The Australian Government has announced expanded pathways to PR for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (Subclass 482) visa holders. Subclass 482 visa holders will also be eligible to apply for permanent residence (PR) after only two years.

What is changing?

1. STSOL occupations to also qualify for PR

Only occupations on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) as well as ROL List are eligible for PR under the current regulations. However, from the end of the month, occupations on the Short-term Skilled Occupation list will also be eligible for PR.  

2. PR after 2 years

Currently, Subclass 482 visa holders must work in a position with their sponsoring employer for three years before being eligible for nomination for PR. This requirement is changing, and Subclass 482 visa holders will be eligible for nomination after only two years.

3. Multiple Subclass 482 applications allowed

From the end of the month, the limit of two Subclass 482 applications per short-term stream visa holder ceases to exist. Subclass 482 visa holders will be allowed to submit three or more visa applications to extend their stay in Australia before applying for PR.

Why are the changes being made?

The Australian Government wants to attract the skilled workers Australia needs, retain skilled workers already in the country, and provide employers who sponsor these workers with more certainty.

These reforms follow the development of the Outline of the Migration Strategy and are in response to the Review of the Migration System 2023.

What skilled workers will benefit from the changes?

Skilled workers with occupations on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) will be eligible for the positive changes announced by the Australian Government.

Some of the occupations on this list include:

• Poultry Farmer; Sales and Marketing Manager; Human Resources Manager; School Principal; ICT Project Manager; Hotel Manager; Photographer; Print Journalist; Financial Investment Adviser; Web Designer; Primary School Teacher; Retail Pharmacist; Nurse Educator; Web Developer; Baker; Florist; and Jeweller.

You can view all the occupations on the Australian Government’s website.

When are the changes coming into effect?

The changes to the Subclass 482 visa will apply to new applications lodged on or after 25 November 2023, subject to the approval of regulation changes.

Contact us today to apply for your Subclass 482 visa

Intergate Emigration’s team have assisted countless migrants to successfully apply for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (Subclass 482) visas.

Let us do the same for you!

The first step is booking a consultation call with our licensed advisor Katrin Maja O’Flynn .

Katrin will determine your eligibility to apply for a Subclass 482 visa and discuss the best way forward. You’ll also get to ask any questions you may have about the immigration process. Our team will then work with you to compile and submit your visa application.

However, if you’d prefer to do your immigration yourself, you can purchase our Migration Report. This Report is specifically for skilled workers interested in immigration to Australia.

The Migration Report includes an eligibility assessment, visa information, and information about living in Australia. It also includes a free 30-minute consultation call with a licensed advisor.

Whichever route you choose, we look forward to speaking with you soon.

On 26 July 2023, the Australian Department of Home Affairs announced that it is temporarily not accepting TOEFL iBT tests for Australian visa applications.

The pause is due to ETS, the organisation that conducts TOEFL, revising the TOEFL iBT test. The Australian government is reviewing the changes, and the test is unavailable during the evaluation.

At this stage, it’s unclear how long the review will take.

What is changing?

ETS (Education Testing Service) made changes to the TOEFL iBT test to optimise the test-taking experience for candidates. Test takers can expect the following from the enhanced test:

• Shortened TOEFL iBT test: The test will now take less than two hours to complete, as opposed to three hours previously, due to:
  • Streamlined instructions and navigation throughout the test
  • A new, more modern “Writing for an Academic Discussion” task, which replaces the previous Independent Writing task
  • A shorter Reading section
  • The removal of all unscored test questions
• Simplified registration process: Test takers can create an account and register for an available TOEFL iBT test date quicker and easier than before. In addition, more localised benefits, such as additional local payment options, will be available in select markets and expanded over time.
• Increased score transparency: Test takers will see their official score release date upon completion of the test, in addition to getting real-time notification of changes to their score status.

“ETS is driving the future of assessment through product innovations across education and learning, and TOEFL is core to that effort,” said Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS. “TOEFL has been an industry standard for nearly six decades, and these enhancements further underscore its position. Most importantly, these enhancements were developed through the lens of our customers and stakeholders — because they are our highest priority to serve.”

What about migrants who took the TOEFL iTB test before the pause came into place?

Migrants who took the old TOEFL iTB version on or before 25 July can rest assured that their test results will remain valid. Please speak to your licensed immigration advisor if you require more details.

Are the Department of Home Affairs still accepting other English proficiency test results?

The Department of Home Affairs still accepts these English proficiency test results:

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS), including One Skill Retake (OSR)
• Pearson Test of English (PTE)
• Cambridge English (CAE), also known as C1 Advanced
• Occupational English Test (OET), for health professionals

To recap

The TOEFL iTB is on a temporary pause while Australia’s Department of Home Affairs reviews the enhanced test introduced by ETS, the organisation that conducts TOEFL. In the meantime, the Department of Home Affairs is still accepting all other English Proficiency Tests. Test results of migrants who took the TOEFL iTB before 26 July 2023, when the pause came into effect, will remain valid.

Thousands of migrants move to Australia each year through state sponsorship.

Several state-sponsored visa programs have recently undergone changes, and some programs have closed until the new financial year.

For these reasons, we wanted to summarise the status of Australia’s state-sponsored visa programs. Please find the details below.

Australian Capital Territory 

• The next SkillSelect invitation round will be held before 14 July 2023.
• The ACT Nomination Guidelines have been updated:
  • The eligibility criteria have been adjusted, and
  • changes have been made to the Canberra Matrix.
• The Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) has closed for this financial year. 

New South Wales

• The state nomination program appears to remain open.

Northern Territory 

The Northern Territory has new offshore General Skilled Migration nomination criteria, including:

• Reduced work experience requirement – one year down from three years for most occupations
• More occupations added to the Priority Occupations Stream
• Expansion of the Family Support Stream to enable regional provisional (Subclass 489, 491 and 494) visa holders and those who hold bridging visas after having applied for regional permanent residency (Subclass 887 and 191 visas) to support family members who are applying for nomination

Queensland 

• The state nomination program appears to remain open 

South Australia 

• General Skilled Migration Programs (Registration of Interest, Subclasses 491 and 190, 491 and 190 and the Business Innovation and Investment Program) closed to new applications on 8 June 2023. South Australia will:
  • delete any applications that had commenced but weren’t lodged before 8 June 2023 from the system, and
  • continue to assess existing applications that were lodged before 8 June 2023.
• Pending an allocation of Subclass 190 visa nominations from the Commonwealth Government for the 2023-24 program year, applicants who are assessed as eligible for Subclass 190 visa state nominations will receive a nomination in the upcoming program year. 

Tasmania 

• The state nomination program appears to remain open. 

Victoria 

• The Victoria state nomination program has closed to Registrations of Interest (ROI). Submitted ROI will continue to be assessed and selected for invitations to apply for Victorian visa nomination. If an ROI is withdrawn, applicants won’t be able to submit a new one until the 2023-24 program opens. 

Western Australia 

• The state nomination program appears to remain open.

Want to find out more about state sponsorship? 

Book a consultation call with our licensed advisor if you want to know more about immigration to Australia through state sponsorship.

Our advisor can also assess you against its requirements to see if you can apply for one of the available work or business visas.

You’ll get all the details during your call and get the chance to ask any questions. 

The Australian Department of Home Affairs recently announced changes to the Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) Visa and the Student (Subclass 500) Visa.

From July 2023, eligible graduates can live and work in Australia for longer, and Subclass 500 visa holders can work more hours while studying.

Extension of post-study stay for eligible Subclass 485 visa holders

From 1 July 2023, Australia is extending the post-study stay for Subclass 485 visa holders who graduated from Australian higher education providers with eligible qualifications by two years:

• From two years to four years for select Bachelor’s degrees
• From three years to five years for select Master’s degrees
• From four years to six years for all Doctoral degrees

The eligible qualifications are in areas such as science, medicine, healthcare, engineering, and technology, which were chosen to address the demand for specific qualifications in the Australian workforce.

The extension of the post-stay duration will also support businesses across Australia by increasing the availability of a well-trained and highly capable workforce. Furthermore, Australia hopes the extension will help rebuild the international education sector following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Increase in permitted working hours for Subclass 500 visa holders

In January 2022, the Australian Government temporarily relaxed a limitation on the number of hours Student Visa holders could work during their studies. This measurement allowed Student Visa holders to work unlimited hours to address workforce shortages.

On 30 June 2023, the temporary relaxation comes to an end. After this date, Australia will again cap work hours for international students. However, the number of hours will increase from 40 to 48 per fortnight for Student Visa holders and associated bridging visas.

The Government says this increase will enable international students to gain valuable work experience in Australia and contribute to Australia’s workforce needs.

The only exception to the new measurement is Student Visa holders already working in the aged care sector on 9 May 2023. These students can continue to work unrestricted hours in the aged care sector until 31 December 2023.

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Australia’s labour market conditions are robust, according to the latest Australian Labour Market for Migrants Report from Jobs and Skills Australia.

There have been strong increases in full-time employment and improvements for the unemployed in the 12 months leading up to February 2023.

Let’s look at the highlights of importance for migrants and people interested in working in Australia:

Employment

Employment opportunities and growth varied widely across industries over the 12 months to February 2023:

• The largest increases in employment were in Construction, Healthcare and Social Assistance, and Retail Trade.
• The largest decreases in employment were in Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services, Financial and Insurance Services, and Public Administration and Safety.
• The strongest rates of employment growth were in Construction (up by 12.4%), Wholesale Trade (up by 7.8%), and Arts and Recreation Services (up by 7.5%).

Unemployment

The seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment in Australia was 3.5% in February 2023, which is a decrease from 4.0% in February 2022:

• The unemployment rate decreased in all states and territories except the Northern Territory, where it increased from 3.6% to 4.6% over the 12 months to February 2023.
• The largest decreases in unemployment rates were in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.
• The ACT had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.9%, and the Northern Territory had the highest unemployment rate.

Employment by occupation

• The largest increase in employment from February 2022 to February 2023 occurred for Community and Personal Service Workers.
• The second-largest increase in employment happened for Technicians and Trades Workers.
• The occupation group with the largest decrease in employment was Sales Workers.

Internet vacancies

The Australian Labour Market for Migrants report also includes data from Jobs and Skills Australia’s monthly Vacancy Report. This report includes data on internet vacancies, and it reveals the following figures for the 12 months up to February 2023:

• The largest increases in internet vacancies were for Community and Personal Service Workers (up by 7.7%), Professionals, (up by 6.5%) and Managers (up by 5.2%).
• The strongest increases in internet vacancies were for Education Professionals (up by 43.8%), Protective Service Workers (up by 42.2%) and Medical Practitioners and Nurses (up by 39.0%).
• The largest decreases were for Food Preparation Assistants (down by 31.4%), ICT Professionals (down by 24.0%), and Cleaning and Laundry Workers (down by 18.3%).
• Internet vacancies rose in Tasmania (up by 21.6%), the Northern Territory (up by 19.1%), Queensland (up by 12.7%), South Australia (up by 9.0%) and Western Australia (up by 3.8%).
• Vacancies fell in the ACT (down by 0.5%), New South Wales (down by 3.0%), and Victoria (down by 3.1%).

Sustained growth could prove challenging

The Australian Labour Market Report for Migrants notes that although Australia’s job market is strong, it will be challenging to sustain the current rate of employment growth. Australia is not immune to international forces driving inflation and slower global growth.

On 27 April 2023, Minister of Home Affairs Clare O’Neill addressed the National Press Club about proposals for a significant reform of Australia’s migration system.

The aims of such a reform? To prioritise the people Australia needs, to make the migration system simpler and more efficient, and to place Australian values once again at the heart of the system.

1. Prioritising skilled migrants

The first proposal from Minister O’Neill is redesigning Australia’s migration system to better address Australia’s needs for skilled migrants.

The proposal includes three new pathways for temporary skilled migrants for consideration:

1. Fast, simple route for specialised highly skilled workers
2. Mainstream temporary skilled pathway focusing on evidence-based assessments of skills needs
3. Proper, capped, safe, tripartite pathways for workers in key sectors, such as care, to better support Australia’s industries and to better protect workers

Minister O’Neill also proposes reforming how Australia determines which temporary migrants end up as permanent residents and, ultimately, citizens.

The critical driver for this would be a reform of the points test, which Minister O’Neill says is not working. It sets the bar too low and does not prioritise the skills Australia needs.

Lastly, Minister O’Neill encouraged a more proactive approach to engage with global talent who can help build Australia’s future.

To facilitate this process, the Minister proposes creating a new area in her Department to work with Jobs and Skills Australia to identify skills needed in Australia’s economy. The Department of Home Affairs would then actively search for migrants that Australia needs and approach them about living and working in Australia.

2. Simplifying Australia’s migration system and making it more efficient

In Minister O’Neill’s address to the National Press Club, she called Australia’s migration system ‘a bureaucratic nightmare’, and ‘slow and crazily complex’ with ‘hundreds of visa categories and subcategories’.

To simplify and streamline the system, Minister O’Neill is advocating for the following:

• A data-driven approach to migration to eliminate a lot of the red tape. To this end, Jobs and Skills Australia will use facts and statistics to identify skills shortages and help the Department of Home Affairs to integrate the needs of the job market, the training and education system, and the migration system.
• Strongly reducing the number of visa categories.

3. Reforming policy settings that drive exploitation of migrant workers

Many migrant workers, especially those in low-skilled or low-income occupations, are exploited by their Australian employers.

Minister O’Neill wants to end this practice by reforming the policy settings that drive exploitation. She’s proposing ways to give migrants more flexibility to move employers and enforce their workplace rights.

4. Strengthening the interaction between the international student system and the migration system

More than half of the people who receive permanent skilled visas under Australia’s current system arrived in Australia on a student visa. This phenomenon presents a problem, as international students are meant to go to Australia to study.

To address this issue, Minister O’Neill proposes simpler, faster pathways for international students with the skills Australia needs to give those students a chance to remain in Australia once they’ve completed their studies.

The proposal also includes plans to tighten the requirements for international students studying in Australia.

5. Restoring Australian values at the heart of the system

Minister O’Neill wants to restore three Australian values in the country’s migration system:

• Integrity: Minister O’Neill said that abuse of Australia’s visa system has gone unchecked in recent years. To rectify the situation, the Minister wants to see more resources in Home Affairs focused on ensuring that migrant worker exploitation is identified and addressed. It would include the improvement and enforcement of wages and conditions and better regulation of migration agents.
• Fairness: Many migrants are in a permanent state of being temporary residents. Minister O’Neill wants to put an end to this by creating clearer pathways for skilled workers and providing clarity for migrants that have less of a prospect of becoming permanent residents.
• Inclusion: Minister O’Neill proposes improving and streamlining skills recognition to help more migrants, including secondary applicants, enter the labour market at a level that matches their qualifications.

These changes have already been made

The Department of Home Affairs has made several changes in the past year to improve Australia’s migration system:

• Dramatically reduced the visa backlog of more than one million applications
• Introduced a larger permanent skilled program to address Australia’s labour shortages
• Created permanent visa pathways for roughly 20,000 existing Temporary Protection Visa and Safe Haven Enterprise Visa holders
• Announced that from 1 July 2023, New Zealanders living in Australia will have a direct pathway to Australian citizenship

And these changes are coming soon

Minister O’Neill also announced two changes that her Department would introduce in the coming federal budget:

• From 1 July 2023, the temporary skilled migration income threshold, or the TSMIT, will increase from AUD53,000 to AUD70,000.
• By the end of 2023, all temporary skilled workers will have a pathway to permanent residency

To summarise

The Australian government wants to reform its migration system to ensure a prosperous and secure future for Australia.

The focus will be ensuring Australia gets the skills it needs while simplifying and streamlining the migration system and putting these three Australian values at its heart – integrity, fairness, and inclusion.

The goal is a system that works in the national interest and that of migrants who can contribute to Australia’s growth.

The Australian Physiotherapist Council offers physiotherapists from select countries an express pathway of their skills assessments. The good news is that South Africa is now one of those countries!

Explaining the FLYR pathway

Eligible physiotherapists with qualifications from approved countries can access the Australian Physiotherapist Council’s FLYR pathway.

This pathway exists for countries whose physiotherapy education, training, regulation and practice have been assessed to be substantially comparable to Australia.

The advantage for physiotherapists is a streamlined assessment process towards becoming a physiotherapist in Australia. Eligible candidates bypass the Clinical Assessment stage, and the Cultural Safety Training and Written Assessment can be completed without travelling to Australia. These concessions save candidates time and money.

What are the requirements?

• First and foremost, eligible physiotherapists must be from one of these countries:
• South Africa
• Canada
• Hong Kong (SAR of China)
• United Kingdom
• Ireland
• Singapore (Qualification must be Bachelor-level degree)
• Netherlands

Candidates must also:

• Have completed an entry-level physiotherapy qualification in an approved FLYR country
• Held registration without restriction with the relevant regulatory body within the past five years
• Able to practice without any restrictions
• Have an entry-level qualification that is diploma-level or higher, except for Singapore candidates that must have completed a Bachelor-level degree

Candidates who meet these requirements must complete an eligibility assessment, cultural safety training, and a written assessment. These components can be done online and remotely.

Skilled migration visa options for physiotherapists

Physiotherapists are on Australia’s Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). That means eligible candidates could apply for one of the following skilled migration visas:

• Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189)
• Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190)
• Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491)
• Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482)

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On Thursday, 20 April, ACT Migration released information about its state nomination process, including the expansion of its skilled occupation list. 

Easing of state nomination requirements

The ACT is easing its nomination requirements for the Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491).

Key changes for visa applicants from overseas:

• Employment Criteria: 
  • It is no longer necessary for visa applicants to be employed at the date of the Canberra Matrix submission.
  • Applicants for ACT nomination of a Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491) must now only have one year of relevant overseas work experience in the last five years.
  • It is no longer necessary for applicants for ACT nomination of a Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) to have a job offer. Instead, applicants must have three years of relevant overseas work experience in the last five years as an employability statement.
• English Criteria:
  • The minimum required English level has been lowered for applicants applying for ACT nomination for a Subclass 491 visa. It is now only necessary to have ‘Competent’ English at the date of Canberra Matrix submission.
• Relationship Criteria:
  • Visa applicants can claim points for a partner or spouse if they are in a de facto relationship if it is illegal for them to obtain a relationship certificate in their country of origin. It would be necessary for these applicants to request a waiver beforehand.
• Points for Relevant Overseas Work Experience:
  • Visa applicants with three to five years of relevant overseas work experience can now claim 10 points instead of 5, and those claiming five to eight years of relevant experience can now claim 15 points instead of 10.
• Job Offer Points:
  • It is now easier for applicants to claim points for an ACT job offer.
• Spouse/Partner Employment Points:
  • It is no longer necessary for the spouse or partner of the visa applicant to be employed at the date of Canberra Matrix submission.
• The renomination policy has been amended.

Key changes for visa applicants living in Canberra:

• Employment Criteria:
  • The required weekly work hours minimum for Subclass 491 applicants have been reduced from 20 to 15 hours, while the requirement for Subclass 190 applicants has been reduced from 35 to 30 hours.
  • Employment does not need to be fully continuous. Applicants must instead meet the employment requirements for a set number of weeks in a given period, which is 13 weeks out of 15 for Subclass 491 applicants and 26 out of 30 for Subclass 190 applicants.
• English Criteria:
  • Subclass 491 applicants can now obtain ACT nomination with ‘Competent’ English at the date of Canberra Matrix submission.
• Minimum Threshold Criteria:
  • Subclass 482 visa holders who apply for ACT nomination now only need 60 points to receive an invitation to apply.
• Length of ACT Residence Criteria:
  • Applicants claiming more than two years of ACT residence can be away from Canberra for up to 12 weeks in a year.
  • Applicants can claim Canberra Matrix points for the length of ACT residence when they’ve previously worked in Regional New South Wales, within commuting distance from the ACT, while living in the ACT. Please note that the eligibility criteria have not changed – applicants must still work in Canberra at the date of Canberra Matrix submission to be eligible for ACT nomination.

Changes expected in future

It’s expected that the changes highlighted above aren’t the last ones we’ll see from the ACT.

Firstly, it’s likely that the minimum Canberra Matrix score required to receive an invitation to apply for ACT nomination of a Subclass 190 visa will continue to drop. Secondly, it’s also expected that overseas residents are more likely to receive invitations for the Subclass 491 visa.

The ACT skill occupation list now includes an added 128 occupations!

Due to the continuing skills shortages in the ACT, ACT Migration added 128 occupations to the state’s skill occupation list. These occupations are across several industries ranging from ICT and life sciences to healthcare and trades.

ACT Migration used a wide range of indicators when deciding what occupations to add, including but not limited to vacancy rates, employment levels, projected employment growth, and industry and stakeholder feedback.

Please see the ACT Government website to see the skill occupation list in its entirety.

Want to know if you can apply for a Subclass 190 or 491 Visa?

To find out if you’re eligible to apply for a Skilled Nominated Visa or a Skilled Work Regional Visa, go ahead and book a consultation call with our licensed advisor.

You’ll submit your personal details, including your CV, and our advisor will determine if you meet the either visa’s requirements.

You’ll also get to ask any questions you may have during your consultation call.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is undertaking a comprehensive review and update of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). It expects to complete the process by Australia’s 2026 Census.

Overview of the process

The ABS is reviewing and updating ANZCO to reflect the contemporary labour market and better meet the needs of stakeholders.

Public consultation rounds will be held during 2023 and 2024, each targeting selected occupations grouped by focus area. During these rounds, the ABS will invite submissions through the ABS Consultation Hub.

The first round of consultations commences on 1 February 2023

The first round of consultations starts on Wednesday, 1 February, and seeks feedback on occupations in the following areas:

• Accounting Services
• Administrative Services
• Aged Care and Disability Services
• Childcare Services
• Computer System and Related Services
• Education and Training
• Financial and Insurance Services
• Library and Other Information Services
• Management and Related Consulting Services
• Market Research and Advertising Services
• Scientific Research Services
• Statistical Services
• Welfare and Social Assistance Services

You can get information on who can participate and how to take part on the ABS website. This first consultation round will close on 28 April 2023.

More information about ANZCO

ANZSCO is a system used within skilled migration to set guidelines for the skills and work experience visa applicants must meet to work in specific occupations in Australia or New Zealand.

ANZSCO also assigns skill levels to occupations ranging from Skill Level 1 to 5, derived from the range and complexity of associated tasks. Skill Level 1 occupations have the greatest range and complexity of tasks, while Skill Level 5 occupations have the smallest range of tasks with the least complexity of tasks.

To be eligible to apply for a visa under the skilled migration category, migrants must meet their occupation’s requirements as set out in ANZSCO.

Want to know if you can apply for a Skilled Migrant Visa?

To find out if you’re eligible to apply for a Skilled Migrant Visa, go ahead and book a consultation call with our licensed advisor.

You’ll submit your personal details, including your CV, and our advisor will determine if you meet the Skilled Migrant Visa requirements.

You’ll also get to ask any questions you may have during your consultation call.