Released alongside a parliamentary inquiry, a new Kaldor Centre policy brief shows how refugee labour pathways could help address regional Australia’s workforce shortages while providing durable opportunities for displaced people.
Labour-mobility pathways for skilled refugees are delivering strong outcomes in regional Australia – for employers, communities and refugees, according to a new policy brief from UNSW Sydney’s Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law.
Regional Australia continues to face a chronic shortage of workers, with high turnover and structural labour constraints limiting productivity growth.
The policy brief draws on a multi-year, independent study across regional towns and cities in all states and territories, to examine the potential, challenges and experiences of refugee workers migrating on skilled visas for hard-to-fill roles.
Since 2021, the Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot has enabled 182 skilled refugees plus their family members (393 people) to migrate permanently to Australia on an employer-sponsored visa. The pilot runs until 30 June this year. Kaldor Centre researchers conducted extensive interviews with regional stakeholders who have already or could participate in the program.
They found that where placements are successful, outcomes are consistently strong: employers report high retention rates, regional workforces stabilise, communities benefit from long-term settlement, and refugees and their families find long-term safety and security.
At the centre of this policy brief – Labour mobility for skilled refugees: Improving outcomes for regional Australia – is a simple insight: There is a global pool of displaced people with valuable skills and experience, but getting their talent to areas with critical shortages is harder than it needs to be in Australia.
The policy brief recommendations are informing current parliamentary discussions on the value of Australia’s skilled migration program, with Kaldor Centre researchers and policy brief authors Dr Louise Olliff and Dr Claire Higgins submitting evidence and speaking at a federal hearing in Sydney today.
‘Employers overwhelmingly saw the potential of this pathway, particularly when it comes to retention in regional areas, where one business leader in regional Western Australia echoed many when he told us, “We need more staff!”,’ Dr Olliff said.
‘This is a practical workforce solution that is already delivering benefits for communities and employers, particularly in sectors facing chronic labour shortages.’
However, the policy brief notes that awareness of the pilot remains limited, and its future is still uncertain. Participation is concentrated among a relatively small number of employers with the capacity to absorb upfront costs and navigate complex processes.
The evidence points to a gap between proven results and broader uptake.
‘This isn’t a question of whether the model works – we now know it does,’ Dr Higgins said of the pilot skilled migration pathway, which complements rather than supplants humanitarian places in Australia's system.
‘The issue is that, at the moment, it only works for a relatively small number of employers and regions.’
Small- and medium-sized employers in regional areas face particular challenges, including upfront costs, administrative complexity and exposure to risk, while workers’ settlement outcomes can depend on support that is not consistently available.
‘Current policy settings assume employers can equally absorb the costs and risks associated with international recruitment,’ Dr Higgins said. ‘For many regional SMEs, that assumption simply doesn’t hold.’
The policy brief highlights the importance of designing a system that can operate more predictably and at greater scale.
‘What our research shows is that when the right conditions are in place, outcomes are strong,’ Dr Higgins said.
‘It solves real labour-market bottlenecks while helping skilled refugees – displaced professionals and tradespeople – to rebuild their lives and careers.
‘The policy question now is how to ensure those outcomes can be achieved more consistently in a permanent refugee labour pathway and more consistently across regions,’ Dr Higgins added.
The policy brief identifies a set of practical, evidence-based measures that would support broader participation over time, including:
The authors say the findings provide timely insight for policymakers as they consider the future of the pilot and how skilled migration can respond to persistent workforce shortages, particularly in regional Australia. Following their submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s inquiry into the value of skilled migration to Australia, Dr Olliff and Dr Higgins will give evidence at a Joint Standing Committee on Migration hearing in Sydney today.
‘This is about building on what we know works in practice,’ Dr Higgins said.
‘The opportunity now is to ensure small businesses, regions and refugees have reliable, consistent policy settings to unlock the full economic and social value of this practical pathway.’
The policy brief draws on research was conducted in partnership with the Regional Australia Institute and Talent Beyond Boundaries as part of an Australian Research Council‑funded project.
Read the full policy brief.
To learn more, visit the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law.