How can skilled migration keep technology work in Australia? How is AI changing Australia’s technology skills needs? Read Notitia’s skilled migration submission
On 21 August 2026, representing Notitia, Managing Director Alex Avery and Director Pierre du Preez appeared before the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Migration as part of its inquiry into the value of skilled migration to Australia.
What is Notitia’s position on skilled migration? Notitia supports a targeted, transparent and responsive skilled migration system as part of a broader Australian workforce strategy. Skilled migration should complement domestic education, workplace training and career-transition pathways by helping organisations access specialist capabilities that cannot be sourced locally when they are needed.
Asked to appear at an information technology and digital roundtable in Melbourne, Alex and Pierre shared Notitia’s experience of building a multidisciplinary Australian team across data, analytics, web development and UIUX design.
The hearing provided an opportunity to expand on Notitia’s written submission to the inquiry, lodged in January 2026.
Notitia’s position is that Australia needs a multi-pathway workforce strategy: continued investment in local education and training, more opportunities for people to transition into technology careers, and targeted skilled migration for specialist capabilities that cannot be sourced domestically when they are needed.
What Notitia told the inquiry
Alex and Pierre spoke from Notitia’s direct experience as an Australian-owned data and digital transformation company working with government, healthcare, not-for-profit and private-sector organisations.
Our projects rely on people with specialist capabilities across data, analytics, cloud technology, digital development and human-centred UIUX design. These capabilities help organisations improve services, manage critical data and make better operational and strategic decisions.
More than half of Notitia’s team was born overseas. Our workforce also includes people who have moved into technology from other careers, return-to-work parents and people who have followed non-traditional pathways into the sector.
This mix of backgrounds and experience strengthens the way we approach complex problems. Different perspectives help our teams challenge assumptions, communicate technical information more clearly and design solutions around the needs of the people who will use them.
At the hearing, Alex and Pierre explained that skilled migration has been an important part of Notitia’s ability to build this capability in Australia. It has not replaced local workforce development. Notitia also invests in mentorship, training, career pathways and the ongoing development of its team.
The strongest workforce is built through a combination of these approaches.
Australia needs more than one pathway into technology
Australia’s technology needs continue to change as organisations invest in data infrastructure, cloud platforms, cybersecurity, analytics and artificial intelligence.
Some capabilities can take years to develop. New and hybrid roles can also emerge faster than formal training programs and established occupational classifications can adapt.
That does not mean migration should be treated as the only response to a capability gap.
Australia needs to continue investing in universities and TAFEs, workplace training and pathways for people moving into technology from other careers. Employers also have a responsibility to train, enable and develop their people.
However, domestic workforce development takes time. Targeted skilled migration provides another pathway when an organisation needs a highly specialised capability that is not readily available locally.
Experienced migrants can also help develop Australia’s domestic workforce by mentoring junior employees, transferring knowledge and supporting people transitioning into new roles.
The objective is not simply more migration. It is ensuring Australia can access the capabilities it needs while building a sustainable domestic workforce for the future.
Predictability matters for people and employers
During the hearing, Alex discussed the effect that uncertainty within the skilled migration system can have on individuals and Australian businesses.
He shared the example of a highly capable data scientist who wanted to remain in Australia but ultimately left after experiencing prolonged uncertainty around her migration pathway. She continued her career overseas.
As Alex told the committee, it was not only the speed of the process that influenced her decision. The “uncertainty” and “lack of transparency” also made it difficult to plan a future in Australia.
When timeframes are unclear or outcomes appear inconsistent, it becomes difficult for people to make decisions about their careers, families and futures. Employers also face significant uncertainty when planning project teams and investing in specialist roles.
Australia is competing internationally for these capabilities. Skilled people may choose countries that can provide clearer and more predictable pathways.
This issue was also raised by other organisations appearing before the inquiry, including the Australian Computer Society and Australian Information Industry Association.
The hearing was subsequently covered by the Australian Computer Society’s Information Age publication in “Skilled migrant visas ‘slowing down actively in IT’”.
Keeping knowledge and high-value work in Australia
When an Australian organisation cannot find a specialist locally, the underlying work does not necessarily disappear.
Projects, specialist functions and investment can instead move offshore. Australia can then lose the work itself, as well as the associated knowledge, intellectual property, tax contribution and opportunities for Australian employees to develop their capabilities.
Targeted skilled migration can help Australian companies retain this work and expertise in Australia.
The value also extends beyond filling an individual position. Experienced specialists can mentor colleagues, introduce different approaches and transfer knowledge throughout a team. That capability can then flow into the Australian organisations and communities the team supports.
Within Notitia, a team combining Australian and internationally developed experience has helped us deliver analytics, data strategy and digital projects across healthcare, government and industry. So far we've sponsored four of our people.
Our experience is that diversity of thought and lived experience contributes to stronger collaboration, innovation and problem-solving. It also helps us communicate complex technical ideas clearly and design solutions around real organisational and community needs.
Responding to a changing technology landscape
Australia’s migration settings need to remain targeted and uphold appropriate standards. They also need to respond to the pace at which technology roles and required capabilities are changing.
Established occupation classifications do not always reflect new or hybrid roles across data, cloud technology and AI. By the time a highly specialised capability is formally recognised, the market may already have moved.
AI makes this responsiveness particularly important.
AI is changing how specialist work is performed, but it does not remove the need for human expertise. Organisations still need people who can identify worthwhile problems, prepare and govern data, assess outputs, manage risks and translate technology into useful working solutions.
Australia therefore needs people with both technical expertise and the judgement to apply emerging technology appropriately.
A responsive migration system should be capable of identifying genuine specialist gaps as they develop, without lowering professional standards or weakening protections for workers.
A balanced approach to Australia’s future capability
Migration policy operates within a broader national discussion about housing, infrastructure, community capacity and the integrity of the migration system. These are legitimate considerations.
Notitia’s contribution focused on the area in which we have direct experience: building specialist data and digital capability within an Australian business.
From that experience, we believe Australia’s strongest approach combines:
- sustained investment in Australian education and training;
- workplace training and continued professional development;
- clearer pathways for people moving into technology careers;
- employer investment in mentoring and local capability development;
- appropriate protections for skilled migrants; and
- targeted, transparent and responsive migration pathways for genuine specialist gaps.
Skilled migration should complement the work required to develop Australia’s domestic workforce.
We appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s inquiry and share the practical experience of an Australian technology employer.
The challenge is not simply determining how many skilled migrants Australia needs. It is building a workforce strategy that can respond as technology changes, develop capability locally and help Australia retain valuable people, knowledge and work.
