The Alfred Deakin Institute’s Policy Forum held on 30 July 2025 delivered a powerful critique of Australia’s migration and workforce systems. Titled “Migration, Skills and Politics: What Type of Skills Shortage Do We Really Have?”, the event brought together leading experts to challenge outdated assumptions and advocate for urgent reform. 

The panel featured Dr Mamta Chauhan from VETASSESS, Dr Karen Dunwoodie from Deakin CREATE, Ms Meena Naidu from AMES Australia, Professor Gary Rogers Deakin University, Dr Abul Rizvi (former Deputy Secretary, Department of Immigration) and Mr Mark Duckworth PSM from ADI. Together, they unpacked the persistent mismatch between Australia’s critical workforce shortages and the systemic barriers that prevent skilled migrants from contributing fully to the economy. 

Speakers shared confronting case studies of highly qualified migrants working in roles far below their skill level. These stories revealed the deep flaws in Australia’s migration and employment systems, where costly requalification processes, employer bias and poor recognition of overseas credentials routinely block access to meaningful work. The result is a system that wastes talent, undermines productivity and imposes a heavy toll on individuals and communities. 

The forum made it clear that migrant underemployment is not a social inconvenience. It is an economic failure. Australia continues to invest heavily in training local professionals while overlooking the skilled individuals already here, ready to contribute. The cost of inaction is measured not only in lost productivity but in wasted human potential. 

Speakers called for a coordinated national response. They urged policymakers to simplify skills recognition, equip employers to value international qualifications and invest in programs that prepare migrants for the Australian workplace. The message was clear: 

Australia must move beyond a numbers-based migration model and embrace a strategy that builds capability, inclusion and resilience. 

The forum concluded with a challenge to government, industry, education and civil society to rethink the system, recognise the value of migrant talent and build a future where skills are recognised, not wasted.