Applying for Australia Skilled Visa? Know Changes to List of Eligible Skilled Occupations!

Every year, Australian government makes changes to its immigration program to keep up with the economic needs of the country. And the year 2018 is no exception.

A lot of changes came into effect on 18 March 2018, with the major one being the replacement of 457 visa with Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 visa, as we already discussed in our previous blog.

Another change that has been implemented on the same date is the availability of Regional Occupation List (ROL) for a number of skilled visa programs including:

• Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (Subclass 186)
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 187)
• Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 190)
• Training Visa (Subclass 407)
• Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482)
• Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485)
• Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 489)

This list is carried out on the basis of labour market analysis by the Department of Jobs and Small Business and will be reviewed as part of the regular update in mid-2018. All the visa applicants who are nominated for the position from the ROL will be in a regional area.

Let’s discuss about the key changes it brings to other skilled visas:

Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (Subclass 186): A new skilled occupation has been released with 208 eligible occupations included only on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) for this visa program. If you are looking to apply for this visa, you are required to be nominated in one of these occupations except in case separate arrangements are made under a labour agreement of Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) (Subclass 187): All the 673 skilled occupations will continue to be eligible for this visa, however, they are included on both MLTSSL and ROL for employers in regional areas. These occupations apply to both Temporary Residency and Direct Entry streams.

Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189): New instrument has been evaluated and published and applicants of this visa will continue to access the MLTSSL list with 176 occupations eligible for this program.

Skilled-Nominated Visa (Subclass 190): New instrument has been published. Applicants looking to apply for this visa can both MLTSSL and STSOL (Short-term Skilled Occupation List). STSOL has less number of eligible skilled occupations that contributes mainly to Australia’s regional economy. 416 skilled occupations are eligible for this program.

Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visa (Subclass 482): The skilled occupation for 482 visa is available in a separate instrument with STSOL occupations being only eligible for the Short-term stream of the visa and MLTSSL and ROL occupations eligible for the Medium-term stream of the visa.

All the skilled occupations that were available for 457 visa are same in the instrument published for this visa and it also includes some new skilled occupations from the new ROL list.

In total, 509 skilled occupations are eligible for this visa program.

Being an applicant of 482 visa, you are required to be nominated for one of these skilled occupations unless there are separate arrangements under a labour agreement. Besides, work experience caveats have been removed except for certain occupations included in the Regional Occupation List.

Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) (Graduate Stream): New Instrument has been published with a total of 176 eligible skilled occupations to nominate from the MLTSSL list.

Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa: New Instrument has been published with a total of 176 eligible skilled occupations to nominate from the MLTSSL list.

Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa: New Instrument has been published and 475 skilled occupations are made eligible for this program. If you have been nominated by a state or territory government for this visa, you must have their occupation on the ROL that allows them to live and work in regional area.

Please note that the list of skilled occupations will not be applicable to the Temporary Residence Stream who is living or have held 457 visa or 482 visa on 18 April 2017.

Both the lists of Eligible Skilled Occupations and the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations have been updated with the above changes.

If you are looking for further assistance on any of the above mentioned skilled visas, feel free to get in touch with us today. You can also post your queries on our Immigration & Education forum and get solutions right away.