Category Archives: Immigration News

Skilled Migration Points Increase

Home Affairs have increased the base points required for skilled migration.

This affects any applications lodged after 1st of July 2018. Any applications lodged before that date will be under the old points (60).

The relevant visas affected are the 189, 190, and 489 visas.

Please also note, the Minister may at any time change the points required, so for example, current (June 2018) points requirements are at:

  • 189 – 75 points
  • 190  – 60 points
  • 489 – 80 points

Added to the above, the Minister may also specify the points cutoff for a specific occupation, so even if the global requirement drops from 75 in the 189 to 65 after July the 1st 2018, your occupation may still require higher points. For reference, you can check it out at the skill select page.

For information on the above legislative changes, go here.


Flagged Occupation Comparison 2016-17 vs 2017-18

Category : Immigration News

Doing a quick review of the flagged occupations list (those that are flagged for removal from MLTSSL).

Production Manager (Mining), Anaesthetist were both on the list in 2016, and were moved from MLTSSL to STSOL for the 2017-2018 year.

Psychotherapist, Ship’s Engineer, Ship’s Master, and Ship’s Officer were on the list in 2016, and were removed altogether in 2017-2018.

Surveyor and Chef were on the list in 2016, but are no longer on the list, so in theory both are safe this year….in theory!

Newly added to the list of flagged occupations this year are all Medical Professions:

Medical Administrator, Specialist Physician (General Medicine), Clinical Haematologist, Medical Oncologist, Neurologist, Renal Medicine Specialist, Rhuematologist, Thoracic Medicine Specialist, Specialist Physicians NEC, Emergency Medicine Specialist.

All the rest on the list are occupations that were also flagged last year, including many of the Engineering Professions, Accounting, Legal, and some other Medical Professions.


Flagged Occupations 2017 – 2018

Category : Immigration News

As the DIBP have been making some arbitrary changes to the occupation lists this year it remains to be seen how useful the list of flagged occupations are for this year, but still, it’s an advance warning of potential changes to the occupation lists.

As always, if you qualify and your occupation is on the flagged list, you should get on with the process before your pathway disappears.

You should be able to check the Flagged Occupations on the government site but last time we checked that had taken the info down, so her it is as follows, and for your convenience they are searchable:

ANZSCO CodeOccupation
134211Medical Administrator
221111Accountant (General)
221112Management Accountant
221113Taxation Accountant
224111Actuary
224511Land Economist
224512Valuer
232213Cartographer
232214Other Spatial Scientist
233111Chemical Engineer
233211Civil Engineer
233212Geotechnical Engineer
233213Quantity Surveyor
233214Structural Engineer
233215Transport Engineer
233411Electronics Engineer
233511Industrial Engineer
233512Mechanical Engineer
233513Production or Plant Engineer
233911Aeronautical Engineer
233912Agricultural Engineer
233913Biomedical Engineer
233914Engineering Technologist
233915Environmental Engineer
233916Naval Architect
234611Medical Laboratory Scientist
234711Veterinarian
251211Medical Diagnostic Radiographer
251212Medical Radiation Therapist
251411Optometrist
252111Chiropractor
252411Occupational Therapist
262611Podiatrist
252712Speech Pathologist
253111General Practitioner
253311Specialist Physician (GeneralMedicine)
253312Cardiologist
253313Clinical Haematologist
253314Medical Oncologist
253315Endocrinologist
253316Gastroenterologist
253317Intensive Care Specialist
253318Neurologist
253321Paediatrician
253322Renal Medicine Specialist
253323Rheumatologist
253324Thoracic Medicine Specialist
253399Specialist Physicians NEC
253912Emergency Medicine Specialist
253913Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
253999Medical Practitioners nec
271111Barrister
271311Solicitor
272399Psychologists nec
342211Electrical Linesworker
399111Boat Builder and Repairer
399112Shipwright

 


Queensland Updates their Business Talent and QSOL

Category : Immigration News

For those multimillionaire entrepreneurs out there, Queensland have announced some changes to their Business, Innovation and Investment Programme:

 

SUBCLASS 132 BUSINESS TALENT (SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS HISTORY STREAM)

Net Business and Personal Assets of AUD$1.5 million to be transferred to Queensland within 2 years after visa is granted including:

  • minimum AUD$1million investment in a business
  • minimum AUD$500,000 settlement costs
  • must reside in Queensland.

SUBCLASS 188 BUSINESS INNOVATION AND INVESTMENT

  1. Innovation Stream: Net Business and Personal Assets of AUD$800,000 to be transferred to Queensland within 2 years after visa is granted including:
    • minimum AUD$200,000 investment in a business
    • must reside in Queensland
  2. Investor stream:
    • Existing criteria remains the same
    • must reside in Queensland
  3. Significant Investor Stream (SIV):
    • current Austrade Complying Investment Framework
    • commitment to Queensland.

 

For the rest of us lesser mortals wanting to get state sponsorship for skilled migration, the new list will come into effect on Monday the 25th of  July 2016, and Queensland still have the three main streams:

  • For those working in Queensland
  • For those who have studied in Queensland
  • For everyone else

http://migration.qld.gov.au/skilled-migration-queensland/


Flagged Occupations 2016 – 2017

If you are considering skilled migration then you need to be aware of which occupations have been flagged for removal from SOL this year. If you don’t know what flagged occupations are you can read our article.

The updated list is found at the end of this article, but to summarise:

There’s 52 occupations up for review this year. Last year there were 60 up for review and 9 were removed.

Many are still on the list from last year (meaning they were reviewed, and left unchanged).

Some are new to the list, including one’s related to Ships, many Medical Occupations, Psychotherapists, Psychologists (NEC).

A few have been removed (are no longer under review), such as Secondary School Teachers, most of the Trades occupations (such as Carpenter, Joiner, Mechanic, etc).

The list as follows, occupations in bold are new to the list this year, any others were on the list last year:

133513 Production Manager (Mining)
221111 Accountant (General)
221112 Management Accountant
221113 Taxation Accountant
224111 Actuary
224511 Land Economist
224512 Valuer
231212 Ship’s Engineer
231213 Ship’s Master
231214 Ship’s Officer
232212 Surveyor
232213 Cartographer
232214 Other Spatial Scientist
233111 Chemical Engineer
233211 Civil Engineer
233212 Geotechnical Engineer
233213 Quantity Surveyor
233214 Structural Engineer
233215 Transport Engineer
233411 Electronics Engineer
233511 Industrial Engineer
233512 Mechanical Engineer
233513 Production or Plant Engineer
233911 Aeronautical Engineer
233912 Agricultural Engineer
233913 Biomedical Engineer
233914 Engineering Technologist
233915 Environmental Engineer
233916 Naval Architect
234611 Medical Laboratory Scientist
234711 Veterinarian
251211 Medical Diagnostic Radiographer
251212 Medical Radiation Therapist
252411 Occupational Therapist
262611 Podiatrist
252712 Speech Pathologist
253111 General Practitioner
253211 Anaesthetist
253312 Cardiologist
253315 Endocrinologist
253316 Gastroenterologist
253317 Intensive Care Specialist
253321 Paediatrician
253913 Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
253999 Medical Practitioners nec
271111 Barrister
271311 Solicitor
272314 Psychotherapist
272399 Psychologists nec
351311 Chef*
399111 Boat Builder and Repairer
399112 Shipwright

Flagged Occupations – what are they?!

In simple terms Flagged Occupations are ones which immigration are considering removing from the Skilled Occupation List (or SOL for short).

Every year the Department of Education and Training review the occupations, specifically looking at the demand, and whether there’s still a need for the occupation to be on SOL.

If you are considering skilled migration it’s a good idea to be aware of the lists, and whether you should be worried about your occupation being removed. If your occupation is on the list, then you need to think about getting on with your skilled migration before anything changes.

In other words, it confirms our general advice, if you qualify and you have a pathway, you need to grab it before your chance disappears.

To put this into some perspective, in 2015-2016 there were 60 occupations flagged, and of those 9 were removed from SOL.

For 2016-2017 there are 52 occupations flagged, and many of these are occupations that were flagged in the previous year (such as Engineering occupations).

For more information see our article on this years flagged occupation lists, whats been added, what’s been removed, and which ones remain on the list.

“The Department of Education and Training is responsible for providing advice to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection on the composition of the SOL. The SOL identifies occupations that would benefit from skilled migration for the purpose of meeting the medium to long-term skill needs of the Australian economy.

Following each review, there are a number of occupations which are ‘flagged’ for possible removal in the future. Generally, occupations are flagged when there is emerging evidence of excess supply in the labour market.”


Changes to the SOL & CSOL from July 1st 2016

Category : Immigration News

As usual there will be changes to the occupations on the lists coming in to effect on July 1st 2016.

There was much speculation about Accountants, but they appear to have escaped being removed from SOL. We will have to wait and see if they have reduced the number of places allocated to them for next year.

For anyone who is in one of the negatively effected occupations, you either need to get invited before July 1st, or consider either looking at state sponsorship, or changing your strategy from skilled migration to employer sponsorship.

Occupations moved from SOL to CSOL

  • 233611  Mining Engineers (excluding Petroleum)
  • 233612  Petroleum Engineers
  • 234912  Metallurgists
  • 251311  Environmental Health Officers
  • 251312  Occupational Health & Safety Advisers
  • 411211  Dental Hygienists
  • 411212  Dental Prosthetists
  • 411213  Dental Technicians
  • 411213  Dental Therapists

Occupations added to the SOL

  • 251912  Orthotist or Prosthetist
  • 25 2711  Audiologists

ACT closes their door for this financial year.

Category : Immigration News

Locked Door

The ACT have announced their skilled migration is closed for overseas applicants for the year.

This action does not affect Canberra-based applicants. If you are living in Canberra and working in a skilled occupation, the program is open. You are still able to apply for ACT nomination of the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa if you meet the current nomination criteria for Canberra residents.

“Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa – closure of ACT nomination program to overseas applicants for 2015/16

The Australian Capital Territory is pleased to announce that program targets for ACT nomination of a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa have been met for the 2015/16 financial year.

Effective 18 March 2016 at 4:00pm AEST, applications for ACT nomination from overseas residents will not be accepted. If you are living overseas you are not able to apply for ACT nomination of a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa until the program reopens in July 2016.

Applications for ACT nomination already submitted before 4:00pm 18 March 2016 will be processed in queue order.”

To find out more go to the ACT website.


Australia & Hungary sign a Work & Holiday Agreement

Category : Immigration News

hungarian-flag-map

On 24 February 2016, Australia and Hungary signed a Work and Holiday Memorandum of Understanding, establishing a reciprocal Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) arrangement between the two countries.

This arrangement will allow up to 200 young adults from Hungary and up to 200 young adults from Australia to enjoy a holiday in each other’s country, during which they can undertake short term work and study.

When a commencement date has been announced, eligible young adults from Hungary and Australia will be able to apply for this visa.

In the coming months, Australia and Hungary will work closely together to implement the necessary legal and administrative processes to bring this visa into effect. The work and holiday arrangement will not commence until a start date has been agreed by both countries.

More information on the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) is available.


Being asked to pay your employer to get sponsored is illegal

Category : Immigration News

The DIBP has made it illegal to pay to be sponsored, so now it’s not only immoral, unethical, and exploitative, it’s also illegal.

“On 14 December 2015, new criminal and civil penalties and visa cancellation provisions were introduced as part of a ‘paying for visa sponsorship ‘ framework that allows for sanctions to be imposed on a person who asks for, receives, offers or provides a benefit in return for visa sponsorship or employment (that requires visa sponsorship).

‘Paying for visa sponsorship’ conduct is considered unacceptable by the Australian Government as it undermines the integrity of the skilled work programmes, which are designed to address genuine skill shortages in the Australian labour market by making employees available from outside Australia.

It is not acceptable for sponsors, nominators, employers or other third parties to make a personal gain from their position in a ‘paying for visa sponsorship’ arrangement, nor is it acceptable for current or prospective visa holders to obtain permanent residence in Australia, or have the opportunity to work in Australia by providing a benefit to an employer for a job.

To further strengthen this framework, sponsors, nominators and visa applicants will be required to, as part of the application process, state whether or not they have actively participated in conduct that contravenes the new ‘paying for visa sponsorship’ laws.”

https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Work-1