On the heels of cutting down Australia’s immigration intake by 30,000 places in 2019/20 and with two new regional visas coming soon in November, the government commenced a review of skilled migration occupations list on Wednesday.
Each year the Australian government reviews the list of skilled occupations which determine the kind of skilled migrants needed across Australia. With more places for migration allotted to regional Australia, the government has hinted the new list will focus on the skills needed in these regions.
The government has specifically sought feedback from regional stakeholders.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Mr David Coleman, said the Government’s migration program was focussed on ensuring employers can access workers to fill critical skills shortages, particularly in regional Australia.
“We’ve allocated 23,000 regional migration places, introduced two new regional visas and signed Designated Area Migration Agreements around the country to attract migrants to the regions, help towns grow and to fill some of the 60,000 job vacancies in regional Australia,” Minister Coleman said.
“The Morrison Government is continuing to look closely at ways of filling these skills gaps in regional areas and giving businesses more certainty and confidence that they can get the workers they need when they need them.”
In recent shuffle which saw government cutting down immigration intake cap from 190,000 places to 160,000 places, a significant number of skilled migration places for the 2019/20 have been allocated for regional migration.
Source: Getty Images
While 30,000 places have been allocated for Employer-Sponsored skilled stream visas and 24,968 places have been allocated for State and Territory nominated visas, 23,000 places have been allotted for regional visas to be introduced in November 2019.
Skilled Independent stream cap has been reduced to 18,562 places in 2019/20 which allows skilled migrants to live and work anywhere in Australia.
Regional Australia for skilled migration is all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
What are the skilled migration occupation lists?
Australia’s employer-sponsored, points-tested and state nominated visa programs are underpinned by three kinds of :
- the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL);
- the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL); and,
- the Regional Occupation List (ROL).
The review will be carried out by the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business before a new skilled occupations list is introduced in March 2020.
Over the coming months, the department will consult with industry, employers, unions and individuals in developing advice for the Australian Government on the occupations required to meet the labour market needs of the Australian economy.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator Michaelia Cash, said the department review of the skilled migration occupation list was to ensure it is responsive to genuine skill needs and regional variations across Australia.
“As a Government, our role is to ensure that Australian employers can access workers with the skills needed to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow when they can’t be met by the domestic workforce,” Minister Cash said.
A by the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) said skilled migrants do not displace Australian workers instead these workers had contributed positively to the labour force and were "critical" in delivering benefits to the business.
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Two new regional visas coming November 2019
Before the new occupations list is released in March 2020, Australia is introducing two new regional visas requiring the visa holders to live and work in regional Australia.
The Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa will be for skilled migrants sponsored by an employer in regional Australia while the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa will be for migrants nominated by a State or Territory government or sponsored by an eligible family member to live and work in regional Australia.
Both visas will be a five years long visa with the possibility to apply for a Permanent Residence visa after living in the region for three years.
Employers in regional Australia, as well as State and Territory governments, who sponsor regional skilled migrants, will have access to more occupations than equivalent non-regional visas.
Based on current occupation lists, the Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa will have access to over 450 more occupations than closest non-regional equivalent visa, and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa will have access to over 70 more occupations than the closest non-regional equivalent visa.
