Could an Australian-style immigration system work for Britain?

Politics Explained: The points system is championed by Brexiteers but could be more open than the UK’s current rules

An Australian-style points-based system for immigration is often mentioned as a post-Brexit alternative to today’s mixed system in the UK (free movement for EU citizens; stricter criteria for others). The idea, implicitly, is the points are awarded in such a way as to make sure only in a few select occupations where there are severe skills shortages should immigration be permitted. The number of immigrants would fall.

Assessments of skills and other criteria is how Australia indeed does it, and has done since the days when Australian authorities would actually pay Britons to go and live there. Their air fares and expenses (£10; about £500 today) were paid by the Australian government, hence the expression “10 pound poms”. That all stopped in the 1980s.

Now, wherever you come from, you’ll need some sort of skill or profession – solicitor, nurse practitioner, software engineer, shipwright – which the demand for is determined on the advice of the relevant Australian professional or regulatory body. Then you need to acquire more points based on your age, experience, proficiency in English, language ability and qualifications. There are extra points if your qualifications have been gained in Australia itself, and if you have a spouse. You may also enter Australia (with some difficulty) as a refugee and if you are directly sponsored by the government.

In terms of numbers, the Australian system is, if anything, more open than the UK – about 180,000 visas granted for a country with a population of 25 million gives a national net migration “rate” of 1 per cent. The comparable statistic for the UK would be 0.4 per cent.

The idea has gained popularity politically because it says everything and nothing about an immigration policy. Thus, if the points system is set tightly enough, virtually no one would be let in. If the points are awarded more generously then migration could be higher than it is today. The points-based system also avoids having to make hazardous commitments to figures – such as the government’s now beleaguered pledge to restrict UK migration to the “tens of thousands”.

In fact, the UK already has, for non-EU citizens, something approximating to a crude skills-based system, with employers having to sponsor workers and declare that the skills cannot be easily covered by a British citizen, for example. The one thing the Australian-style system would do is to end the (effective) discrimination in favour of European Union migrants above non-EU migrants. After Brexit, presumably, an Austrian and an Australian wishing to work in Britain will be assessed on an equal basis.

The principal flaw in a skills-based points system is that it is biased in favour of professionals, skilled trades and niche occupations. However, the greatest demand for migrant labour in the UK has been in relatively unskilled work – fruit pickers, taxi drivers, cleaners and in the hospitality sector. Britain, probably, has enough libel lawyers or foreign football managers, but nowhere near enough care workers.

The implication of a points system is that large-scale migration in unskilled work will be ended, thus wages will be higher, and the alleged pressure on housing and public services eased. Against that has to be set higher costs for employers and taxpayers, lower profits and investment, and generally lower overall economic growth (thus lower overall wage levels).

It is also the case that many public services (private and publicly run) rely on migrant labour – skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled.

For a Conservative, Ukip or Brexit Party politician in a tight corner with a voter on the doorstep or in an election TV debate, the phrase “Australian-style points system” sounds reassuring and thought through as a policy. However, it is only a slogan, and the economic and social effects of how it is designed can vary wildly depending on the criteria adopted. Net migration to the UK, indeed, could easily be higher than the current 273,000 a year, given how tight labour markets are now and the demand for all kinds of workers. An Australian-style points system is, in other words, hardly a policy at all.