One skilled migrant worker could contribute the equivalent of 21 detached Australian homes over the course of their career.
The finding is a key conclusion of research released by Master Builders Australia, which urges the federal government to give workers with the requisite skills greater priority in the national intake.
The analysis suggests one skilled migrant working a 30-year trade career could contribute $1.8 million in gross value-add to the national economy.
The figure equates to the construction of 21.7 detached houses in a best case scenario.
Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn said migrant tradespeople were a net benefit to supply.
“Migrant tradies ultimately contribute to far more homes than they consume, especially when they reside here over the long term,” she said in a statement.
She added that the system needed to better assist skilled migrants into building jobs.
“At the moment, it is expensive, slow and ineffective and does not deliver what the community expects,” she said.
“Around 18,400 permanent migrants currently in Australia hold building and construction qualifications but are working below their skill level due to these barriers.”
The analysis counts only the additional value added by a worker, over and above forecasts under current migration settings.
It also assumes an uninterrupted 30-year career and a five per cent industry productivity gain.
The federal government plans to have built 1.2 million well-located homes between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2029.
Australia must build more than 250,000 homes each year to meet the target.
Construction workers fall under processing priority number three for the federal government, alongside healthcare and teaching workers.
The highest two priorities pertain to enforcement and defence interests.
The current permanent migration program is capped at 185,000 places with about 70 per cent of those partitioned for skilled applications.
At the end of last month, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia forecast net overseas migration falls in the near future.
The committee similarly called for a “transparent, well-managed, evidence-based skilled migration system” supported by streamlined visa pathways, faster skills recognition and stronger planning and infrastructure investment.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in June said the government was “bringing migration down with a sensible, measured approach to provide the skilled workers Australia needs, while addressing exploitation and rorts”.
The coalition has promised to limit net overseas migration to a rate in step with the number of homes built in the previous year.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said she would slash migration and used a speech at the National Press Club to claim high immigration was eroding national identity and called for a “monocultural” society.
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