Reforms needed to streamline skills recognition for qualified migrants

Experts believe Australia is currently missing out on the full economic value of its skilled migrant workforce.

Recent analysis shows that more than 600,000 permanent migrants are working below their qualification level, despite widespread shortages in critical sectors such as engineering, teaching, health, and trades.

This mismatch isn’t due to a lack of talent—it’s the result of slow, inconsistent, and often duplicative skills recognition and licensing processes across states and professions.

Migrants who have already undergone rigorous skills assessments for some skilled visas are frequently required to repeat similar assessments once onshore, delaying their ability to work in their trained occupations.

Skills recognition processes for migrants

Overseas qualifications and work experience aren’t always recognised in Australia because they may not align with local industry, licensing, or training standards.

Many migrants need to complete two separate processes before they can work in their nominated occupation: a Skills Assessment for their visa and Occupational Licensing to meet state or national standards.

Requiring two similar processes to verify skills is unnecessarily repetitive, costly, and time-consuming—especially during a period of skills shortages.

Visa

May require a skills assessment to confirm qualifications meet Australia’s occupation standards.

Occupational licensing

Ensures the migrant meets state or national regulatory requirements to legally work in their specific profession.

Employment

Employer independently verifies a candidate’s practical capabilities and suitability for the role.

Business impact

For employers, delays in skills recognition processes represent a significant untapped opportunity. Many highly qualified professionals already living in Australia are ready to fill shortages, but fragmented skills recognition systems hold them back.

Dr Martin Parkinson, a former Treasury secretary and contributor to the ‘Review of the Migration System‘ report, addressed these issues alongside Violet Roumeliotis, Chief Executive Officer of Settlement Services International, at a National Press Club this month.

A nurse qualified in Queensland should not face a different licensing process in Western Australia. An electrician licensed in Victoria should not have to start again in New South Wales.

– said Dr Parkinson.

Right now, 44 per cent of qualified permanent migrants are working below their skill level.

That is about 620,000 people not working in their trained professions, while we have critical shortages in those same fields.

– said Ms Roumeliotis.

According to Ms Roumeliotis:

Education

• About 20,000 teachers are under-utilised when eight in 10 public schools are grappling with teacher shortages

Trades

• 1,300 electricians are not using their skills while there is a national housing crisis

Engineering

• 47,000 migrant engineers are working below their skill level while the national shortfall of engineers reached a decade high

Aged Care & Health

• Doctors, nurses, aged care workers and speech pathologists are also not working in the jobs for which they are qualified due to skills recognition processes

What’s next: Possible reforms

A national campaign, ‘Activate Australia’s Skills,’ is pushing for reforms that would streamline skills recognition, improve licensing portability across states, and provide clearer pathways for migrants to enter their professions sooner.

The campaign is supported by an alliance of more than 100 businesses, unions, and employer groups.

Proposed measures include:

• An independent and centralised national commissioner for skills recognition, providing oversight of the process from ‘visa’ to ‘occupational license’ to ’employment’
• A single navigation service for migrants throughout the skills recognition process
• Targeted financial support where needed
• Better alignment between visa requirements and occupational licensing

For employers, these reforms could mean faster access to qualified workers, reduced recruitment delays, and a more efficient migration system that better matches skills to workforce needs.

Sustainable people strategy: Global talent

Ideally, a worker’s qualifications should be mutually recognised in each state and territory in Australia without the need for retraining.

Delays and limitations can also arise where a migrant meets national or state standards to work in their occupation but does not meet skills assessment requirements for certain skilled visas.

Interstaff supports employers requiring sustainable global talent strategy to strengthen workforce capabilities.

Access our immigration insights to explore:

• Work rights and visa conditions
• Skilled visa changes
• Temporary and permanent visa pathways