Ley, whose portfolio includes industry and skills, accused the government of obstructing construction workers on October 18.

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“While current government policy allows people to come from abroad and work as yoga teachers, it does not allow them to come as builders,” he said, according to a transcript from his office.

Official figures show the government brought in 165 builders for every yoga teacher for the year to June 30.

A spokesman for Sukkar said Australians were experiencing a housing crisis combined with a shortage of skilled workers, with the Labor government making it difficult for Australians to find somewhere to live or rent. Ley declined to comment. Skills Minister Andrew Giles says the Liberals are lying about foreign workers and the government’s record.

Although the coalition has repeatedly made allegations against yoga teachers in social media posts and media interviews, immigration analyst Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary in the immigration department, said the allegations were exaggerated.

“The yoga instructor hotline may get good coverage in some parts of the media, but the numbers are so small as to be irrelevant,” he said.

Home Office figures show the 11,349 workers brought in last year was the highest in a decade and a 7 per cent increase on the previous year.

While Australia brought in 10,399 skilled construction workers by June 2014, this number fell in subsequent years, reaching 6996 in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. It dropped to 3,984 in the middle of the pandemic and quickly recovered as borders reopened.

The number of yoga and fitness instructors brought to Australia under the same skills visa was 74 by June 2014, then rose to 111 and remained at this level for three years. Last year it was lower than ten years ago.

Even so, the government is yet to decide on the priority given to construction jobs, following this imprint in June which revealed yoga teachers were ranked higher on Jobs and Skills Australia’s draft plan, known as the Job Shortage List.

Master Builders Australia chief Denita Wawn has been calling for faster action on immigration for several months after publishing a forecast in August that the sector would need 500,000 more workers over five years to meet the government’s housing target.

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The industry group wants a special immigration pathway to prioritize trade workers and all construction jobs to be included on the Occupation Shortage List, given Jobs and Skills Australia acknowledges they are all in shortage.

Master Builders Australia also wants new rules so that immigrants already in the country with construction skills can have their skills recognized more quickly so they can join the construction workforce.

“Labor shortages are currently the biggest obstacle to new home construction and infrastructure projects,” Wawn said.

“If we have any hope of building 1.2 million homes, we need to bring skilled trades people into the country quickly.

“The industry is still waiting for the federal government to publish its reviews of the essential skills transition list and the apprenticeship incentive system review. “We cannot continue to dwell on this issue.”

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