In a discussion paper, the professional services firm said a more coordinated approach was required to workforce planning and government policy in order to help fill roles with overseas workers in the Australian workforce.

In the paper titled The New Immigration Paradigm, Deloitte partner Mark Wright said employers and government needed to address the problem of workforce planning with solutions that provided for the whole of an employee's career.

Wright said the transaction and compliance driven approach taken by many companies had been rendered obsolete by a complex environment that demands a coordinated approach to workforce planning, government policy and employee relations.

"Traditionally immigration has been about ‘ticking boxes' in order to bring offshore labour in to fill a role but we need to stop thinking about immigration policy in isolation from other workforce solutions," Wright said.

"Instead we need to move towards a more targeted approach to addressing our needs by moving some of the centralised control away from Canberra and allow states and regions greater input and control over the flow of skilled workers on a needs basis."

He said that ensuring the recently introduced Regional Migration Agreements and Enterprise Migration Agreements allow states greater flexibility in sourcing workers would be a good first step.

The paper recommends implementing global internship programs which would allow university graduates to enter a program where they could develop their skills rotating through global operations of the sponsoring company.

The paper also suggests global skills passports which allow skilled workers to enter countries based on their skills status and sponsored project visas that would accommodate a high level of project driven labour activity in the resources and construction sector.

Deloitte also recommends 456.5 visas which sit between 456 and 457 and would allow workers from depressed overseas markets to work in Australia on a temporary basis.

Wright said Asia was expected to be the engine room for growth over the next 10 years and to be competitive, Australia had to realise its future potential and support a diverse range of programs which take into account stakeholders at different points in their employment cycle.

"The recently announced changes to the Living Away from Home Allowance are a case in point," Wright said.

"We would contend that if Australia is to attract the best global talent then we should be avoiding changes that make Australia a less attractive destination to corporate executives and expatriates than lower taxing competitors such as Hong Kong."

Wright said that the skill shortage was not just Australia's problem.

"Australia may face greater challenges than most but the skills crisis and the mobility required to address it are global issues that cannot be solved by one country trying to confront it in isolation," he said.

"True global mobility will be one of the key factors in ensuring Australia's workforce requirements are addressed and that will only be achieved by shifting the debate beyond our shores."