Australians struggling to schedule a doctor’s appointment will soon find it much easier after India and Australia agreed to recognize hard-earned degrees, including those in the medical profession.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Indian city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat on Thursday to announce that Indians will have their bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate degrees, diplomas and high school certificates recognized in Australia.
India’s educational qualifications recognition mechanism means Australians will also have their qualifications recognized in India as part of a reciprocal arrangement between the two cricket-loving Commonwealth democracies.
The Australian government announcement came as Deakin University establishes India’s first overseas university-approved campus.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured left with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi) visited the Indian city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat to announce that Indians will have their bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate degrees, diplomas and Recognized upper secondary certificates in Australia
Professor Tim Harcourt, chief economist at the University of Technology’s Institute of Public Policy and Governance, said such an arrangement could help Australia recruit doctors from India to address the desperate shortage of regional GPs.
“Regional Australia will benefit from this and cooking will improve across the board,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
India would join countries like Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States in recognizing each other’s qualifications, either officially or through a professional group.
In the medical field, Australia has reciprocal agreements with Canada and New Zealand.
That means Australian specialists are recognized by the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada and the Canadian College of Family Physicians, while the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons recognizes both New Zealanders and Australians.
Similar deals are being finalized with the UK, following its Brexit divorce from the EU.
Professions such as medicine, architecture and engineering will still require qualified Indian immigrants to pass another set of exams before they can be accredited to work in Australia.
That arrangement applies to Australians who already hold titles in Australia.
The federal Department of Education stressed that the relevant authorities in charge of a profession would still decide whether someone from India had the right skills to practice.
“Occupations that require specialized knowledge and skills in Australia have registration, licensing, professional membership or other industry requirements that must be met before you can start work,” it said.
India would join countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States if both nations, either officially or through a professional group, recognized each other’s qualifications (Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in India celebrating Holi o the Festival of Colors)
The Architect Accreditation Council has reciprocal agreements with Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the United States.
Professor Harcourt said recognizing Indians’ qualifications would also help address skills shortages, as Australia still had a low unemployment rate of 3.7 per cent in January.
“You decide what level of immigration would suit your growth and environmental challenges, and the advantage is that you attract people with skills,” he said.
Sonia Sadiq Gandhi, chief executive of event management group Gandhi Creations, has been part of India Australia Business and Community Alliance’s efforts to push for change that could create new career possibilities for Australians and Indians.
“We’ve been trying to do this for many, many years – it’s a great hallmark of recognition that reciprocal rights will be recognized around the ratings,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“It’s going to create so many avenues, even for visas, there will be international talent coming from both sides.”
Sonia Sadiq Gandhi, chief executive of event management group Gandhi Creations, has been part of India Australia Business and Community Alliance’s efforts to push for change that could create new career possibilities for Australians and Indians.
Anupam Sharma, a film director who chairs the Australia India Film Council, said these new arrangements would make it easier for Bollywood film producers to make films in Australia and qualify for government grants.
“A title reciprocity, that’s a separate issue, but it would definitely be more knowledge sharing, more job sharing and it would definitely be more beneficial to the Australian economy,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Anupam Sharma, a film director who chairs the Australian Indian Film Council, said these new arrangements would make it easier for Bollywood film producers to make films in Australia and qualify for government grants.
India and Australia are also concluding joint film production deals, making it easier for films to qualify for government subsidies.
After England, India was Australia’s second largest source of immigrants in the 2021 census.
Australia is home to 710,380 Indian-born residents who made up 2.8 percent of the population, then at 25.738 million.
Within a decade, their number doubled to 337,120 and a share of 1.5 percent of the population.
Sharma, who was born in India and moved to Australia to study film, said the arrangements meant Indians with degrees could feel more welcome in Australia.
“Recognizing those titles will be a big step in using these people,” he said.
‘Many of them migrate to Australia but their qualifications are not recognized and they would have a quicker entry into the workforce.
‘Even if they now have to take an exam, the fact that their degree is recognized makes them feel more culturally welcome and they feel more encouraged.’
Kiwis living in Australia will soon have a path to citizenship for the first time since 2001, with Anthony Albanese (pictured with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins) and his senior ministers pledging that a new policy will be announced for the Anzac day.
China was the third most common country of birth, with 595,630 born there, representing 2.3 percent of the population.
New Zealand came fourth, with 559,980 from there, comprising 2.2 per cent of Australian residents.
Kiwis living in Australia will soon have a path to citizenship for the first time since 2001, with Mr Albanese and his senior ministers pledging that a new policy will be announced by Anzac Day.
This will make it easier for New Zealanders to access Centrelink benefits such as JobSeeker unemployment benefits, and the Reserve Bank expects the unemployment rate to rise as interest rates rise.
Until citizenship rules change, Kiwis can stay in Australia indefinitely, but they don’t have an easy path to citizenship, under a special visa category for New Zealanders, known as subclass 444.
Australians who move to New Zealand are treated with much more courtesy and gain access to subsidized healthcare as long as they show they intend to stay for at least two years.
They can also vote after just one year continuously in New Zealand and be eligible to apply for a student loan after three years.
Australians can apply for New Zealand citizenship after five years.
Since 2017, Australia has allowed Kiwis to apply for permanent residence after five years, but they must earn at least $53,900 a year.
Australians must be permanent residents or citizens to receive Centrelink benefits.
