Immigration

Immigration has contributed to Australia’s success as a nation. 

The current immigration rate however is unsustainable, as it is having an adverse impact on the cost of living, delivery of essential services and housing affordability.

The major parties do not have a coherent immigration plan that will address the current challenges of housing, cost of living, and employment. Nor are they capable of delivering the required infrastructure and essential services to deal with a rapidly expanding population. 

The immigration program should focus on enhancing workforce productivity and assimilating immigrants into local communities. 

There should be an emphasis on encouraging immigrants to move to regional areas and less emphasis on the student intake. 

People First propose the following changes:

Cut & Cap Immigration

Limit immigration to 100,000 permanent visas to reduce pressure on housing, services, and infrastructure. Permanent residents who aren’t Australian citizens will not be able to sponsor relatives to move to Australia.

Grant temporary and permanent worker visas only with employer sponsorship

No immigrant will get a work visa without a job offer backed by employer sponsorship. All points based visas and skills in demand lists will end. If there is no sponsoring employer, applicants are not in demand. 

Integrate data systems to coordinate and track overall immigration numbers and employment outcomes. 

It will be the responsibility of the employer or education provider to ensure visa holders who have overstayed their visa leave the country. Fines will apply to the employer or education provider for visa holders who overstay their visas. 

Deny Entry to immigrants with radical views. 

Prevent entry to migrants with known radical views incompatible with Australian values.

Deport Illegal Immigrants

Expel all illegal immigrants in Australia. This is estimated to be almost 70,000 people. 

Deport Violent Foreign Criminals

Immediately deport any immigrant convicted of a violent crime.

Reform the Visa Appeals and Bridging Visa Process 

Streamline the deportation process and eliminate costly delays caused by the Administrative Review Tribunal. There are almost 400,000 people on bridging visas in Australia. They will be required to return to their home country before re-applying for a new visa to Australia. An exemption to this rule will apply to the spouse and children, including step-children of an Australian citizen. Employer and education visa sponsors will be fined if their employees or students overstay their visas. 

Investigate & Close Fraudulent Education Providers

Shut down training providers involved in fraud, fake qualifications, and diploma mills.

Reduce Foreign Student Intake

People First will prioritise university placements for Australians and cap the number of temporary education visas to just 1% of Australia’s population. This will see student numbers reduce by over 500,000 to relieve pressure on housing and infrastructure.  Foreign students with poor attendance records will be required to return home and finish their studies online. Foreign student visa fees will be increased to at least $20,000 to cover the cost of infrastructure and services used by students. Money raised through foreign student visas will help fund the military apprenticeship scheme for young Australians. 

No Unemployment Benefits for 10 Years

Foreign-born citizens must wait 10 years from date of becoming a permanent resident before receiving unemployment benefits, excluding refugees and dependents of Australian citizens.  Private Health Insurance and Income Protection Insurance will be mandatory for most immigrants, excluding refugees and dependents of Australian citizens. Where applicable the insurance can be deducted from the migrant’s superannuation.  Pensions will be pro-rated over 25 years based on the number of years an immigrant has worked in Australia. Once an immigrant has worked in Australia for 25 years they will be entitled to a full pension. Time spent raising children will count towards the pension work test.

Parent permanent visa fees will be lifted to $250,000 per parent and exclude access to the pension. 

Repeal the Indian Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangment

Australia’s immigration agreements with India will be repealed completely. Immigrants from India will need to be either sponsored by an employer in Australia subject to the permanent visa cap or pay an appropriate fee to study in Australia subject to the student visa cap. Indian education and trade qualifications will not be automatically recognised in Australia. The current immigration agreement with India is asymmetrical. India has a population 70 times greater than Australia and the movement of people is one way from India to Australia. Australia cannot sustain such a high immigration intake from one country and there are no obvious benefits to the Australian people from such an arrangement. 

Restrict work rights and medicare to NZ born residents only

To stop immigrants coming into Australia via New Zealand residency, Special Visa subclass 444 that grants work rights to New Zealanders, will only be issued to New Zealanders born in New Zealand. There will be a time limit of ten years for native born New Zealanders to live and work in Australia.