Andrew Metcalfe announced on Monday that new laws coming into effect from July 1st will encourage a greater focus on employers' requirements, without jeopardising the size of Australia's migration programme.
The head of the department of immigration and citizenship said that Australia's skilled migration programme was being sharpened to ensure the "best and brightest" people enter the country.
Speaking at the Population Australia 2050 summit in Sydney, he claimed: "We are moving from 'Australia needs skills' to the 'skills Australia needs' approach."
Mr Metcalfe added that the new prime minister, Julia Gillard, who plans to move away from Kevin Rudd's 'big Australia' to a more balanced and sustainable population growth, had underlined the importance of skilled migration.
Meanwhile, Devinder Sandhu, chairman and managing director of India's leading immigration consultancy WWICS, told the Economic Times that under the revised rules, Australia would offer more attractive prospects to Indian people.
Posted by Craig Francis