A restaurant owner from South Australia’s south east is calling for urgent changes to the skilled migration visa program amid worsening staff shortages.
Key points:
- Changes to a key migration program means there is no incentive for skilled migrants to move to SA’s regional areas
- A restaurant owner has been advertising since changes were made in September but has not had a single applicant
- The state government says the system has returned to how it was before the COVID-19 pandemic
The director and head chef of the Pearl Continental restaurant in Naracoorte, Hafeez Ullah, has three chefs whose visa agreements end in February.
He has been advertising for more than two months for workers to replace them but has not had a single applicant.
“This is a problem for all sectors in regional South Australia, especially affecting the hospitality industry, tourism, aged care, and the automotive industry as well,” Mr Ullah said.
The South Australian General Skilled Migration (GSM) program for 2023-24, which opened in late September, is designed to attract skilled workers to fill labour shortages, offering several pathways or streams toward achieving permanent residency.
The state government removed three streams from the program after the federal government reduced the number of state nominations from 8,800 to 2,300.
The outer regional stream was among the axed pathways.
‘All industries’ to be affected
Removing the requirement to move to regional Australia as a pathway to permanent residency would lead to an exodus of skilled migrants from country areas, Mr Ullah said.
“This is a federal issue, but … after [the] 70 per cent less numbers, the state government needs to take action to support us in outer-regional South Australia,” he said.
“Otherwise in three or four months this is [going to] affect all industries and the economy.”
The outer-regional stream for skilled migrant visas was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage workers to move to regional areas with skill shortages.
But Mr Ullah said the latest change was resulting in a worse shortage.
“I think this is having more of an effect than COVID [in terms of] shortages of staff, with the new rules,” he said.
“We need to urgently and immediately review these policies and make new policies to support outer-regional South Australia that is better for us.”
Politicians call for change
Independent state MP Nick McBride, whose electorate includes Naracoorte, agreed changes were needed.
“It’s probably no wonder that employers in regional South Australia are finding it really difficult to fill the gaps when they require a skilled workforce,” he said.
Federal Member for Barker, Tony Pasin, said the federal government had made a series of decisions which have made it “harder for regional Australian businesses like Hafeez’s to find skilled workers”.
“In a sense, under this program, there’s no difference between Hafeez’s restaurant in Naracoorte and someone else’s restaurant in Adelaide,” Mr Pasin said.
“As a result people are not remaining in regional communities, they’re leaving for the cities, and we should have a migration policy that encourages people to live, work, and raise their families in regional Australia.”
Naracoorte Lucindale Mayor Patrick Ross had encouraged Mr Ullah to seek answers on the issue.
“In recent weeks I’ve learnt that all of South Australia, including Adelaide, is designated as regional under these new rules,” Mr Ross said.
“What this actually means is that the benefits that have been available to businesses in the real regional Australia, and especially South Australia, have been lost because, of course, people look for employment in the larger centres.
“These family-owned businesses are going to struggle. It’s an absolute disaster. We need to get this turned around as quickly as we can for the sake of small businesses in regional SA.”
Outer-regional category temporary
South Australian Industry Minister Susan Close said the outer-regional category was always intended to be a temporary measure due to the closure of international borders during the pandemic.
“With the resumption of migration flows the South Australian government has returned to its policy of nominating skilled migrants based on the alignment of their occupation, skills, and experience levels with statewide workforce demand,” Dr Close said in a statement.
“There are alternative migration pathways available to provide sustainable support for regional employers.
“Migrants who fill skills shortages in regional areas continue to be eligible for employer sponsorship under South Australia’s Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs).
“Occupations eligible for nomination through the DAMA include chefs, cooks, and hospitality supervisors and workers.”
The federal Department of Home Affairs was contacted for comment.
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