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Employer-Sponsored Visas – Why ‘Genuine’ Is No Longer Genuine, and How Broken Policy Is Undermining Australia’s Future Workforce

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Australia Is Crying Out for Skilled Workers

Employers are desperate, industries are short-staffed, and the economy is losing billions in productivity. Yet our migration system — the very tool designed to fix this — is actively blocking the talent we claim to need.


On paper, the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Skills in Demand visa framework are meant to connect proven skill shortages with qualified workers, protect program integrity, and boost productivity. In reality, they are being applied in ways that are inconsistent, overly subjective, and often divorced from the economic urgency they were created to address.


The Industry Problem – Employer-Sponsored Migration

Employer-sponsored migration should be one of our nation’s strongest economic levers. Instead, it’s increasingly defined by:


  • Refusals of fully compliant, evidence-rich nominations because a delegate is “not satisfied” the role is genuine.

  • Labour Market Testing (LMT) thrown out over irrelevant procedural technicalities.

  • Financial capacity questioned for profitable, compliant, and respected businesses.

  • The “genuine position” test — once a safeguard — becoming a subjective filter heavily influenced by mood, interpretation, and political cycles.


We see cut-and-paste refusal templates from APS Level 3–5 decision-makers, many of whom have never worked in the industries they are assessing. Often there is no phone call, no email, no request for clarification before a decision is issued. Procedural fairness becomes an afterthought, not a right.

If these refusal reasons were published side-by-side, they would be a mockery of modern governance in a country that claims world-class standards.


Processing Delays – The Silent Killer

Even when a nomination ticks every legal and evidentiary box, processing can drag on for months or even years. For Skills in Demand visas — where shortages are already confirmed — this is indefensible.


Roles that should be filled in days or weeks are left vacant while the Department invests time in renaming visa subclasses instead of delivering faster outcomes. The result? Businesses remain short-staffed, skilled workers are left in limbo, and industries critical to our economy — from hospitality and trades to aged care and construction — operate under constant pressure.


The Cost – Beyond the Case File

  • Employers lose productivity, contracts, and revenue.

  • Skilled workers face career disruption, financial strain, and personal uncertainty.

  • The broader economy absorbs billions in lost output each year.


Many of these refusals are easily overturned at the Administrative Review Tribunal. But by then, the damage is done — and the decision-makers are never held accountable for the cost they’ve inflicted.


Why This Matters to Me

I began my journey in Australia as an international student, became a permanent resident, and eventually a proud Australian citizen. This country has given me much — from serving with the Royal Australian Navy and the Defence Force, to working in the Department of Immigration, and building a business that for nearly eight years has connected employers with skilled migrants and changing lives of hundreds of skilled people and businesses.

I have deep respect, gratitude, and love for Australia. But the current state of employer-sponsored migration is broken. It is wasteful. It is failing the very businesses and people it was designed to support. And it is undermining the high standard this nation should always uphold.


What Needs to Change

This isn’t about lowering standards — it’s about:

  • Fairness – consistent application of the law without arbitrary interpretation.

  • Transparency – decision-making that can be audited and justified.

  • Efficiency – urgent roles processed with urgency, not bureaucratic delay.


We need:

  • Industry bodies to lead coordinated lobbying.

  • Migration professionals to speak with one voice.

  • Employers to document and share the operational damage caused by refusals and delays.


Final Word

We may not live in a perfect world, but we can do far better than this. If you’re an employer, industry leader, or skilled migrant, speak up now. Pressure for reform only works when the people affected push together.


Things will move on — but if enough of us act, they can also move forward.


With respect and conviction, Raju KC Registered Migration Agent | MARN 1799073

 
 
 

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