Australia Increases Skill Stream Visas Spaces to 109,900 for 2022-2023

Australia announces the permanent migration program ceiling as part of the 2022-2023 Budget. The Federal Budget was delivered on March 29, 2022. 

160,000 Australian permanent residence visa spaces will be available under the 2022-2023 Migration Program that has been designed to boost the economic recovery of Australia in the post-pandemic scenario. 

According to the official statement by Australia’s Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alex Hawke, “As part of our plan for a stronger future, the Morrison Government is addressing critical skill shortages, driving innovation and attracting investment as part of the 2022-23 Budget.”  

Of the total visa spaces available, a majority - 109,900 - will be allotted for skilled workers that want to make Australia their new home.

The skill stream of Australia immigration is designed to - 

• Deal with skill shortages in the Australian labor market, and
• Improve the productive capacity of the economy in Australia. 

Another 50,000 places will be for family members from overseas, offering them pathways to citizenship. The family stream of Australian immigration is predominantly made up of Australia partner visas. 

No limit or ceiling on the number of Partner visas that can be issued in the program year. 40,500 Partner visas are estimated for 2022-2023. 

The Australia PR visa spaces available under the skill steam visa categories can be redistributed on an ongoing basis in keeping with the changing economic conditions. 

The 2022-2023 program year will run from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

Australia’s 2022-2023 Migration Program planning levels 

To come up with the policy settings and planning levels for a program year, consultations are held by Australia's Department of Home Affairs (DHA) with - 

• State and territory governments
• Representatives of industry, academia etc. 

Public submissions are also solicited by the Australian government. 

Various factors are taken into consideration for the planning of Australia’s Migration Program, such as - net overseas migration, international research, fiscal and economic modeling, as well as economic and labour force forecasts.  

Under the Migration Program planning levels of Australia, nomination allocations are set aside for the State and Territory nominated visa categories - 

• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)
• Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)

The State and Territory nomination allocations for the 2022-2023 Program Year are forthcoming. 

In the 2021-2022 Program Year, there were a total of 15,580 visa spaces available as State and Territory nominated visa allocation for subclass 190 Australian visas. Another 14,060 spaces were for subclass 491 visa pathway to permanent residence in Australia.