Australia’s skilled migration program, which includes social work as a priority group, lacks effectiveness and fails to show impact on critical skill shortages in human services, according to a government inquiry submission by Monash researchers.

The submission is to the federal government’s  Joint Standing Committee on Migration inquiry, looking into the “value” of skilled migration to Australia. 

The submission says that while Australia is “committed” to cultural and linguistic diversity, that commitment comes with a “responsibility” to ensure  essential services, such as social work and social care, reflect our diverse community, and provide “community and social welfare systems that serve Australia’s multicultural population”. 

Skilled migration aims to get professionals into Australia to fill skill-listed shortages in the workforce. 

It works through a points-tested system or sponsorship. Most applicants need to pass skills assessments and meet English language requirements, and then be invited to apply.

The government, on the inquiry site, says skilled migration has a “central role” in the economy and enriches “the cultural diversity that is fundamental to Australian society”, but the inquiry wants to “better-understand the enduring economic, social and cultural value of skilled migration to Australia, as well as examine the program’s effectiveness in addressing skills gaps and supporting the ongoing needs of Australian businesses”.

A focused perspective

The Monash submission from the Department of Social Work is from lecturer and PhD candidate Hui-Yu Yao, department head Associate Professor Catherine Flynn, the director of the Social Inclusion and Social Policy Research Unit (SISPRU), Professor Philip Mendes, and Dr Averil Grieve, a senior lecturer in the Communication in Health Professions Education Unit (COHPE). 

Yao says the submission provides a focused perspective on social work, a profession currently listed on both the Medium and Long‑Term Strategic Skills List and the Core Skills Occupation List used in Australia’s skilled migration program.

The submission largely draws on Yao’s PhD research and a 2024 paper she led looking specifically at international graduates of social work in Australia and their struggles with finding a place in social work and claiming their professional identity due to difficulties experienced during education and transition to practice.

The submission makes four recommendations that it calls “practical and implementable steps”: 

• Mandate the industry’s peak body, the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW), to publish regular data on migrant skills assessments to better-measure skilled migration changes.
• Streamline the assessment process for international graduates to overcome “visa-related time pressures and reduced employability”.
• Pilot structured programs for skilled migrants to enhance employability and practice readiness.
• Include international students in any schemes that offer financial support to those completing mandatory placements. 

“Anyone seeking to come to Australia and applying for permanent residency as a social worker will need to go through the AASW skills assessment,” explains Yao. “Under the current skilled migration scheme, the AASW determines this is the person who can actually do social work. 

“In Australia, social work is a self-regulating profession. The AASW, as the peak body, is a professional association looking after social workers’ professional development. It sets standards for education providers to meet to be able to deliver social work programs. 

“On top of that, it also does skills assessments for migration purposes for the Australian government. People must demonstrate their eligibility to be able to actually practise as a social worker. 

“People also need to demonstrate language proficiency in English, yet their Australian qualification alone is not enough under the current language policy. 

“In New Zealand or the UK, for example, finishing a social work degree delivered and assessed in English itself is considered enough evidence to say this person has proficient language skills to practise. But the AASW has, I would say, a gatekeeping mechanism.”

A lack of data access

A key question in the submission is how Australia’s education of international social work students intersects with the skilled migration program.

“The point is, we don't have any access to data, so we don't really know how many people apply for the skills assessment or how many people graduate from AASW-accredited courses. We have absolutely no data from the professional body. 

“And I think this raises important questions about transparency and accountability in the AASW’s dual role as both the accreditor of social work education programs and the authorised assessor for skilled migration.

“The parliamentary inquiry is asking for views on these things, but when we don't have the data, we can't assess the value of the current skilled migration scheme for the profession.”

The need for skilled migrants to work in social work in a multicultural, culturally-diverse country like Australia is self-evident, and the Monash researchers believe international students and migrant social workers can bring these qualities, but are stymied by systemic issues, impacting social work. 

International student numbers are up post-COVID, and so is the number of education providers. This has heightened competition for quality work-integrated learning experiences for the students, because it means more students going out to supervised workplaces already stretched for resources including staffing.  

“These barriers to quality education can directly affect graduates’ sense of readiness for practice and should not be overlooked,” the submission says. 

Racism is a factor

Research has found international social work students can also face racism from peers, educators, in classrooms, on placements and in the workforce. 

Their ability to find paid work that fits in with their studies and placements and also meets their visa conditions is a significant compounding issue. 

At present, they’re outside the scope of the current Commonwealth scheme, which is available to eligible domestic students during their mandatory placement periods. 

As noted above, international graduates of AASW-accredited degrees need to pay for additional skills assessments even if they’ve finished an Australian degree.  

The AASW’s current English language policy also means they need to be tested via the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) that researchers say doesn’t match other similar skilled migration assessments that accept other tests.

The ‘monolingual lens’ impact

Yao is lead author on a recently published paper on “othering”, or discrimination, in social work in Australia due to language. 

She points to the last census that showed more than a quarter of Australia’s population was born overseas and 22.8% of people speak a language other than English at home. 

Yet despite the rich cultural and linguistic diversity, “a predominantly monolingual lens continues to shape policy development in Australia” and such a “narrow perspective can negatively impact people from diverse backgrounds”.

“This is all reflected in the concerns raised in this submission,” she says, “ and in my research.”