Singaporeans hoping to emigrate to Australia might find it tougher to do so in the future.

This is following Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s latest announcement on Wednesday, March 20.

According to a report by The Guardian, the Morrison government will be capping permanent immigration at 160,000 for the next four years.

This is a decrease of 15 percent from the previous cap of 190,000.

Decreasing urban congestion

There will also be the introduction of new skilled worker visas that will cover 23,000 entrants.

This visa will require entrants to reside for three years in regions outside of Australia’s biggest cities as a pre-condition for securing permanent residency.

You can watch a video of Morrison announcing the new immigration plans here:

Reuters reports that Morrison’s announcement comes after mounting pressure from voters who are increasingly dissatisfied with urban congestion in Australia’s cities.

It also hopes to alleviate regional skill shortages.

Awkward timing

However, rather awkwardly for Morrison, the announcement also comes after last week's terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch.

The attacks were used by right-wing Australian Senator Fraser Anning to push his xenophobic anti-immigration platform, blaming the attacks on Muslim immigration.

Morrison himself had previously condemned Anning, calling his remarks "disgusting" and as having "no place in Australia, let alone in the Australian Parliament”.

Addressing the elephant in the room, Morrison is quoted by The Guardian as declaring the population a practical issue that should not “be hijacked by other debates about race or about tolerance or these other issues”.

Morrison also rejected “any effort to try and recast those important practical issues for Australians, in the context of other matters, which only seek to divide”.

Not much change in practice

Despite the reduction, in practice, immigration numbers might not actually change that much.

Last year, despite the cap being at 190,000 immigrants, Australia only accepted 162,417 permanent migrants — a figure close to the new cap.

There is also currently no cap on temporary immigration — which forms the bulk of Australian migration — so Singaporeans looking to go to Australia for their university education need not worry.

In the year ending June 30, 2018, Australia issued 378,292 student visas.

Top image screenshot from Scott Morrison Facebook