DOL11642.2 MAY 11 FULL REPORT Trends INNewZealand andAustrali Competing forSkills:Migr ation Policiesd 2011 Prepared for the Department of Labour by

Professor Lesleyanne Hawthorne University of

This research received funding from the Australian Government/Department of Immigration and Citizenship

Disclaimer: The Department of Labour has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this report is reliable, but makes no guarantee of its accuracy or completeness and does not accept any liability for any errors. The contents, information, advice and opinions expressed in this report are not necessarily those of The Department of Labour or those of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. The Department of Labour may change the contents of this report at any time without notice.

© Crown copyright 2011

This material is Crown copyright unless otherwise stated and may be reproduced free of charge without requiring specific permission. This is subject to it being reproduced accurately and not being used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. The source and copyright status should be acknowledged. The permission to reproduce Crown copyright protected material does not extend to any material in this report that is identified as being the copyright of a third party.

Department of Labour

PO Box 3705

Wellington

New Zealand www.dol.govt.nz

For Immigration Research visit www.immigration.govt.nz/research

ISBN 9780478360776

ii Competing for Skills: Migration policies and trends in New Zealand and Australia CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... VIII

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... XI

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

1 SKILLED MIGRATION TRENDS 2004–2009 – NEW ZEALAND COMPARED WITH AUSTRALIA...... 8 1.1 Permanent skilled migration to Australia, 2004–2009 ...... 8 1.2 Permanent skilled migration to New Zealand, 2004–2009 ...... 26 1.3 Temporary skilled migration to Australia, 2004–2009 ...... 41 1.4 Temporary skilled migration to New Zealand, 2004–2009 ...... 46

2 COMPARATIVE OUTCOMES FROM NEW ZEALAND’S AND AUSTRALIA’S SKILLED MIGRATION PROGRAMMES IN 2006 AND 2007 ...... 50 2.1 Skilled migration policy in Australia at the time of data collection...... 50 2.2 Skilled migration policy in New Zealand at the time of data collection ...... 55 2.3 Context of the longitudinal survey administration...... 59 2.4 Evaluating skilled migration policy outcomes – Data from the Australian and New Zealand longitudinal surveys ...... 67 2.5 Comparing outcomes from Australia and New Zealand’s skilled migration programmes 2004–06...... 68 2.6 Multivariate analysis – employment outcomes for skilled migrants ....90 2.7 Employment outcomes for degreequalified migrants across all immigration categories to Australia (2006) ...... 98 2.8 Employment outcomes for Skilled Migrant Category skilled secondary applicants (New Zealand) ...... 104

3 SKILLED MIGRATION POLICY DEVELOPMENTS 2007–2010: AUSTRALIA COMPARED WITH NEW ZEALAND...... 107 3.1 Introduction ...... 107 3.2 Australian policy trends 2007–2010 – finetuning the study– migration pathway ...... 108 3.3 Australian policy trends 2007–2010 – the shift to sponsored entry.. 122 3.4 Evolution of New Zealand’s skilled migration policy 2007–2010 – demographic context...... 130 3.5 Evolution of New Zealand’s skilled migration policy 2007–2010 – study–migration pathway...... 133 3.6 Evolution of New Zealand’s skilled migration policy 2006–2008 – final years of the Clark Labour government ...... 137 3.7 Evolution of New Zealand’s skilled migration policy 2008–2010– first years of the Key National government ...... 146

Competing for Skills: Migration policies and trends in New Zealand and Australia iii 4 CONCLUSION ...... 152 4.1 Changing characteristics of skilled migrants ...... 152 4.2 Evolution of twostep migration ...... 154 4.3 Likely influence of employe