The left-wing Australian government‘s new “skilled migrant” list includes obscure jobs suited to Indian and Asian immigrants, such as massage therapist, yoga instructor and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.
Immigration minister Tony Burke on Tuesday unveiled the 456 occupations on its Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), which he said will “fill positions where no Australian workers are available” and “attract skilled migrants who will make a significant contribution to the Australian economy, including in the housing sector.
However, fewer than 15% of the occupations related to the housing sector, while a similar percentage are related to healthcare, and the list includes roles such as tour guide, office manager, flight attendant, child care worker, psychotherapist, music teacher (private tuition), content creator (marketing), and wushu martial arts coach.
The list will apply to the Core Skills stream of the new Skills in Demand visa, which will replace the Temporary Skill Shortage visa on December 7. The full list can be found here.
“The Government is determined to tackle the skills shortage, especially in the construction sector. This is an important step to attract qualified workers to help build more homes,” Mr Burke said.
Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, who was replaced by Mr Burke as immigration minister after overseeing a series of criminal refugee court blunders, said the government was “prioritising workers who can help to build the houses Australians need”.
“The Core Skills Occupation List plays an important role in ensuring Australia has a targeted skilled migration system that addresses genuine skills gaps in the economy, and works in conjunction with our work to train Australians,” he said.
Earlier this year Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029 – 20,000 a month – in order to solve the mass immigration-driven housing crisis.
But since the Housing Accord was announced in July the government has repeatedly failed to reach the target, falling 26% behind the required average monthly new home approvals, according to an analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data released by the Institute of Public Affairs on Monday.
15,498 new dwellings were approved for construction in October 2024, which is 4,502 below the target.
“Mainstream Australians are doing it tough in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. The federal government has not been fair dinkum in delivering on its promises to build more homes, despite the fact that it continues to bring in record levels of migration, which is exacerbating the problem,” said IPA Deputy Executive Director Daniel Wild.
Also on Monday an analysis of private home construction by KMPG found it had sunk to its lowest rate since 1987-88, while renovation has shot up.
“For every nail hammered and brick laid in residential construction 40% of it is going into renovating a pre-existing home,” said KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley.
“This indicates that there is not enough money and resources being attracted to expanding the housing stock.
“More straightforward planning processes and lower risks for builders make renovating existing homes a favoured option over adding multiple homes on the same block.”
Labor has overseen a record increase in population growth, with net overseas migration of about 1.15 million since the federal election in May 2022, 62% more than the previous record.
Header image: Left, Anthony Albanese. Right, Tony Burke (Facebook)
