Targets and tests firm up for migrants under budget

The federal budget reveals skilled migrants already on the ground stand to benefit from changes to the way Australia processes arrivals from abroad.

More than 70 percent of the 185,000 quotas reserved for permanent immigrants will be skilled workers.

Migrants already in Australia will make up more than two-thirds of those allowed to stay; offshore applicants will have to jostle for the remaining 55,000 visas reserved for highly skilled people.

The measure will put downward pressure on net overseas migration, according to 2026/27 budget documents released on Tuesday night.

Most permanent skilled migrants are tested with a points test to determine their potential contribution to Australian society.

This testing will be optimized to “select better-educated, highly-skilled and younger immigrants overall,” according to budget documents.

About $85.2 million will also be distributed over the next four years to help speed up the process of assessing and licensing foreigners with overseas qualifications, such as electricians and plumbers, to work in Australia.

The budget also allocates $74.2 million for court systems to combat abuse of the protection visa system and nearly $20 million for better screening of student visa applicants.

They form part of a four-year, $167 million package to strengthen the integrity of the transit system.

The application fee for graduates seeking a temporary visa was doubled in March; This move is expected to add $1.2 billion more to federal coffers.

Labor has faced growing pressure from One Nation and the coalition to curb immigration to reduce demand for housing and ease the burden on services.

Support for One Nation reached new heights in the months after the Bondi massacre, with Pauline Hanson attributing expatriates to a breakdown in social cohesion.

In April, Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor also suggested scanning the social media accounts of foreigners looking to move to Australia and implementing merit tests.