To all our kababayans who want to work and live in Australia, the government is taking significant steps to enhance its migration system, providing more opportunities for temporary skilled workers to achieve Permanent Residence (PR). The Department of Home Affairs is implementing changes effective from 25 November 2023, subject to regulatory approval, with a primary focus on the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) (TSS) visa and the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) (ENS) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) (RSMS) visa.
The changes are driven by the need to address the issue of a growing number of “permanently temporary” visa holders in Australia. Many temporary skilled visa holders face limited pathways to PR, leading to uncertainty for both employers and visa holders. The government’s aim is to create clear and accessible routes to PR for all TSS visa streams, simplifying the nomination process.
These changes will impact different groups of applicants and existing visa holders. There will be changes to the short-term stream TSS visa as the limits on the number of Short-term stream TSS visa applications lodged onshore will be removed. However, short-term stream TSS visa holders with visas expiring before the changes will need to travel outside Australia to lodge a third short-term stream TSS application.
As for changes to TRT Stream Nomination Requirements for ENS and RSMS Visa Subclasses, employers will be able to nominate holders of all TSS visa streams, including Short-term and Labour Agreement streams. The nominated person must have held their TSS (or subclass 457) visa(s) for 2 out of the 3 years before nomination. RSMS visas will continue to be restricted to transitional 457 workers and transitional 482 workers. Meanwhile, nominated occupations will no longer be assessed against skilled migration occupation lists. However, the nominated occupation must be listed in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), and the nominated worker must continue to work in the nominated occupation. Work experience requirements for TSS visa holders will be reduced to 2 out of the 3 years before nomination.
Age exemption requirements will be adjusted for regional medical practitioner applicants and high-income earning applicants aged 45 years and over to allow for a two-year pathway is one of the changes to visa requirements for TRT Stream of ENS and RSMS Visa Subclasses. Additionally, redundant COVID-19 related age exemptions due to the two-year pathway will be ended.
Felix Carao is a Registered Migration Consultant (MARN 1069354), a Qualified Education Counselor (QEAC G028), and an Accredited Recruitment Professional (MRCSA-51889). For enquiries, you may call 0499 599 569 or email him at felix@allskills.com.au or visit www.allskills.com.au
