Businesses are the heart of the community and the heart of the economy. Whether it’s a local tradesperson, your accountant on the high street or hairdresser you have booked in for the weekend, Australian businesses provide 90 per cent of our jobs, are the largest contributors to economic growth and provide the critical services we all rely on. And we know the biggest challenge facing business right now is access to workers.

Governments across Australia are investing in our homegrown skills pipeline and this is welcome. But more needs to be done now to ensure we take advantage of any post COVID economic boom. Our solutions are practical, simple and will boost economic development, putting us in pole position to compete with nations like Canada that are far ahead when it comes to attracting skilled talent.

First, we need to reward those international workers on temporary visas that are due to expire in the next 12 months with a further automatic two-year extension that is rolled over and requires no application or fee, thereby easing pressure on our migration system. This is the least we can do to thank these skilled migrants for sticking with us during such a difficult time away from their family and home country. If we don’t, we will start seeing these visas expire over the next few months, and our worker shortage will only be further exacerbated.   

Second, we need to motivate international students to return to our shores and those currently here to stay longer. The Government should implement longer temporary graduate visas of four years, while at the same time maintaining the temporary relaxation of working hours for existing student visa holders while there remains a critical labour shortage. This will ensure that we are not losing out on talent to other countries.

Third, we need to encourage skilled migrants back into Australia and support more employers to sponsor migrants by making the visa process easier, cheaper and faster and promoting Australia as the place to be as we come out of COVID-19. Clearing the backlog of visa applications is a good start, with easier pathways to permanent residency and citizenship a must. What better way to encourage someone to make a contribution here in Australia than giving them a clear path to citizenship?  We don’t have the luxury of a year to clear this backlog and, as international flight costs soar out of control, we need to consider bringing back direct incentives of past decades to get this critical human supply crunch under control again. It not only needs to be quick, it must also be easy and affordable to come here to work. 

State and Federal governments can come together to help solve this short to medium term crisis, but we need to do so in a way that rewards those who help our economic recovery. The will of business is there to capitalise on our post pandemic recovery, to continue delivering critical services and driving jobs growth. What is good for business is good for Australia and more importantly our local communities. This is not about asking for a handout, just a hand up when it comes to accessing staff to do the job. Now is the time for Government to act.  

This article originally appeared in the Australian Financial Review on 18 July 2022.