Australia suspends China working holiday visas to overhaul scheme

Australia offers 5,000 such places each year to Chinese citizens, under a previous free-trade agreement struck by the two countries. But demand for the visa class was expected to “substantially” exceeded availability going forward, the home affairs spokesperson said.

The government would also introduce a new innovation visa to attract exceptionally talented workers, replacing a controversial investor migrant programme that it argued had few economic benefits.

The changes announced in the annual budget, delivered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday, are part of a broad overhaul of its migration system as Australia aims to lure skilled workers and top talent while reducing overall immigration.

The new visa also replaces the global talent visa programme that ends late in 2024, with an aim “to target exceptionally talented migrants who will drive growth in sectors of national importance,” the government said.

“The Business Innovation and Investment visa programme (BIIP) will cease,” it said, referring to the so-called golden visa that offers a pathway to permanent residency through investment in the country.

The centre-left Labor government is facing growing calls to curb migration as a post-pandemic surge in students and other arrivals exacerbated an already tight rental market, fuelling headline inflation.

Additional reporting by Reuters