Australia lifts minimum wage for skilled migrant workers

Australia will end a decade-old freeze on the minimum wage for skilled migrant workers. Australia has long had one of the highest rates of immigration of any country within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

But the migrant workforce that used to settle permanently has become increasingly temporary.The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) had been frozen by a previous government at 53,900 Australian dollars a year since 2013.

A new minimum wage of AU$70,000 would apply from July 1, O’Neil said. A government statement released Thursday said that “around 90% of all full-time jobs in Australia are now paid more than the current TSMIT, undermining Australia’s skilled migration system.”