The Home Affairs Minister of Australia, Clare O’Neill, has gone on to announce that the country’s skilled migration system will be simplified and red tape reduced, a strategy that is welcomed by the Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA).
The CEO of APHA, Michael Roff, confirmed that he was pleased to hear the O’Neill reference when it comes to Australia’s need to compete in the international marketplace for skilled personnel and that all the temporary skilled workers will have a pathway to permanent residency by this year’s end.
As per Roff, Australia is falling short in what it offers its workers. For instance, Canada moved to offer health personnel easy pathways when it came to residency due to COVID-19. On the other hand, France and the UK also went on to make similar arrangements. Australia, according to Roff, is on the back foot, and there is a lot of catching up to be done. Just opening the migration gates isn’t enough to attract people to the country.
He added that it is indeed pleasing to have the minister reference this as well as talk about how the infrastructure can be improved so as to support the migrants when they arrive in Australia.
It is well to be noted that in the private hospital landscape alone, there happens to be a dearth of 8,000 nurses, and they continue to compete across the world for a health workforce. Having measures in place that will make sure of a seamless pathway to residency in Australia is indeed a welcome move.
According to Roff, the removal of labour market testing was a major recommendation that APHA put forward to the government, which will streamline recruitment for personnel based out of foreign nations. As per him, they look forward to working with the government as a final plan gets developed in the coming months.