The Program remains non-discriminatory in terms of race, religion, ethnicity and country of origin. Combined with the Humanitarian Program of 12,000, Australia's total immigration intake will be 80,000. The smaller, more tightly focused program will assist in restoring public confidence that our migration program contributes to Australia's social and economic growth. The Government believes that because of high levels of unemployment, a further reduction in migration is desirable at this time. Migrants entering through the Preferential Family category experience high rates of unemployment.
Migrants entering through the skill categories have a positive effect on the economy.
The priority in the family stream is to provide for the reunion of migrants entering as the spouse or child of Australians. This is because it has been transformed into a genuinely skilled category, while still offering concessions because of family links in Australia. The points test for the Independent and renamed Skilled-Australian Linked categories will be reviewed to ensure that they are selecting migrants who are most suited to the needs of Australia's labour market.