Ian Goodenough MP addresses parliament on need for SIV review after the 1st July 2015 SIV legislation change creates drastic decline in program numbers.

Global Enterprises Group Managing Director, and Australia China Business Council (WA Branch) Executive Committee Member Mr James Clarke was glad that once Mr Goodenough knew of the drastic decline in program numbers, he moved quickly to inform parliament that urgent action needed to be taken to seek to restore the program.

Mr Clarke said that “in the last 12 months of the pre-1st July 2015 program, 590 SIV visa applications were approved, which would have been larger the following year had no change occurred. This equates to over $2.95bn of invested capital / revenue for the year alone coming into Australia. Basic mathematics would show that as a nation we are forgoing at least $3bn – $5bn in revenue per year due to the changes in the program; and we haven’t even explored the major downstream flow-on effects on job creation and new business creation in our economy.” Mr Clarke mentioned that he believed Chinese investors would shy away from a mandatory, complex, high risk set of investments. This has turned out to be true.

Some more statistics on the program:

• In the final year before the change of legislation, the SIV program was achieving more than an averaged 128 applications per month. Since the change of legislation, this number is now an average of 8 applications per month, or circa 6% of the original volumes.
• In the last 12 months of the pre-1st July 2015 program, 590 SIV visa applications were approved, which would have been larger the following year had no change occurred. This equates to over $2.95bn of invested capital / revenue for the year alone coming into Australia.
• Basic mathematics would show that as a nation we are forgoing at least $3bn – $5bn in revenue per year due to the changes in the program; and we haven’t even explored the major downstream flow-on effects on job creation and new business creation in our economy.

You can see a video of Mr Goodenough’s address in parliament here:

You can see more media coverage including statements from Global Enterprises Group Managing Director James Clarke and the Australia China Business Council in The Australian, and WA Business News.