SOME Hong Kong professionals emigrating to Australia have been forced to take up new careers because of exclusionary practices by local interest groups, a report has found.
It said some Asian-born Australians had become ''reluctant entrepreneurs'' in trading, services, food, and retail industries because they were unable to pursue the careers they had been trained for.
These findings were echoed by Lawrence Lau Kwok-loong, the president of the Australian-Chinese Community Association.
Mr Lau said the ''de-skilling'' of professional migrants was a big problem his organisation was trying to overcome.
He said it was particularly difficult for Hong Kong professionals who often had extensive experience in fields such as engineering or architecture but were forced to look elsewhere because either their qualifications were not recognised in Australia or they had trouble finding work.
''It's very hard to say whether it's discrimination against professionals from Hong Kong and China or just differences in the cultural aspect of things,'' Mr Lau said.
In a report requested by the Australian Government, Race Discrimination Commissioner Irene Moss found that key issues of concern for many educated Asian-Australians related to promotion opportunities and the recognition of overseas qualifications.
