“Until now, a single South Australian resident with no children wanting to sponsor their overseas-based parents to migrate to Australia would have needed to prove they earned an income above $35,793,” Mr Penney said.
“Under the new threshold, that person would now have to prove they earned an income of $88,291.41 to meet the requirements to sponsor their parents.
“The average South Australian income including overtime is $78,244.40, which puts the threshold out of reach for many residents who have themselves migrated to our state.”
The income criteria has been set by the Federal Government, which has applied the same criteria to the entire country without taking into account the challenges faced by states such as South Australia, including lower average wages.
South Australia has increasingly found it difficult to attract overseas talent to improve demographics and maintain population levels, and has also faced considerable intrastate migration losses.
Mr Penney said skilled migration is essential to ensure South Australia can grow.
“The changes will make it even more difficult for residents to sponsor parents while living on South Australian wages, making the state a less attractive migration destination,” he said.
The new determination will not only affect new sponsors, but also those whose cases are in the pipeline and would be asked to provide Assurance of Support from 1 April.
The South Australian Business Chamber has written to Minister of Home Affairs, Peter Dutton and federal MPs Dan Tehan and Alex Hawke, to share our strong concerns about the steep increase and its retrospective effect.
Mr Penney said the South Australian Business Chamber would pursue this and other migration matters in the hope that South Australian businesses and residents are given the migration support they need to thrive.
