SSI calls for urgent National Migration Summit following proposals to slash temporary migration

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said Australia needs a more mature conversation about migration, grounded in evidence and honest about the consequences and trade-offs, because the stakes are too high to get it wrong.  

“Before we debate how big or small the migration program should be, we need to ask a much more important question: what do we want our migration system to achieve for Australia?” she said.  

“To build a migration system that works for all Australians, we need to bring together voices from across Australian society at a National Migration Summit, put the evidence and trade-offs on the table, and develop a long-term roadmap for Australia’s migration system.” 

Ms Roumeliotis said more than 40 organisations have joined SSI’s call for a National Migration Summit, including leading peak bodies such as the Minerals Council of Australia, Tech Council of Australia, Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Regional Australia Institute and the Australian Restaurant and Café Association 

“When organisations representing business, regional Australia, multicultural communities, settlement services and social services all agree that the conversation needs to change, government should take notice.” 

Ms Roumeliotis said proposals to dramatically cut migration would have real consequences for Australians that political leaders need to be upfront about – from deepening skills shortages and worsening waiting lists to delaying construction and weakening economic growth. 

“Australians deserve an honest conversation about the trade-offs from drastically cutting migration. Any proposal to significantly reduce migration without being upfront about what cuts of this scale would mean for Australians, our standard of living and our economy is not telling the full story.“ 

“Australians are right to be concerned about housing affordability, infrastructure pressures and access to services. These are legitimate concerns that deserve serious answers. 

“But cutting migration does not build a single home, add a train service or create a hospital bed. Those challenges require housing, infrastructure and workforce solutions.” 

Ms Roumeliotis said the latest proposal also demonstrated the risks of designing migration policy around headline numbers without considering how the system needs to work in practice. 

“Reducing bridging visas, for example, might sound sensible in theory, but these visas have also enabled Australia to respond when extraordinary events unfold overseas. 

“When Russia invaded Ukraine and when the Taliban seized control of Kabul, Australia needed flexibility in its migration system to respond quickly to people facing humanitarian crises. 

“A migration system designed solely around reducing numbers risks becoming too rigid to respond when the world changes.”