A new report from the Australian National University says a far smaller proportion of permanent migrants to Australia are primary skilled workers than government statements have suggested, with family and secondary applicants making up the majority of permanent visas.
The ANU Migration Hub analysis found just 12% of placements in the permanent migration program were awarded to skilled primary applicants. More than 60% of permanent visas went to family and secondary applicants, the report’s authors said, a share the researchers said was roughly double the official public narrative.
The report, authored by ANU Professor Alan Gamlen and emeritus Professor Peter McDonald, concluded the current permanent program has “failed to deliver what it promises.” "It brings in relatively few genuinely skilled workers, while favouring family migration," the authors wrote, arguing the permanent stream is not providing a steady pipeline of new skilled labour as intended.
The ANU study said the engine of skilled migration has instead come from temporary visa holders. In the three years covered by the report, 84% of the increase in migrant skilled employment was attributable to international students, recent graduates and working holidaymakers who obtain temporary work rights and, in many cases, later transition to longer-term employment.
The report noted that graduate visa holders and their partners are frequently working in high-skill fields: "Contrary to claims that they mostly end up in low-skill jobs, census data show that over half of graduate visa holders work in high-skill fields. Their partners also contribute strongly. Working holidaymakers, stereotyped as farmhands and bar staff, increasingly take up skilled positions," the authors wrote. At the same time, the report said graduate visa holders can face a Catch-22, unable to secure permanent residency without skilled work while finding it difficult to obtain skilled roles without residency.
The report urges a policy reset that would reorient the capped permanent program toward primary skilled applicants. Recommendations include sharpening the program’s purpose by prioritising employer-sponsored skilled migrants within the cap, processing partner, child and secondary family applicants outside the capped program, and keeping humanitarian and parent visa settings capped as appropriate, the authors said. "We think that permanent programs should focus squarely on skilled primary applicants, especially through employer sponsorship," Professor Gamlen told ABC NewsRadio.
The ANU findings come as the federal government maintained its permanent migration intake at 185,000 for the 2025–26 financial year. On Sept. 2, Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the Albanese government would keep the permanent migration program "at the same level and settings as the 2024–2025 program, 185,000," adding that consultations with states and territories recommended maintaining the size and composition of the program "with a focus on skilled migration."
The permanent migration figure includes those on skilled, family and special eligibility visas, but does not encompass people who already hold Australian citizenship or permanent residency, nor those on temporary visas. Those groups are captured in net overseas migration (NOM) statistics: NOM reached a record high of 538,000 in 2022–23 and fell to 446,000 in 2023–24, with updated figures due to be published later in the month. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said Labor is committed to reducing NOM to pre-pandemic levels.
The report’s release follows months of public debate about immigration levels, including large anti-immigration protests in major cities that organisers said drew tens of thousands of participants protesting record-high population growth since the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has said the permanent program is being delivered without disruption and that Home Affairs is processing visas at last year’s levels.
The ANU authors and other analysts say clearer separation between the objectives of permanent and temporary migration streams would restore policy clarity, better address skills shortages, and improve employer confidence. The government has signalled a continued emphasis on skilled migration within the current intake settings, but has not announced the structural changes to the permanent program called for by the report.
The ANU Migration Hub report adds to an evidence base showing the complexity of Australia’s migration system, where temporary visa pathways, family reunion, and employer-sponsored migration interact and where shifts in one part of the system can affect labour market outcomes in other parts. The report and government statements indicate the debate over how to balance family reunion, humanitarian commitments and economic immigration is likely to continue as official migration and NOM data are updated.