Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced on Saturday that the nation must reduce its immigration intake to a “sustainable level” in light of the disclosure of specifics about changes to the country’s immigration system this week.

Australia, which has long relied on immigration to fill one of the world’s most competitive labor markets, is currently revamping its immigration system to facilitate the entry of highly skilled individuals and expedite the process of obtaining permanent residency.

“We do need to have our migration level brought to a sustainable level and we will be releasing the details of that this week,” Albanese told reporters in Sydney.

“This is a response to the fact that the system is broken.”

He said he wanted to see “a system that works for Australia, a system in which we’re able to access the skills we need”.

In October, the centre-left Labor government pledged to address abuses of its visa system to crack down on human trafficking and other forms of organised crime.

It has previously said the visa process for skilled professionals would be made quicker and easier, while steps would be taken to retain international students.