Annual migration program
Statutory definition
Sections 85 and 86 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) allow the Minister to set a ceiling on the number of visas that may be granted in specified classes in a program year, and to determine priorities for grant where the ceiling may be exceeded.
Explanation
The annual migration program sets the total number of permanent migration visas to be granted in a financial year (July–June). The program has three streams:
- Skill Stream — employer-sponsored, points-tested, and business innovation visa subclasses; currently the largest stream (approximately 70% of total)
- Family Stream — partner, child, parent, and other family subclasses
- Special Eligibility Stream — former residents, certain Territorial Asylum category, and others
For 2024–25, the program was set at 185,000 places. The Skill Stream (including the employer-sponsored and state-nominated components) and the Family Stream are the dominant components. The program size has varied significantly between years — it was as high as 190,000 in the early 2020s and as low as 140,000 during the COVID-19 period.
How this term is used
The annual program ceiling operates as a cap on visa grants, not on visa applications. The Minister may set priorities for grant where the ceiling is approached. In practice, SkillSelect invitation rounds are calibrated to manage the number of applications within the points-tested Skill Stream cap.