Why are there so many loopholes in the Australian immigration system?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and genuinely don't understand how some parts of the Australian immigration system work.
I'm probably going to take the teaching pathway myself. I know it's not guaranteed, and I'm not expecting anyone to tell me that it will automatically lead to PR. But realistically, I don't have many options. The alternative is eventually going home, so obviously I'm going to look at every legitimate pathway available to me.
I find strange is how quickly some occupations become completely flooded once people realise they're good migration pathways.
ECT is probably the biggest example. There were so many providers and so many people moving into it because of the migration prospects that it seems like the pathway itself created a massive increase in the number of people trying to enter the occupation.
Now teaching seems to be heading in a similar direction. There are only a limited number of programs and places compared with some other fields, but if everyone starts seeing teaching as one of the better PR options, you can imagine how quickly demand for those places will increase.
Then there's trades like carpentry. Australia genuinely needs tradespeople, so having a pathway for someone to train, complete a Cert III and gain actual skills makes sense. But at the same time, there are situations where the system seems to care more about whether you can meet the requirements on paper than whether you were already skilled in that occupation.
And that's the part I don't really understand.
I'm not saying people are necessarily doing anything wrong. If the government creates a pathway and you meet the requirements, why wouldn't you use it? Especially when the alternative for many international students is simply leaving Australia.
But it does make me wonder whether the system is actually sustainable.
If an occupation becomes a popular PR pathway:
Everyone starts moving into it.
Universities/colleges respond to the demand.
The number of graduates increases.
Eventually there may be far more people trying to migrate through that occupation than there are places available.
Then the government has to tighten the pathway anyway.
It feels like the system keeps creating these cycles.
I'm going to pursue teaching knowing full well that there is no guarantee of PR. I'm not pretending otherwise. I'm just trying to give myself the best possible chance of staying here rather than spending years studying and then having to go home because the pathway changed.
Why are there so many apparent loopholes and why does the government allow certain occupations to become such obvious migration pathways?