Life's a beach for Australian visa holders

Worried industry leaders in Australia are lobbying the Federal Government to expand its Australia visa programme, warning that the state will struggle to meet its two million population target and future skills demand without changes to Australian immigration policies.

With an estimated 20,000 new jobs needed to be created to retain status quo, it is a strange paradox that Australia finds itself also suffering the effects of increasing unemployment figures.

More jobs but more people out of work. How can it be so?

The reason is that many Australians do not want to take jobs in sectors like the hospitality industry. Such jobs are viewed as menial, low paid and low status.

For overseas workers who move to Australia on an Australian visa, the opportunity to work in hospitality and move to Australia is viewed as more attractive.

Industry heads see the future of sustaining growth in industries such as hospitality lies in recruiting from a largely immigrant workforce. And this, many argue, calls for reforms in Australia visa regulations to allow immigrants an easier path into the country and to find work in Australia.

With more jobs available and potentially less bureaucracy to obtain your work visa in Australia, this can only be good news for anyone seriously considering Australian immigration.