Science & Technology Australia (STA) used its submission to Parliament’s new inquiry into the economic value of skilled migration to sound the alarm on a looming talent crunch. Released on 10 February 2026, the paper warns that Australia could be short more than 100,000 engineers, data scientists and other high-end specialists within five years unless the migration program is recalibrated.
STA argues that Australia’s international competitiveness has slipped as processing times lengthened and permanent-residency pathways became unpredictable. It calls for a ‘red-carpet’ service model for nationally critical occupations— including 30-day visa decisions, automatic skills-assessment recognition for comparable jurisdictions and a five-year path to citizenship that counts time spent offshore working for Australian employers.
Employers and professionals navigating these shifting visa rules can tap into VisaHQ’s online services for real-time guidance, streamlined documentation and application support for Australian visas; see https://www.visahq.com/australia/ for details.
![Canberra Urged to Turbo-Charge Skilled Migration as STEM Shortages Bite]()
The submission also highlights regional impacts. More than half of STEM vacancies in mining and renewables projects in Western Australia and Queensland remain unfilled, delaying multi-billion-dollar investments. STA says universities are graduating too few domestic PhDs to plug the gap and that failure to import expertise risks “stalling the energy transition, digital defence projects and the AUKUS submarine build”.
For employers, the paper’s most practical recommendation is an expansion of the Global Talent visa with lower salary thresholds for early-career researchers and an automatic allocation of partner work rights—steps STA says would make relocation packages more affordable for startups and universities.
With the Joint Standing Committee on Migration due to report in June, industry groups are expected to amplify the findings in pre-Budget lobbying. Businesses that rely on international assignees should monitor the inquiry closely: its recommendations are likely to shape Australia’s next skilled-migration planning levels and determine how quickly new hires can arrive.
STA argues that Australia’s international competitiveness has slipped as processing times lengthened and permanent-residency pathways became unpredictable. It calls for a ‘red-carpet’ service model for nationally critical occupations— including 30-day visa decisions, automatic skills-assessment recognition for comparable jurisdictions and a five-year path to citizenship that counts time spent offshore working for Australian employers.
Employers and professionals navigating these shifting visa rules can tap into VisaHQ’s online services for real-time guidance, streamlined documentation and application support for Australian visas; see https://www.visahq.com/australia/ for details.
The submission also highlights regional impacts. More than half of STEM vacancies in mining and renewables projects in Western Australia and Queensland remain unfilled, delaying multi-billion-dollar investments. STA says universities are graduating too few domestic PhDs to plug the gap and that failure to import expertise risks “stalling the energy transition, digital defence projects and the AUKUS submarine build”.
For employers, the paper’s most practical recommendation is an expansion of the Global Talent visa with lower salary thresholds for early-career researchers and an automatic allocation of partner work rights—steps STA says would make relocation packages more affordable for startups and universities.
With the Joint Standing Committee on Migration due to report in June, industry groups are expected to amplify the findings in pre-Budget lobbying. Businesses that rely on international assignees should monitor the inquiry closely: its recommendations are likely to shape Australia’s next skilled-migration planning levels and determine how quickly new hires can arrive.
