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AUSTRALIA should allow more older, married migrants to settle permanently as it faces increasing competition from other developed countries for skilled workers, a parliamentary committee has recommended.
This is a stunning report and if its ideas are accepted by the Federal Government it could mean the biggest change in migration policy direction in some 25 years.
The Joint Standing Committee on Migration says Australia can no longer be as discriminatory about who it accepts as skilled migrants.
It has recommended the removal of an age limit which now blocks potential skilled migrants aged over 45 from settling in Australia.
And it says spouses should be given greater weighting to reflect their importance in smoothing the settling process.
The call for more older migrants comes as Australians are being urged to work longer and retire later to reduce the strain on government budgets within decades.
The committee report, called To Make A Contribution, says Australia is still competitive in attracting skilled migrants.
Australia had almost 115,000 permanent and temporary skilled migrants in 2002-03.
The committee says Australia attracts about 0.9 per cent of its workforce in skilled migrants each year, but cannot afford to rest on its laurels.
It compared Australia's competitiveness with Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Britain and the US.
For decades, Australia has been able to rely on its natural advantages to attract skilled permanent migrants.
Two-thirds of migrants still say the primary motivators for coming to Australia are providing for their families, future, and lifestyle and climate. Jobs are a lower priority.
But the committee says competition for the pool of workers with in demand skills must lead to changes in immigration programmes.
The committee chairwoman, Queensland Liberal MP Teresa Gambaro, said removing the mandatory 45-year limit on skilled migration would fit in with calls for Australians to work longer.
Most other countries Australia was competing with for skilled migrants had no age limit, or had one much higher than 45 years.
"We felt that we were discriminating against potential migrants who might come out here if we put an age limit on there," she said.
Other recommendations by the migration committee were:
¥ Better co-ordination between federal, state and territory governments to market to potential migrants those regions suffering from skills shortages.
¥ Standardised and streamlined recognition of skills and qualifications brought to Australia by migrants, such as medical and nursing degrees, to overcome the "taxi driver syndrome" of skilled migrants performing menial jobs.
¥ A$1000 fee charged on employers who use skilled migrants to backfill labour shortages, which would be used to fund scholarships for Australians in areas of existing long-term shortages which are predicted to continue.
A spokesman for Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said she welcomed the committee's report and would consider its recommendations.