THE VICTORIAN opposition has launched a new push for more regional work visas to fill critical skill shortages into regional Victoria.

For 2021-22, Victoria requested 750 Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visas from the Commonwealth Government, compared to 3640 allocated to New South Wales, the lowest of all states, from a total of 14,060.

Victoria’s allocation makes up just six per cent of the national allocation.

Regional Victoria shadow minister, Peter Walsh said he wrote to Federal Immigration minister, Alex Hawke this month, urging Victoria’s allocation to be increased immediately.

“More access to skilled labour in our regional communities will go a long way to recovering a diverse and highly-qualified employment pool, particularly in our hospitals, schools and hospitality and tourism,” Mr Walsh said.

“The Skilled Work Regional visa gives priority to migrants who are highly-skilled in a defined ‘critical sector’ which means it’s a way we can bring more GPs, nurses, psychologists, counsellors or accommodation and hospitality managers into our state.”

“Victoria’s carrying the unenviable burden of home to the world’s longest lockdown which led tens of thousands of people to pack up and move interstate or overseas.

Due to a shortage of midwives, Portland District Health (PDH) maternity services recently suspended its maternity services for at least three months.

Health minister Martin Foley said, “the inescapable truth is that there is a nationwide shortage”.

“Particularly when it comes to regional and rural Victoria – (there is a shortage) of midwives in our community, in our state and in our nation,” he said.

“I think we should all resolve to back the Portland District Health service in its efforts to recruit … safe and world-class midwifery services.”

While Victoria’s regional unemployment rate has fallen to 3.0 per cent - according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures - the lowest of all the states - and ever recorded for regional Victoria, the figures do not show the difficulties in recruitment of skilled labour.

ABS data also revealed that Victoria’s population declined for the fifth successive quarter last month.

Net interstate migration figures showed Victorians moved en masse, particularly during the height of the pandemic, to other states and territories, thus contributing further to the worker shortage.

With more people moving to regional areas in search of a tree change, the COVID-19 pandemic and an aging population, the strain on regional and rural healthcare systems has increased.

Attracting and retaining doctors to regional areas is not a new problem, it has long been a reality of regional and rural living.

Hamilton Medical Group GP, Dr Leesa Walker told The Spectator last month it was difficult to find doctors that were willing to live and work rurally.

She said although Hamilton has good healthcare services, there was a chronic shortage of healthcare professionals.

“(The biggest issue is) chronic disease and mental health and accessing the multidisciplinary team to care for these patients, including GPs, specialists, nurses, and allied health.”

Surgeons, general practitioners, nurses and mental health practitioners are listed on the skilled occupation list for the Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa.

Under the visa, people who enter Australia must live, work and study in their designated regional area of Australia for up to five years, with the opportunity to become a permanent resident after three years.

However, 90 per cent of applications take around 18 months to process.

Mr Walsh said more skilled workers were needed to clear a backlog of delays for surgery and mental health appointments and to help revive the decimated hospitality and accommodation sectors.

“I urge the Commonwealth to allocate at least 3600 visas to Victoria … to ensure maximum benefit, that cap should exclude those who are renewing their existing visa,” Mr Walsh said.

“Access to more skilled regional visas will be crucial to bring workers back into our state and help businesses and the economy to recover and rebuild.”

However, the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) had a different perspective on the issue.

VFF president, Emma Germano said the difficulty was in finding accommodation or housing for workers.

“You can’t attract people to work in regional Victoria if there are no houses for them to live in,” she said.

“The critical shortage of housing across our communities is having a huge impact on the ability to bring people into the country.

“It’s affecting every rural industry, and in agriculture it’s impacting our ability to bring in highly skilled and unskilled workers. It also limits the services our communities need, like healthcare.

“The VFF believes a coordinated and state-wide approach is needed with targeted interventions in smaller towns to help attract workers from near and afar.”