I just read about the possible planning levels in 25-26 and saw that independent visa 189 might get only 500 (labor) up to 5000 (coalition). Hoping these numbers get revised.
I just read about the possible planning levels in 25-26 and...
Philippines
Chemical Engineer
Dr Abul Rizvi has some great insight and attempts to figure out government plans based on public statements and the practicalities of migration planning. I think the issue here comes down to the partner visas. The government is not meant to restrict the number of partner visas being processed. They are meant to be processed in a demand driven manner. This poses issues for planning levels, as you have an entirely unknown quantity included. The article assumes that Labor will increase partner visa allocation by over 30,000 to clear the growing backlog. To balance this increase, he suggests they will cut the 189 planning level to a mere 500. While feasible, this feels a bit unlikely. The 189 is the federal government's only directed means of targeting specific professions for skilled migration. While this makes it the easiest for them to reduce (as we saw between 23-24 and 24-25), reducing by this much would very much hamper their migration planning goals. I expect rather than do this, the government will continue to somewhat cap partner visas in their planning levels.