A new labour force study, funded by the federal government, has called migrant women Australia's "hidden assets", whose professional skills and potential value are being drastically underused.

Conducted by migrant agency AMES, the report concluded that a new focus on assisting skilled migrant women into work would help tap into a vast pool of talent that seems to be going to waste.

"They are hidden from view, where their role has shifted from being, in many instances, a paid, well-educated professional to being domesticated as wives, spouses and partners," the report said.

Lead researcher Lisa Thomson said partner-migrants – women who are secondary migrants in skilled-visa streams or primary applicants in the family stream – were too often regarded as "trailing spouses" and not considered potentially valuable assets to the economy.

"With assistance from government-funded services and input from employers ... these women can become job-ready and available to enter the labour market, fill job vacancies and meet skill shortages," Dr Thomson said.

"This not only provides them with financial security and autonomy, it enriches the settlement process, mitigates the risk of social isolation and makes the transition into Australian life much easier."

Ying Wa Choi migrated from Hong Kong in 2011 and now lives with her husband in Melbourne's south-east.

Fluent in three languages, with a US university degree and years of experience in banking, finance and IT, Ms Choi initially expected her job hunt would not take long.

"In the end, I looked for a job for four years ... I didn't have any luck and began feeling very depressed," she said.

"Even though this was now my country, I never experienced looking for a job to be this difficult in Hong Kong. I just didn't understand why it was so hard for me."

Ms Choi was unaware that she was eligible for 510 hours of free English classes before they expired. The Immigration Department later granted her an extension, allowing her to participate.

She found volunteer work first before landing part-time employment last year, as a personal banker at ANZ.

"I went through a lot before I saw some light in the dark hole," she said. "Now I feel blessed. And I would say to other women to never give up hope."

The federal government study noted that between 2010 and 2015 more than 157,000 women aged over the age of 18 migrated in the family stream, the majority being partners or spouses. More than 181,000 women migrated in the skilled stream and more than 70 per cent of these were married or partnered.

AMES researchers canvassed the views and experiences of 63 new migrant women arriving on partner visas, and the views of employers. It found partner migrants faced major barriers to the labour market.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said women's workforce participation was "essential to Australia's economic growth and future prosperity".

A spokeswoman said women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were twice as likely as those born in Australia to be unemployed, which was why the department had provided $110,000 to AMES to conduct the research.

"The department supports the report's recommendations in principle, including practical interventions to support women partner migrants to gain employment, piloting an early intervention program and producing information to help migrant women find jobs," the spokeswoman said.

Aimed at better understanding the experience of skilled women within the skilled and family migration streams, the study was unveiled at a recent Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia conference.