Survey and analysis of the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme subclass

A survey conducted on behalf of the Joint Commonwealth State and Territory Research Advisory Committee (JCSTRAC) examined how well the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) had performed against a number of indicators. These included the proportion of migrants who stay in regional areas and continue to contribute to the local economy, the reasons why some RSMS migrants leave regional areas, employer satisfaction with RSMS outcomes and processes, and labour market outcomes, income, satisfaction and community participation. The main findings indicate that employers were very satisfied with RSMS outcomes but that the process could be improved by reducing paper work and processing times. RSMS migrants were overwhelmingly satisfied with the scheme and were settling well in Australia. The majority of RSMS migrants were staying in the regions and with their original employers. RSMS migrants also had good employment and income outcomes.