Key Point
- The immigration minister has said more than 3 million visas have been finalized since June 1.
- He also said the government is looking to simplify the system used to prioritize applications.
- This comes as the government prepares to overhaul Australia’s immigration system.
The Australian visa backlog, which once had nearly one million applications, is now down to 755,000.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said at the Australian Economic Development Board (CEDA) immigration conference in Sydney on Wednesday that more than 3 million visas had been finalized since June 1.
Giles said the government is on track to a backlog of about 600,000 by the end of the year, which .
He said nearly 300 more staff have been hired to process visas.
“We have automated simple tasks so our staff can tackle more complex visa applications,” he said.
Giles said the government is also trying to simplify the system used to prioritize applications.
“The complexity of the previous prioritization system added up to 45 minutes for each skilled visa application,” he said.
“When you put everyone first, you put nobody first.”
In his speech, Giles noted that the median skill visa processing time was blown from four months in 2015-16, increasing by one month each year, and that the median processing time in 2018-19 was Said it was 7 months.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said more than 3 million visas have been finalized since June 1. sauce: AAP / Lucas Koch/AAPIMAGE
Giles said the government had increased the number of skill and family visas this fiscal year, adding that “no immigration should be permanent and temporary.”
At the meeting, former Chief Civil Servant Martin Parkinson was one of three experts tasked with conducting a comprehensive review of Australia’s immigration system, a discussion paper available on the Home Office website. He said he was able to
The deadline for submissions is December 15, with experts aiming to submit an interim report by the end of February and a final strategy by late March or April.
Parkinson said he didn’t want to prejudge the outcome, but admitted that the review would likely begin with the speculation that streamlining the visa review process could benefit.
of $36.1 million included in visa processing, increased staff capacity by 500 over 9 months and reduced backlog.
The government has announced that it will review Australia’s immigration system to ensure it is up to date.
“We need a system to attract and retain talent, a system that is simple, efficient and complementary to the skills that exist in Australia,” said Mr Giles.
“International migration is already important to economic activity. For Australia, this importance will continue to grow over time.”
-with AAP
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/ministers-visa-backlog-prediction-as-number-of-outstanding-applications-fall/nuymn87zm Visa Backlog: Minister Forecasts for Backlog of Applications to Decline