Migration changes could see a pay rise for some of Australia's lowest-paid. 

The Australian government is set to overhaul its migration system with a new set of rules that will force low-paid industry employers to increase the wages of migrant workers by up to $16,000 from July.

The new regulations will protect low-paid migrant workers while making it easier for employers to hire highly paid, skilled foreigners.

The new TSMIT (Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold) will increase from $53,900 to $70,000.

The new system will be divided into three tiers: a top tier for highly paid workers, a middle tier that will earn less than highly-paid workers but more than $70,000, and a bottom tier with new pathways to bring in low-paid care sector workers.

The annual intake of 195,000 permanent skilled migrants will remain unchanged.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan has called for more information on how the changes will affect the economy, especially in the care sector, with the highest salary in the restaurant industry award being less than $70,000.

The government has not yet decided on where to set the threshold for the highly paid tier, but the reviewers recommend it should be no lower than average full-time earnings, which are currently at $98,000.

The overhaul is the first major review of the immigration system since the 1990s.

It has also been recommended that labour market testing rules be scrapped, which require jobs to be advertised for local applicants before employers can consider bringing in foreign workers.