The Impact of Skilled Migration on Foreign Qualification Recognition Reform in Australia

This paper has four aims. First, it defines the extent to which skilled migration to Australia has changed in recent decades in terms of scale, source country, and entry mode. Second, it describes Australia’s federally driven foreign qualification recognition (FQR) reform strategy, including the pressure imposed by successive parliamentary reviews to improve outcomes. Third, it reports the growing engagement of select health regulators in reform, at a time when temporary workers constitute three-quarters of skilled migrants, and the question increasingly asked is whether regulatory bodies have the agility to facilitate twenty-first century labour migration flows. Finally, it assesses the contribution of qualification recognition reform to skilled migrants’ recognition and early employment outcomes. Key learnings from Australia’s FQR experience are then highlighted, of potential policy relevance to Canada.