The Activate Australia’s Skills campaign has been personally endorsed by the following industry leaders, economists, thought leaders and prominent Australians:
Violet Roumeliotis AM
CEO of Settlement Services International
If we activate Australia’s skills, everyone wins.
Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO
Former Industry Minister; Former Australian Ambassador to the United States
These reforms are about securing our economic future.
Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM
Former Secretary of Treasury and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Chair of the Migration System Review
This to me is a political no brainer.
Prof Gillian Triggs AC
Former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission
Everyone would benefit from a faster and fairer system.
Hass Dellal AO
Chair of the Australian Multicultural Foundation; Panel Chair of the Australian Multicultural Framework Review
When we remove unnecessary barriers to skilled participation, we strengthen Australia’s multicultural success story.
Prof Pat McGorry AO
Leading psychiatrist; Executive Director of Orygen; former Australian of the Year
“Recognising the skills of migrant mental health workers is essential to addressing Australia’s crisis. We must not let red tape stand in the way.”
Daniel Hunter
CEO of Business NSW; Board Member at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The numbers speak for themselves: $9 billion could be injected into Australia’s economy each year if permanent migrants already in Australia could work at their capability level.
Lisa Annese
CEO of Chief Executive Women
Australia will be more prosperous, innovative, and cohesive if we do the work that is needed to remove unreasonable and unnecessary barriers that hold back migrants from fully using their skills.
Liz Ritchie
CEO of the Regional Australia Institute
Regional Australia is crying out for skilled workers. We need to do everything we can to break down unnecessary barriers that hold back migrant professionals from working in their fields.
David Borger
Executive Director of Business Western Sydney; Former NSW Housing Minister
Businesses are struggling with persistent skill shortages, yet there is a largely untapped pool of migrant talent already here. Unlocking this talent benefits everyone.
Craig Foster AM
Human rights advocate, broadcaster, and former Socceroo
By tackling needless barriers to skills recognition, we unlock a better future for everyone. We allow people to thrive, to support their families, and to build lives of dignity and purpose.
Dr Cassandra Goldie AO
CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS); Adjunct Professor, UNSW
Too often I hear of a skills recognition system that feels like it has been designed to defeat you. This needs to change.
Mary Ann Baquero Geronimo
CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA)
Reforming overseas skills recognition is a strong indication of whether our policies truly reflect equity and inclusion. It is time we embody ‘fair go’ with right policies and decisive action.
Catherine Hunter
CEO of Diversity Council Australia
Unlocking the skills of 620,000 permanent migrants will not only address skills shortages and boost economic security, but is also a vital inclusion strategy.
Melinda Cilento
CEO of CEDA; Deputy Chair of Australian Unity; former Chief Economist at the Business Council of Australia
This is about lifting productivity and using the skills and experience we have in Australia already to address the chronic workforce shortages that are a bottleneck on our economy.
Stephen Duckett AM
Honorary Enterprise Professor, University of Melbourne
Australia has a shortage of health workers so we should be using all the skills that are available to us. Failure to do so means it is harder for everyone in the population to get care.