Australia's Immigration Program 11th Edition Paper Highlights

The second addendum to the 11th edition of "The Administration of the Immigration and Citizenship Programs" paper is available which complements the 11th edition and first addendum, providing updated information on Australia's immigration program.

Migration Strategy:

• Australian Government reforming migration system, outlined in Migration Strategy released on 11 December 2023.
• 8 key actions and 25 new policy initiatives to achieve objectives and reforms to better target the migration system for economic prosperity and security.

75 Years of Australian Citizenship:

• Over 6 million people from 200 countries welcomed as citizens since 1949.
• 13% increase in citizenship by conferral applications finalized from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
• 14% improvement in average processing time for citizenship application decisions in December 2023 compared to December 2022.
• 15,937 applications approved under the new direct pathway to citizenship for New Zealand citizens.

Stronger Humanitarian Program:

• 2022-2023 Refugee and Humanitarian program delivered in full with 17,875 visas granted. The 2023-2024 program increased to 20,000 places.
• 12,937 Subclass 851 Resolution of Status (RoS) visas granted as of 31 December 2023 for Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEV) visa holders.

Addressing Skill and Labour Shortages:

• As of January 5, 2024, 34 Aged Care Industry Labour Agreements are active and more than 26,000 fresh applications received for temporary skilled visas since July 1, 2023.
• Designated Area Migration Agreements surged by over 90% by December 31, 2023, in contrast to 2022.
• By December 31, 2023, 13,073 visas have been granted under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM).
• From July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, 122,388 Working Holiday Maker visas have been granted.

Visitor Visas support tourism:

From July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, there was a 40% rise in Visitor visa application lodgements and a 28% increase in finalizations compared to the same period in 2022. Visitor visa holders saw a 13.3% increase compared to 2022