Victoria has officially opened its State Nomination Program for the year 2023-24. This program provides aspiring skilled migrants, both within Australia and overseas, with an opportunity to pursue permanent residency in Victoria.
Victoria has set aside 2,700 allocations for the Subclass 190 visa and 600 for the Subclass 491 visa. This allocation distribution primarily emphasizes the Subclass 190 visa, making it an attractive option for those looking to secure permanent residency in this state.
Following that, the jobs and skills summit held in Canberra on the 1,2 September 2022 has announced a lot of current Australian immigration initiatives.
There are some key points to be mentioned later in this blog regarding the summit outcomes.
There is still much more news to come in the future.
We believe this year’s migration program is very promising.
This article will discuss all the latest Australian Immigration updates in September and August 2022:
State Allocation Confirmation from Australian Government for Program year 2022-2023
State Nomination visa 491 and visa 190 Update
Visa 189 Skilled independent invitation round
Skills Summit Outcomes
Agriculture Industry challenges
Post Study work visa 485 Extension for Select degree (minimum 4 years duration)
SA Skilled Migration Program update
Business Visa Australia update on allocations and requirements
State Allocation 2022-2023 - Big Increase for Skilled Migration Program
The interim allocations for all states and territories have been released.
The total allocations have been up to about 50,000 this financial year.
There are massive allocations increases in permanent visa 190 with nearly doubling the places.
That shows a move to encourage permanent migration under the new labour government.
In more detail, NSW, Victoria, and WA see significant growth in both visa streams.
Other states have received more quotas than last year.
It is going to be a great year for skilled migrants who seek permanent residency in Australia
Skilled Migration Program Update - visa 190/491 updates in 2022
On the 25 of August, South Australia is the last state to announce the opening of their skilled visa 190/491 program.
There are many positive changes in all state nomination programs including:
Much simpler nomination criteria in all states
Fully opening for offshore application
In the scope of this video, we cannot demonstrate the criteria of each state.
However, you can always get access to it by the link above.
What you should do now?
Upon the opening of state nomination, all skilled workers should start to seek a suitable nomination.
Next, you should ensure that you have a valid SKILL ASSESSMENT and eligible English test result.
Calculating your EOI points and considering age points are also necessary.
So far there has been all positive news for international students and skilled migrants.
Hopefully, there will be more PR options in other streams like employer-sponsored.
Please subscribe to our channel for the latest updates.
SA Skilled Migration Program - SA visa 491 and 190 2022-23 program year
At its last announcement, SA has opened its skilled visa 491 and 190 to over 500 occupations
In that, 97 new occupations have been added to SA’s high-priority visa list including some popular ones like:
Finance manager/broker
Accountant
ICT occupations like Software engineer
Hairdressers
Community service workers
Project administrator
SA is now rolling out a “magnet state” campaign that attracts young people in Australia to come.
Premier Peter Malinauskas says:” you can have a global career in South Australia, living, studying, and working alongside the world’s current and emerging leaders, coming together to achieve great things.”
Tasmania State Nomination - Tasmania Skilled Visa 491 and 190
The Tasmanian Skilled Migration State Nomination Program is expected to open to gold and green pass candidates by Monday 12 September 2022.
Please ensure that you meet the minimum requirements and have at least one gold or green priority attribute.
After that, you may be able to register your interest in the nomination.
NSW state nomination update - Skilled Occupation Lists - Visa 491 and 190 NSW
Overall, the jobs and skills summit focus on dealing with current labour shortages and economy issues. A bigger, better trained and more productive workforce are the goal to acquire. The aim is to deliver high paid jobs, boost incomes and living standards and create more opportunities for Australians.
However, within the scope of this writing, only migration aspect will be outlined.
There are many migrations focused on 4 immediate initiatives and longer-term focuses:
1) Lifting migration cap with more focus on PERMANENT migrants
2) Increasing the speed of visa processing
3) Enabling graduates of Australian universities to work in Australia for longer
4) Extending the lifting of restrictions that allow temporary visa holders to work more hours
Lifting permanent migration number to nearly 200,000 for 2022-23 fiscal year and processing more visa backlogs
Australia is facing a severe skills shortage and a huge visa backlog.
The government believe by clearing the backlog and increasing permanent migration would heal the pain of skilled labor shortages
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has recruited more than 500 new staff to clear the visa backlog sitting at around 900,000.
The government will spend $36.1 million to clear the backlog
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil announced the skilled migration cap in 2022-23 would be lifted to 195,000 – up from 160,000
+ Including 9,000 places for regional Australia to 34,000
+ additional 4,700 for healthcare
+ additional 6,100 for infrastructure
+ additional 6,800 for technology workers.
+ additional 5,000 for business sponsorships.
For a longer term, a permanent migration is set to be executed.
What does it mean?
It means thousands more nurses and thousands more engineers settling in the country this year. Those medium and long term skilled occupation will receive a lot of benefits from the government.
Moreover, the new Labor Government will start to re-assess the occupation list.
Increase the duration of 485 visa for international graduates in Australia
Foreign students’ graduate visa 485 extension and relaxing work restrictions will be available to strengthen the workforce pipeline.
The Australian Government will increase the duration of post-study work visa 485 for international students
This will help strengthen the pipeline of skilled labor.
The extension only applies to select degrees in areas of verified skill shortages.
Eligible graduates will have their visa 485 increased from:
Two years to four years for select Bachelor’s degrees
Three years to five years for select master’s degrees
Four years to six years for select PhDs.
A working group will be established to advise on the development of this and other relevant issues.
The group will report to Ministers by 28 October 2022.
At the moment, only 16 percent of international students stay on after their studies end.
This will mean they can stay on longer and use their skills to contribute to the productivity of our economy.
The outcomes from the skills summit are geared towards supporting international education.
International education is an important Australian industry that has been heavily impacted by the pandemic.
Continued temporary relaxation of working hours for internation students holding 500 visa
Regarding relaxing work restrictions, international students will still be able to work more than 40 hours per week until June 2023.
Moreover, international students will be able to work before the course commencement.
Until June 2023, no restrictions will be applied to international students about their working right.
Increase the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT)
It is recommended by the parties to raise the TSMIT. This is one of the main factor for TSS 482 Visa program.
The minimum wage payable to temporary skilled workers currently at 53,900 will be lifted to 60,000 as wanted by business groups.
Unions want it to be 90,000 to avoid exploitation in low-paid jobs.
The aim of the change is to increase the living standard of those temporary visa holders whilst in Australia.
Agriculture Visa and Challenges in Agriculture sector in the near future
A new group of farmers, unions, and the Federal Government has been formed to tackle chronic workforce shortages in the agricultural sector.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt announced the group on the sidelines of the summit
Senator Watt said the working group would meet monthly over the next year to discuss the sector's challenges
It has been estimated at 170,000 worker shortfalls.
This will make sure that farmers can get the workers that they need and to make sure that agriculture workers are protected and respected in their work.
In a new release from Department of Home Affairs, they confirmed that the PALM scheme will remain a key program for meeting agricultural workforce shortages. They are planning to boost permanent migration through new Pacific Engagement Visa to be introduced in July 2023
3000 Visas would be allocated annually, Applicants need to be aged between 18 and 45 years, having a job offer in Australia, and some English proficiency.
More information will be published later.
If you are working in Agriculture, consider another options if not eligible for PALM scheme. For more options, check this link
Business Visa Australia Allocation and Its Future
This year has seen very low allocations for business innovation and investment visa in all states.
NSW has published its business visa requirements with slightly higher criteria.
Instead of 65 points for 188a and 188b visa, the requirement has now been raised to 85 in NSW.
Not just NSW, other states have announced their business visa program with very low places.
Consequently, States will become more difficult in picking up suitable applications.
Global talent visa updates 2022 - EOI and Priority Processing Criteria
EOI Expiration
In recent notice from the Department of Home Affairs, they have announced there will no expiration date for the Global Talent Visa program Expression of Interest.
The current duration cap is 12 month.
The GTI officers are currently processing EOIs submitted in April 2021. However, for some cases, you might receive early invitation.
Work Visa Lawyers clients got their invitation in just 2 days with support of Global Talent officer.
In which order are EOIs considered?
Expressions of Interest are usually assessed in order of receipt, however the following may receive priority assessment:
Confirmed support from a Global Talent Officer
Hong Kong nationals and residents
Candidates of extremely high calibre
EOIs from candidates clearly outside program parameters may receive early notification.