Productivity Commission Inquiry

An inquiry into the migration programme settings is to be conducted by Productivity Commission.  The inquiry is broad ranging and will examine the impact of charges relative to quotas and qualitative criteria to determine Australia’s migration programme settings. 

The Commission has been given 12 months to investigate and report on their findings. The scope of the inquiry includes: 

• The benefits and costs that the intake of permanent entrants can generate
• An examination of the scope to use alternative methods for determining intakes – including through payment – and the effects these would have.
• The benefits and costs of temporary migration with an examination of the use of charges as the primary basis for regulating the level and composition of this migration
• Mechanisms for achieving an optimal interaction between temporary and permanent
• migration noting that temporary migration is an established pathway to permanent migration.