In 1987, my parents migrated to Australia, part of a generation that saw this country as a place where skill, education and effort would be rewarded. They arrived with qualifications, professional experience and a belief that their expertise would be valued in a nation built on opportunity. Overseas skills recognition
But almost immediately they discovered a painful contradiction – their qualifications, respected abroad, carried little weight here. My Ammi, a teacher in Sri Lanka, took work that barely reflected her ability. My Thatti, who worked in management, retrained from the ground up and until the day he passed away, helped other new migrants navigate their way through settlement.
For many of us, the system is not simply a facet of the Australian migrant story but one of our biggest hurdles. And the individual stories reflect a deeper truth that persists: Australia’s overseas skills recognition system needs a major overhaul.
A system that sidelines skill
Today, I work on the very issue that defined my family’s early years here. As Advocacy Lead for the Activate Australia’s Skills campaign at Settlement Services International (SSI), every day I see how that same system continues to fail talented South Asian migrants.
SSI’s research with Deloitte Access Economics found that 44% of permanent migrants are working below their qualification level. If these migrants were employed in roles that matched their skills at the same rate as Australian-born workers, it would add $9 billion to Australia’s economy per annum.
Behind those numbers are people like Sobia and Abisha whose stories embody both the persistence of migrants and the systemic barriers that hold them back.
Sobia migrated to Australia from Lahore with a law degree and experience. But when she arrived, she found herself navigating an endless web of assessments and fees while working jobs she was severely overqualified for. After battling the system for years, she reluctantly chose to repeat her studies entirely.
Disappointingly, this story is not rare – it’s a very high cost just to prove what you already know.
Sobia recalls the struggle of starting over: “In our own country, we have identity … but here we are nothing.”
Abisha moved from India in 2022, with bachelors and masters degrees in psychology. She was practicing before migrating but when she arrived, she found her degrees weren’t sufficient for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
The process of becoming a registered Australian psychologist involves not just documentation and verification but costly supervision and bridging programs. Unable to afford that immediately, Abisha took unrelated administrative roles and eventually established herself as a counsellor to stay connected to her field.
She described the decision as “the quicker route”, a temporary compromise to build financial stability before trying again. Four years later, she’s still gathering the paperwork and saving for registration.
“It’s not that I don’t want to do it,” she said. “It just feels like there is always something (else) to do.”
These are just two out of thousands of stories that illustrate how structural inefficiencies – not a lack of ability – keep skilled Desi migrants from contributing fully to the workforce.
A national inefficiency hiding in plain sight
Australia’s overseas skills recognition system is fragmented, inconsistent and costly, with each profession and state having its own rules. The Australian migration system is completely disconnected from the overseas skills recognition process with applicants often required to duplicate tests, resubmit documents or travel interstate for assessments.
At the same time, industries like healthcare, education, construction and technology are facing critical labour shortages. Australia continues to import new workers through skilled migration programs while tens of thousands of qualified migrants already living here are locked out of their professions. Overseas skills recognition
Reforms that would change everything
The Activate Australia’s Skills campaign, backed by more than 120 organisations across business, education and community sectors, is pushing for practical reform.
Our blueprint calls for:
- National governance of the skills recognition system, including a commissioner or ombudsman to oversee it and make the process fast, fair and affordable.
- A streamlined national process, aligning migration, licensing and employment recognition so migrants don’t have to start from zero on arrival.
- Transparent and affordable pathways through a single online portal with all the information migrants need to get their skills recognised and access financial supports.
- Local employment hubs with navigators who can guide migrants through the skills recognition process and connect them to employers.
These are not ambitious proposals – they are pragmatic fixes to a decades-old problem that costs us billions in lost productivity and human potential.
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Almost forty years on
When I think back to my parents’ arrival in 1987, I think of everything they were navigating – a new country, my newborn sister, unfamiliar systems with limited support – and I realise not only my privilege, but how much of their story is still being lived today. The names and professions have changed but the struggle has not.
Their journey, and the journeys of women like Sobia and Abisha, remind me that this isn’t just an economic issue. It’s about dignity, recognition and fairness. Australia has always seen itself as a nation of opportunity, but opportunity means little if it ends at the point of arrival. Overseas skills recognition
Almost forty years after my parents migrated, it is time for a system that values what migrants bring, not one that asks them to start all over again. Because when we recognise their skills, we don’t just unlock billions in productivity. We unlock the country true to its national anthem – advance Australia fair. Overseas skills recognition
READ MORE: Underuse of migrants’ skills is costing Australia billions
