Mohammad Zubair Harooni has been trying and failing to get a job in his field since he arrived in Australia nearly 18 months ago.
While Harooni has a glittering CV, with more than 20 years of experience in public health in Afghanistan, including work as a UN program specialist in HIV, his biggest obstacle has been his status as a recent migrant.
He is one of the many who have struggled to have their qualifications recognised in Australia, with one in four migrants working beneath their skill level.
“I have applied for several positions within the health sector and it has been rejection after rejection,” says Harooni, a father of four.
“It’s been really frustrating because my qualifications have not been considered since my arrival. Not even my master’s degree, which was actually completed in Australia, has made a difference.”
Only 33% of permanent arrivals in Australia have had their post-school qualifications recognised, even as Australia faces a crippling national skills shortage, with approximately 350,000 skilled job vacancies across the country.
It can be an arduous task to get overseas qualifications recognised in Australia. The Productivity Commission in 2006 described it as “complex, time-consuming and bureaucratic” process.
And it has forced Harooni to turn to other options, including taking an entry-level role at Transport NSW, a job he says he is happy for but doesn’t reflect what he can do.
“I’m really thankful for my job, but within myself I am not feeling happy that I am not working in my profession, which is what I have dedicated most of my life to,” he says.
“It has affected all parts of my life. I’ve had no income for the last year. I couldn’t rent a house, and the stress was having a negative impact on my health. So I just had to take any role.”
A new report from a consortium of migrant advocacy and service groups is calling for reform to get more migrants into suitable jobs that will ease labour supply issues as 286 occupations face shortages.
The consortium – comprising Settlement Services International, The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), Amnesty International, Settlement Council of Australia and Community Corporate – proposes five solutions. These include fixing the “broken” skills and qualifications recognition system, strengthening protections for migrant workers, reviewing the right to work for people on temporary visas, building partnerships between public and private sectors, and reforming English language requirements.
Violet Roumeliotis, the CEO of Settlement Services International, said the proposed reforms would be a “win-win-win” for migrants, employers and the economy.
“These ideas could have a significant impact on their lives. We have so many cases of doctors or dentists or lawyers who are Uber drivers because they need the money and can’t get their qualifications recognised,” Roumeliotis said.
“They become de-skilled, they become demoralised and lose motivation, it can be a real struggle for them and their families, particularly when they know they can work in a role they are skilled in and can be paid well.”
She said the current system for recognising overseas qualifications was a “cumbersome and confusing process” and as a result only a third of permanent arrivals get through it.
“It’s around 34 different authorities that govern around 400 professions.”
Roumeliotis said there are also often cultural barriers to employment and qualification recognition, such as racism.
“We’ve got recruiters who tell us there is, unfortunately, a racist element here,” she said.
“There are some who insist they don’t want to hire people from particular backgrounds, or people with names they can’t pronounce. It’s a toxic attitude.”
Mohan Gunasekara, the acting CEO at Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) said the cost of qualification recognition should also be reformed.
“It can cost thousands of dollars to have some skills assessed, with some occupations requiring multiple tests that can multiply the cost,” Gunasekara said.
“And it acts as a disincentive – it leaves people behind.”
The federal government, ismeanwhile, is moving to increase Australia’s humanitarian resettlement program for 2023-24, in keeping with its election promise.
The 2022-23 program has 17,875 places including 1,400 places for the community support Program and 4,125 additional places for Afghan nationals.
The government has also announced it is on track to convert the majority of people on temporary protection visas to permanent visas, with approximately 3,000 resolution of status (ROS) visas granted so far.
“We’re delivering a humanitarian program that considers a refugee’s entire resettlement journey, ensuring refugees can rebuild their lives with certainty and participate fully in Australian society,” immigration minister Andrew Giles said.
