A cumbersome and slow migration process in Australia is potentially causing the ‘best brains’ to look elsewhere with some experts saying that Australia is at risk of squandering the benefits of immigration, reports the SBS.

A sustainable migration conference in Adelaide has heard that Australia ‘can't afford to bask in past glories, as the fast changing immigration landscape means Australia faces stiff competition for the pick of the migrants” reports the SBS.

For decades, Australia's carefully planned migration policies have driven economic growth and social diversity - making the country both the desire and the envy of many.

Demographer Graeme Hugo from the University of Adelaide thinks Australia needs to start selling itself better or risk losing migrants to the growing Asian economies.

"There are now a dozen countries in Asia that have their own skilled migration program which competes with Australia. So it is a very, very changed landscape and with the Asian economy going do well and increasing to likely be by the end of this decade about a third of the global economy. This migration is going to increase” says Professor Hugo.

Australia’s migration program has in recent years been steadily skewing toward policies that aim to attract the ‘best and the brightest’. The skilled migration program has been enlarged with the processing largely focussing on streamlining in order to be more responsive and attractive. The question remains whether this will be enough given the emerging international competition to tap on this critical talented human resource.

Professor Hugon warns, “The days of Australia being the one and only beacon of opportunity for skilled migrants within the Asia Pacific region are gone and there is going to be much more competition from countries, including China, which now has its own skilled migration program.”