Australia welcomes record number of migrants

Recent statistics show that Australia welcomed a record number of skilled workers into the country in the 2004-05 migration year.

Of the 120,060 migrants who became permanent residents in Australia during this period - the most since the late 1980s - around 65 per cent (77,880) emigrated through one of the country's many skill streams.

And it is not just into the traditional 'big cities' where the new skilled migrants are heading. The government's strategy of trying to attract more skilled migrants into the regional areas of Australia to fill job shortages is having the desired affect. The number of skilled migrants sponsored by a state or territory reached an all time high in 2004-05 as did the number of newcomers settling in non-metropolitan areas, increasing by over 50 per cent on the previous year.

The number of doctors arriving in Australia accounted for the biggest increase in specific workers arriving in the country (up by a massive 294 per cent on 2003-04), followed by accountants (48 per cent), nurses 40 (per cent) and trade workers (38 per cent).

And with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) hoping to attract a further 20,000 (97,500 in total) skilled workers in 2005-06, and possibly even more the following year, the door for would-migrants with the relevant skills that Australia is looking for is set to stay open for a while longer yet.

In total DIMIA hopes to welcome between 130,000 to 140,000 migrants into the country over the next 12 months.