Just a day after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese referred to his visiting Indian counterpart Narendra Modi as the ‘boss’ during a community event attended by the Indian diaspora, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was illuminated in Indian tricolour as the two leaders held bilateral meetings.
On the following day, on May 24, Mr. Albanese, speaking to a local radio programme, highlighted the significance of this gesture, mentioning that there were 1.4 billion reasons to do so. In recent years, Australia’s relationship with India has witnessed substantial growth and progress across various fronts, including trade, geopolitics and people-to-people exchanges. Albanese’s remarks was an acknowledgement of this progress in bilateral ties.
Migration partnerships
The leaders announced the finalisation of the Australia-India Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement. This development holds great significance, particularly considering the challenges faced by both countries in reaching a consensus on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. The Migration and Mobile Partnership Agreement aims to foster reciprocal movement of students, graduates, academic researchers and business professionals, while simultaneously strengthening efforts to prevent irregular migration and combat people smuggling.
“Australia and India have entered into a Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA), which will see both countries benefit from enhanced cooperation on migration issues,” a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Home Affairs told The Hindu. The MMPA agreement encompasses notable provisions, such as granting Indian students who have completed their studies at an Australian tertiary institution the opportunity to work in their field of study in Australia for up to eight years.
Additionally, it includes the issuance of three-month visitor visas to Indians for family or business purposes, enabling them to engage in important personal and professional interactions. The agreement will also facilitate business visas for Australians, allowing them to visit India for extended periods of up to five years, fostering stronger economic ties between the two nations.
New work visa
Under the agreement, five-year student visas will be established for students from both countries, promoting educational collaboration and cultural exchange. One of the most significant announcements under this agreement, though, is the introduction of a new skilled pathway named MATES (Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early Professionals Scheme), “specifically designed for India”.
Under this scheme, cleverly titled as MATES, a new temporary work visa will be launched tailored for young Indian graduates and early-career professionals possessing university qualifications in specialised technical sectors. “MATES will commence as a pilot programme with 3,000 places for primary applicants per programme year, who may bring dependants,” a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Home Affairs told The Hindu.
This pathway will be accessible to graduates and professionals specialising in fields such as IT and artificial intelligence, mining, financial technology, engineering, agritech, and green energy. It will enable these individuals to work and reside in Australia for a duration of up to two years.
Mark Glazbrook, CEO of Migration Solutions, a migration agency based in Adelaide, says: “The visa will be specifically for anyone 31 years of age or younger who is a recent graduate from an eligible and well-recognised Indian University.” Unlike other common temporary work visas, this visa won’t require sponsorship from an employer or state or territory government.
“It is interesting that there is no minimum salary requirement for this programme at a time when the Federal Government, Australian Unions and others have raised their concerns over the previous setting of the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), seeing it increase from $53,900 to $70,000 on July 1, 2023,” Mr. Glazbrook says. He believes there will be a massive demand for these visas when it is launched.
According to Prime Minister Albanese, the new visa programme would “greatly benefit” Australia in the field of technology. “We know that having people from places like Hyderabad and Bengaluru are leading the world in information technology and in so many areas, and if we can have those people come and impart their skills here, over a couple of years, which is what the visas will be for, then it will greatly benefit Australia, and of course, they will get to experience the wonder of being in Australia for that period of time as well,” Mr. Albanese told local media.
High representation
Last year, a government report revealed that Indian-born residents are significantly overrepresented in highly skilled occupations such as information and communication technology (ICT), health, human resources, business and marketing and engineering and science technicians compared to the general Australian population.
They also mirror the top occupations through which Indian immigrants entered Australia as temporary workers and skilled migrants in 2019-20; as software and applications programmers, ICT analysts and registered nurses. The proportion of Indian-born workers has steadily increased over the past decade and is prominently represented across the top five occupations experiencing significant growth, surpassing their population share. The Indian diaspora is also one of the largest tax-paying migrant groups in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Australia India Business Council (AIBC), an Australian organisation promoting bilateral trade and investment, has welcomed the announcement about the MATES scheme. “Australia’s migration system hasn’t always worked to attract talented early career professionals, so this is a very positive programme that not only helps meet our workforce needs but ensures we have the brightest minds helping to shape our country’s future,’ says Jodi McKay, National Chair, AIBC.
However, there is no set timeframe for its implementation. The Australian government has said both countries will work expeditiously towards implementing MATES. Once launched, MATES will be categorized as a temporary visa programme, separate from Australia’s permanent migration programme, which has been set at 190,000 places for the 2023-24 period.
While individuals granted visas under the MATES scheme will not automatically qualify for permanent residency in Australia, they will have the opportunity to explore other eligible visa streams, say officials.
(Mosiqi Acharya is a journalist with ABC News)
