Migration Newsletter – Edition 26

Hello everyone!

After long periods between new editions of our newsletter, the current migration scenario means the frequency of new editions will now have to be much higher!

More benefits for 482 visa  holders

The Government is delivering on its promise to make the pathway to permanent residency shorter for temporary skilled workers. After announcing that access to the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa will no longer be limited to occupations in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), but it will also be available for 482 visa holders in the short-term stream, the Government has now informed that, by the end of 2023, the employment requirement for the 186 TRT will be reduced from 3 years to 2 years with the sponsoring employer. The Government is also removing limits on the number of Short-term stream TSS visa applications that visa holders can make in Australia, to facilitate applicants to meet the transitional period without having to leave Australia.

Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement

This is going to be huge! The new Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement announced last week should make the occupations of Nursing Support Worker (ANZSCO 423312), Personal Care Assistant (ANZSCO 423313) and Aged or Disabled Carer (ANZSCO 423111) more popular than never. Sponsored applicants will only be required to have, at a minimum, a relevant Certificate III or 12 months of full-time work experience (or part-time equivalent). Applicants will need, in most cases, to obtain a skills assessment with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) or the Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA), unless they have obtained a relevant Australian qualification, such as a Cert. III in Individual Support.

There are also English language concessions and the pathway to PR will also be 2 years, in line with the above announcements, however, there are no concessions in the age limit for the permanent visa, which will continue to be 45. That means that applicants will need to be younger than 43 years old when they are granted the 482-visa under the new labour agreement, so they can reach eligibility for permanent residency before the age limit.

Important: please remember that a labour agreement is still an employer-sponsored visa, so applicants will need to be sponsored by an Australian aged care provider. Also, to make things a little more challenging, employers will first need to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the relevant industry Union, which should not be an easy task (it never is with the Unions), so your employer will really need to be willing to sponsor overseas workers to go through this.

TSMIT for current visa holders

For the peace of mind of current holders of visas affected by the TSMIT (most employer-sponsored visas and the 491), the Government has just confirmed that the increase of the TSMIT from $53,900 to $70,000 will not affect existing visa holders and approved nominations lodged before 1 July 2023.

Building and construction industry in WA

The WA government announced changes to its state nomination program 2023-24. Another 34 in-demand construction occupations have been added to the state’s occupation list, and temporary amendments will be made, including:

• waiving the requirement to provide a six-month contract of employment for visa subclass 190 applicants for building and construction trade occupations; and
• prioritising invitations for industries with critical demand for skilled workers, including building and construction, health and medical, teaching, tourism and hospitality occupations.

WA is also requesting the Commonwealth government to have its quota of state nomination places increased to 10,000 in the new financial year. Way to go, WA!

ACT Migration Updates

The ACT is another state or territory who is willing to facilitate its state nomination program to attract more migrants, both Canberra residents or overseas applicants. For Canberra residents, the minimum hourly requirement an applicant must work per week has been reduced from 20 to 15 for a 491 visa and from 35 to 30 for the 190, and the minimum required English level has been lowered to ‘Competent English’. TSS (subclass 482) visa holders can now receive an invitation with a score of 60 points in the Canberra Matrix, and applicants with employment in regional NSW can still claim ACT residence if the employment is within commuting distance to the ACT (for example Queanbeyan).

Overseas applicants and their partners no longer need to be employed at date of Canberra Matrix submission, and nomination for the 190 visa will no longer require a Job Offer in the 190, but an employability statement. The work experience requirement has also been reduced for both 491 and 190 nominations (1 year and 3 years respectively), and there are more points awarded to overseas work experience. Overseas applicants in a de facto relationship can also now claim points for a partner or spouse even if it is illegal for them to obtain a relationship certificate in their country of origin.

That’s all for now!

See you next time!