"We will no longer allow 457 visas to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians", he added.
The 457 Visa programme is used mainly to hire foreign workers in the restaurant, IT and medical industries and the majority of such visa holders came from India, Britain and China, reported the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
The new program will offer a two-year visa with a broader list of occupations, and a four-year visa with stricter requirements and a smaller job pool.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said restructuring the program would make it more sustainable and provided a chance to hit the "reset button" on temporary skilled migration.
The new system would be "manifestly, rigorously, resolutely" conducted in the national interest to put Australian jobs first, Mr Turnbull said. We're abolishing the 457 visas, the visas that bring temporary foreign workers into our country. The new rules won't apply to those now on 457 visas.
Two new temporary skills shortage visas will adopt an "Australian first" approach to skilled migration - scrapping the 457 visa programme.
People now on a 457 Visa, which lasts for four years, will be exempt from the new regulations.
The new visa will be subject to work experience and English language tests for workers, and labour market testing to prove jobs cannot be filled locally. The government also plans to set up a training fund to better equip local workers for jobs that previously went to foreigners.
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"There is no doubt foreign workers have played a significant role in the remarkable economic growth of the nation", he said.
Applicants must have at least two years' experience in their skilled profession and there will be a minimum market salary rate to make sure Australian workers are not undercut.
Implementation of the new visa will begin immediately, with full implementation to be completed by March 2018.
Australian Industry Group chief Innes Willox said the existing 457 visa system was opaque and open to abuse and he hoped the new scheme would be more transparent.
The prime minister said his government's changes to the visa program had been in the works "going back well over a year".
Technically speaking, the 457 visa is a temporary one for skilled workers, but it was one of the few that offered a path to citizenship for those who continued to work in the country.
Turnbull's announcement comes days after he visited India where a range of issues, including national security, counter terrorism, education and energy, were discussed and six agreements were signed.
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