The COVID crisis highlights how important migrant workers are to the Australian economy, yet the role migrants play in the jobs market is poorly understood. This guidebook seeks to fill that knowledge gap so policy-makers can reform the system to supercharge the economic benefits of migration to Australians.

This report highlights how the current temporary skilled migration program in Australia is unpopular with the public, squanders many of the potential benefits of temporary skilled migration, and enables unscrupulous employers to exploit workers.

Before COVID-19, Australia was one of the world’s most open countries for migration. However, recent travel restrictions have brought migration to a standstill. This report shows how Australia’s permanent skilled migration program should change when borders are reopened.

This paper provides important context for the changes to the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) announced by the federal government this month, which include expanding eligibility to accessing the AMEP and relaxing the timeframe in which people can access this support. It builds on conversations with senior officials, experts and communities over many months about...

In an era where structural aid cuts have undermined Australia’s capacity to deliver poverty reduction, there should be a more active approach to support a broader development agenda which includes migration, argues Henry Sherell.