Beyond Politics: A National Migration Summit for Australia’s future

Beyond Politics: A National Migration Summit for Australia’s future

A coalition of business and civil society organisations is calling on the Australian Government to convene a National Migration Summit this year, bringing together key stakeholders to address community concerns, build confidence in Australia’s migration

system and develop a long-term migration strategy that serves the nation’s economic and social interests.

Australia’s migration system should be shaped by evidence, informed by diverse perspectives and guided by our long-term national interests.

Migration is too important to be left to reactive policymaking or political bidding wars. The challenges are too important, and the opportunities too significant, to settle for a second-best outcome.

A National Migration Summit would help move the conversation beyond short-term politics towards a shared national vision for Australia’s migration system – one that balances economic opportunity and workforce needs, regional development, demographic change, nation-building, social cohesion, system integrity and community confidence.

There is a pressing need for an open forum to seriously and constructively discuss community concerns, including housing affordability, infrastructure and cost-of-living pressures.

These are legitimate issues that deserve serious attention through evidence-based, coordinated policy, rather than reactive responses narrowly focused on migration numbers.

For decades, governments of all political persuasions have recognised that well-managed migration has been one of Australia’s greatest national strengths. That bipartisan consensus has helped build a prosperous economy and one of the world’s most successful multicultural societies.

Now is the time to renew that consensus.

Australia has faced significant national challenges before and brought together diverse voices to develop solutions. In response to declining productivity, wage stagnation and workforce shortages, the Australian Government convened the Jobs and Skills Summit in 2022 ― a cross-sector solutions forum.

Migration deserves the same considered approach.

A National Migration Summit would bring together all levels of government, industry peak bodies, businesses, unions, community and settlement organisations, researchers, economists, human rights experts and migration specialists to co-design a long-term, evidence-based roadmap for Australia’s migration system.

Such a summit should examine how Australia can:

• build a migration system that supports long-term economic growth and productivity and upholds human rights;
• respond to workforce shortages and the challenges of an ageing population;
• better align migration, infrastructure, housing and public service planning;
• maintain the integrity and efficiency of Australia’s migration and humanitarian systems;
• support successful settlement and social cohesion; and
• build public confidence by ensuring migration policy is transparent, evidence-based and focused on the national interest.