A total of 160,323 visas were granted for the 2018-19 Permanent Migration program. This represents the lowest number in a decade as indicated by the Department of Immigration.
The figures published by the Department reveal that 109,713 visas were granted under the Skilled Migration program and 50,610 visas were granted under the Family stream.
With the Migration program capped at an annual rate of 160,000 per year, the government expects the number of permanent migrants to be even lower over the coming four years. The decision to maintain the intake at 160,000 came after a period of intense public debate about the size of Australia’s population and effects of migration.
Family Stream
Over 70% of the places in the Family stream were filled under the Partner program with a total of 39,918 visas granted.
Skill Stream
The bulk of the places in the Skilled stream were filled by skilled workers under the Skilled Independent and Employer Nomination Scheme programs, with 34,247 and 33,025 visas granted respectively.
Despite these low numbers, there is a 44 per cent increase in the number of places delivered under the Regional Sponsor Migration Scheme, compared to the previous program. This together with the recently announced new regional visas and the dedicated 23,000 places for regional skilled migrants, shows the Department’s intention to focus on regional migration.
Source
Minister’s Media release: https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/davidcoleman/Pages/migration-program-focusing-regional-australia.aspx
Learn more about the Migration program planning levels: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels
