States chase migrants to deliver small business boom
Cashed up migrants are increasingly driving small business in Melbourne and Sydney as competition heats up for lucrative investment dollars.
Victoria is outstripping NSW three-to-one for nominations in the business and innovation visa category, Department of Home Affairs figures show, which requires migrants to invest up to $500,000 in a business in Sydney or $400,000 in Melbourne.
There was a 58 per cent increase in applications for this visa category in the 2016-2017 financial year. Demand for places in the stream is up from 9,575 to 15,096 persons.
LRG Lawyers migration mangager Mark Ryan said while a provable business background and assets were still mandatory, NSW and Victoria were targeting overseas business persons that do not have to go through the same employment and skills requirements of the old 457 visa (or current 482 visa).
“They are investing in Australian business, hiring Australian workers and positively contributing to the Australian economy,” he said.
Photo: Louise Kennerley
The Coalition and Labor have spent the past week voicing concerns about the impact of Australia’s historically high immigration intake on jobs, infrastructure and culture.
Citizenship Minister Alan Tudge has flagged a new “Australian values” test after he said one was needed to stop Australia “veering towards a European separatist multicultural model”.
Labor’s employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor accused temporary migrants, international students and working holiday makers of taking local jobs on Thursday, despite the unemployment rate hitting its lowest level since 2013.
“It’s just such rubbish,” said Annie Slattery, who arrived from Ireland in 2009 on a working holiday visa and now owns the startup Conx.
Ms Slattery, who was sponsored by Macquarie Bank on a 457 visa after her working holiday finished, is one of hundreds of thousands of former 457 holders who have since secured permanent residency in Australia.
Many of them from China, the UK, India and the Philippines are now pushing their investments into local cafes, general stores and start-ups, with help from their families.
A 2017 report from Startup Muster found 36 per cent of all Australian start ups are founded by migrants.
His government’s approach to migrant selection is a form of “recruiting”, says Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
“I suppose you are a bit hungrier, you have to work that little bit harder, we had no networks or connections,” said Ms Slattery.
“Others who have come from war torn countries and struggled to get to Australia, it makes them more resilient for the highs and lows of running a business.”
Her startup, Conx, which now has five employees, helps other Australians find work through a digital network for construction jobs.
Department of Home Affairs figures show Victoria nominated 2000 overseas business owners in the past financial year, compared to 571 for NSW, where the investment threshold is $100,000 higher. In a bid to outdo the larger states, the ACT has slashed its requirement to $200,000.
The Turnbull government restricted the permanent migration intake this year to 162,000, well below the 190,000-a-year-cap.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief James Pearson said he was disappointed in the immigration debate, which has seen both sides of politics ramp up their rhetoric as campaigns in five federal byelections move toward their final week.
“We need to remember a simple truth and that is that skilled migrants coming into Australia from other countries don’t take jobs, they make jobs,” said Mr Pearson.
“The fact is that when Australian firms can’t find people locally, if they aren’t able to fill them then those jobs don’t get done, those wages don’t get paid, the money doesn’t get spent and the demand isn’t there in the economy.”
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has called for a national plebiscite on the immigration level, accusing the federal government of propping up the budget through immigration, while locals struggle with infrastructure and housing requirements.