“The official data reveals what Australians have long suspected: the government’s migration program is a complete rort, with less than half of skilled migration program actually taken up by migrants with skills,” said Dr Kevin You, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.
New IPA analysis has found since data was collected in 2012, there has not been a single year in which genuine skilled permanent migration has comprised the majority of those approved under the skilled migration stream:
- In 2025, only 46 per cent of skilled permanent visa approvals were granted to migrants who have satisfied Home Affairs’ skills requirements. The rest are typically dependents of skilled migrants, colloquially known as ‘chain migrants’.
- Over the five years to June 2025, a total of 307,575 chain permanent migration visas have been approved under the misleading label ‘skilled’ migration.
“The federal government’s misleadingly named Skilled Migration Program is just a visa approvals target that clearly prioritise chain migration over skilled migration,” said Dr You.
“The government’s mass migration program has inflicted serious economic and social harm on mainstream Australians, all while telling them it’s to help the economy.”
“Federal governments, under both major parties, have misled Australians into thinking that we have a skills-first migration system. We do not, which helps explain why no matter how much migration is increased our workforce is not getting any more skilled or productive,” said Dr You.
Chart: Composition of permanent migration visa approvals by year
To download the IPA’s research, click here.
