Written by Debra Cerasa (CEO, Amplify Alliance Australia)
Across the country, more than 250,000 skilled migrants are working below their qualification level.
Nurses are working outside clinical roles. Teachers are retraining for jobs they are already qualified to do. Engineers are driving rideshare vehicles. And experienced tradespeople are navigating complex, costly accreditation systems with no clear pathway forward.
At the same time, employers are facing persistent workforce shortages in health, community services, education and many other industries.
Processes are often inconsistent across jurisdictions, requirements are unclear or slow to deliver outcomes, and the result isn’t just inefficiency, it’s waste. When skills go unused, productivity is lost, economic participation is delayed and pressure on already stretched services increases.
This is a systems failure.
The recent National Press Club address by Dr Martin Parkinson and Violet Roumeliotis AM brought overdue attention to a problem that has been hiding in plain sight: Australia is under-utilising the very workforce it has already invested in attracting.
Every day, human and social services are working with individuals navigating a skills recognition system that is fragmented, costly and difficult to navigate.
When skills go unused, the impact shows up in extended casework, prolonged financial stress for families, reduced economic mobility and strain on mental wellbeing. When people are unable to work in their field for which they trained for years, the consequences ripple through households and communities.
Violet Roumeliotis AM spoke of SSI’s Activate Australia campaign, that addresses the structural barriers that human and social services see firsthand, every day. Activate Australia Campaign commissioned modelling estimates under utilisation of skilled migrants costs the economy tens of billions of dollars, with one key estimate of about $70 billion a year in lost economic activity.
The campaign calls for practical reform of Australia’s skills recognition framework reform that is nationally coordinated, transparent and accountable.
Australia has already made the investment in attracting skilled migrants. When those skills are not recognised or utilised, the perceived labour market issue becomes more a question about economic efficiency and social cohesion.
For policymakers, this is about productivity and system alignment. Australia has already invested in attracting skilled migrants. When qualifications remain under-utilised, workforce capacity and economic contribution are constrained.
The solution doesn’t require wholesale redesign, it requires coordination and practical, achievable reforms.
A nationally consistent approach to skills recognition would reduce duplication and confusion. Clearer alignment between migration settings and employment pathways would shorten timeframes. Lowering cost barriers and improving access to information will make the system more equitable. And place-based support through employment hubs and skilled navigators would enable people to move through the system more effectively.
These measures would strengthen the system by making it more transparent, more efficient and more responsive to workforce need, without compromising on quality. This means the 621,000 permanent migrants in Australia currently working below their skill level, who originally arrived through the skilled migration stream, would be working at a level commensurate with their capabilities.
For policymakers, the case is clear. Enabling skilled migrants to work at their full capacity delivers an immediate productivity dividend. It strengthens labour markets, supports service delivery and contributes to economic growth.
For communities, the benefits are just as significant. It means more teachers in classrooms, more nurses in clinical roles and more skilled professionals contributing to the places they now call home.
And for the Not for Profit organisations supporting this transition, it reduces the burden of navigating complex systems while managing workforce shortages at the same time.
Australia doesn’t need to look far for solutions when the skills we’re desperately short on are already here.
The question is whether our systems are ready to recognise and utilise them.
Debra Cerasa is a purpose-driven CEO, Board Director and social sector advocate, known for leading with heart, building strong communities, and delivering transformational change across the Not for Profit human and social services sector.
