking migrants into the workforce and addressing skill shortages experienced in various industries.
Key takeaways
As part of the Budget, the following measures have been announced to address Australia’s skill shortages and migration needs for the years to come:
- The permanent Migration Program planning level for 2026-27 remains at 185,000 places with over 70% dedicated to the Skills stream;
- The Government will invest AUD 85.2 million over a four-year period from 2026-27 targeted at the implementation of a modern skills assessment system with the ultimate purpose of fast-tracking foreign workers with the right qualifications and skills into the workforce;
- Changes to the permanent migration points test. Details for these changes are still to be announced.
In more detail
The Government will set the 2026-27 permanent Migration Program planning level at 185,000 places and allocate 132,240 places (over 70%) to the Skill stream. In the Skill and Family streams of the permanent Migration Program, the Government will prioritise applications from onshore migrants, allocating 129,590 places to migrants already living in Australia. 55,110 offshore places will be predominately allocated to high-skilled migrants that help address Australia’s long-term skill needs.
AUD 85.2 million will be invested by the Government over a four-year period from 2026-27 to increase the efficiency in the recognition of migrant skills, including:
- AUD 75.1 million over four years from 2026–27 to implement a modern skills assessment system for Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), supporting the integration of occupational licensing and introducing streamlined licensing pathways for priority trades which are expected to cut the time taken by foreign trades workers to enter the workforce by up to six months and facilitate up to an additional 4,000 skilled trades workers into the workforce every year.
- AUD 5.6 million over three years from 2026–27 for TRA to deliver a new skills assessment program for onshore visa holders, enabling recognition of existing qualifications and practical trade experience to address workforce shortages by allowing visa holders with the requisite skill levels to gain employment quicker.
- AUD 4.5 million over four years from 2026–27 to strengthen regulatory oversight of Assessing Authorities, including improved transparency and accountability and the introduction of mandatory annual performance reports from 2027.
The Government will also introduce changes to the permanent migration points test, aimed at identifying migrants who are better educated, higher-skilled and younger migrants overall. Specific changes to the points test have not yet been announced.
The above measures are being introduced by the Government in addition to the recent two-fold increase in the visa application charge for temporary graduate visa applicants, introduced back in March 2026 which is expected to generate about AUD 1.2 billion in receipts for the Government over a five-year period from 2025-26.
A copy of the Federal Budget papers can be found here.
Austin Nguyen, Associate, Jeremy Hyman, Head of Communications, and Sky Friend, Business Development Consultant, have contributed to this legal update.