News
A massive increase in the number of skilled visa places on offer for migrants to Western Australia (WA) is set to boost the construction and healthcare workforce in a state particularly affected by crippling labour shortages.
The WA state government and Federal Government of Australia have agreed to allow 10,000 more visa places for workers with applicable skills in construction and healthcare under the State Nominated Migration Program (SNMP) and the newly established WA Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) for the 2024-25 period.
The WA SNMP has been expanded from 2,450 places to offer 5,000 state-sponsored visas with the State Government able to nominate skilled migrants based on the its specific needs, focusing on sectors where local labour is insufficient.
Migrants to WA are also eligible for a visa under the state’s new DAMA, which can provide visas to those with the skills the designated area desperately needs. In the case of WA, critical industries lacking workers include construction, health and aged care, tourism, hospitality and agriculture. DAMAs are already in place in the WA regions of the Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields and South West, but the new designation has expanded this visa pathway to migrants living in any part of the state.
State Training and Workforce Development Minister Simone McGurk said WA would benefit greatly from the availability of more skilled workers and boost the potential of its economy to grow. She said there were still many industries in WA which were struggling to find suitably talented candidates.
“Securing places for 10,000 skilled workers will help us fill the many positions that can’t be filled locally. Skilled migrants are needed to meet immediate labour shortages,” she said.
“Training local workers will always be the priority, and we are doing this in record numbers through initiatives like fee-free TAFE, but additional migration places will make a huge difference to our ability to sustain and diversify WA’s economy. Everyone knows WA has vastly different needs from the eastern states.”
WA Premier Roger Cook singled out the state’s construction industry’s distinct need of more skilled workers as a problem his government sought to address with the visa increase.
“We are committed to continuing to create quality local jobs for local people, but to keep our economy strong and build homes we need to bring in skilled workers,” Cook said. “My Government is particularly focused on boosting our construction workforce to speed up delivery of homes and this agreement with the Commonwealth sends a signal to overseas markets that WA is open for business.”