Key Changes to the 482 Visa:
Only 1 year work experience required to get the 482 visa from November 2024
From 23 November 2024, the 482 visa will only require 1 year of full-time work experience, which is half of the current requirement of 2 years full-time. This change was announced in the 2024-25 Budget.
The employment will still need to be full-time and "in the nominated occupation or a related field".
For some people who were looking at DAMA due to the lower skills requirements, this may now let them go for a medium-term stream or short-term stream 482 visa instead.
This is a good change, especially for those in Australia on graduate visas who are not able to complete 2-years of full-time experience in their occupation before they need a new visa to stay in Australia.
This is not about the number of years you need to spend on the 482 visa before you can apply for the 186 visa in the Temporary Residence Transition stream. I'll talk about that requirement in a minute.
New Skills in Demand visa program
As part of the Migration Strategy published 11 December 2023, the Government announced a new visa program: the Skills in Demand visa.
The Skills in Demand visa will replace the TSS 482 visa, which itself replaced the 457 visa, on 18 March 2018.
We do not know exactly when this new visa will be brought in, but the Strategy indicated that building "a targeted temporary skilled migration system" would be done by the end of 2024.
The program will have 3 distinct streams:
- Specialist Skills for mostly white-collar workers earning more than $135,000
- Core Skills for skills that are in high demand earning at least $73,150
- Essential Skills for important skilled and semi-skilled roles, including those that may be earning under the $73,150 threshold, such as care jobs
This new Skills in Demand visa program and its 3 streams could make some positive changes, reducing red-tape for employers and providing a better visa and pathway to permanent residency for visa holders.
2-year pathway to PR instead of 3 years
Since 25 November 2023, the requirement for the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream was reduced from 3 years down to 2 years. This means 1 less year needed to work on the 482 visa.
The time starts once your 482 is granted.
If you change employer, the time resets. With the new Skills in Demand visa, the Migration Strategy says it will not reset anymore.
Changes to 482 visa work condition
From 1 July 2024, visa conditions for the 457, 482 and 494 visa have been adjusted to benefit visa holders.
This has increased the amount of time allowed after you cease working for your employer to 180 days. That’s roughly 6 months and is 3 times more than it was before.
Under the new rules, during the 180 days you are allowed to work other jobs to support yourself.
If you do not find a new nominator before the end of the 180 days, your visa may be cancelled.
This change allows 482 visa holders who have lost their employment to maintain a more stable situation in Australia while they search for a new nominator, as 60 days often isn't sufficient time to secure new sponsored work.
It also makes it safer for those who are being exploited and need to get away from a dangerous or exploitative sponsored work situation, as they will be able to leave and find other jobs.
New powers to crack down on worker exploitation
Since 1 July 2024, there have been new criminal and civil penalties brought in for those who make a migrant worker breach a work-related condition or force them to accept an exploitative work situation to meet a work condition.
The Government also made changes to ban employers who exploit migrants from being allowed to employ the in the future, and to be able to publish the names of the employers who are banned.
Conclusion
The Government is always changing visa requirements to meet their policy objectives.
The new Skills in Demand visa program will change the employer-sponsored program, and we do not have full details of what these changes will include.
If you are eligible now, it is generally better to proceed with your application rather than waiting to see what the Skills in Demand visa looks like. It may be too late once you find out there is a change that might mean you are not able to apply.
If you are looking for an employer to sponsor you, check out this video on YouTube where we share some tips on how to find a sponsor.
Do you need help with your visa application?
Our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents is ready to assist you with your visa application.
Based in Adelaide, South Australia, we provide Australian immigration advice to people and businesses from all over the world.
You can book an appointment online or call us at (+61) 8 8351 9956.
Souces:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-strategy
https://budget.gov.au/content/bp1/index.htm
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/archive/article?itemId=1213
