The technology industry lobby group is urging the Albanian government to give higher earning migrants faster entry and a better pathway to permanent residency in Australia ahead of the jobs and skills summit later this week.
The Tech Council of Australia will formally ask the federal government at the summit to implement a 10-day visa processing commitment for high-paid skilled technology jobs, and ensure migrants with IT skills have a pathway to Australian permanent residency. The request comes after Atlassian billionaire Scott Farquhar called on the government to cut red tape and allow easier access for skilled migrants to help alleviate an acute skills shortage in tech.
Kate Pounder, Technology Council of Australia chief, with Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, and Canva’s Cliff Obrecht.Credit:Jamila Toderas
In a report to be released on Wednesday, the Tech Council argues that tech will play a vital role in the future of the Australian economy. Australia has created more than 2 percent of the world’s tech unicorns (companies valued over $US1 billion, or $1.4 billion), which is above our share of global economic output, at 1.6 percent.
Chief executive Kate Pounder said the tech sector could play a major role in the growth of Australia’s future industries, but delays in visa processing were leaving the country behind in the hunt for top international talent.
“Australia’s visa processing takes months and in the worst cases more than a year, whereas our competitor countries in Canada, New Zealand and the UK are processing visas in as little as two weeks,” she said.
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Cliff Obrecht, council member and co-founder of software unicorn Canva, said the report highlighted the ambition of Australia’s tech companies.
“The report acknowledges a unique trait seen in many Australian tech companies – they dream big from the beginning, seek to solve complex challenges [to] the status quo and take risks,” he said.
Farquhar said the government should consider adopting a salary threshold of between $120,000 and $200,000 for faster visa processing.