New Skills in Demand Visa coming in late 2024
As part of the Australian Government’s new Migration Strategy announced in December 2023, a new Skills in Demand Visa will be introduced in late 2024.
The Skills in Demand Visa is an Employer Sponsored Visa intended to be replacing the Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) Visa, although the Subclass 482 Visa is likely still going to be available in late 2024, and it is unclear as to the Subclass 482 Visa Program will be formally closed to new applications.
What are the key features of the Skills in Demand Visa?
The new Skills in Demand Visa will reportedly boast a number of exciting features, including:
a validity period of 4 years for all Skills in Demand Visa holders
no requirement to be tied to any one (1) employer under the conditions of the visa
more time to change employers on the Skills in Demand Visa (180 days as opposed to the 60-day time period for Subclass 482 Visa holders)
a pathway to permanent residence after working on the Skills in Demand visa for a requisite period of time
being able to accumulatively accrue work experience for multiple employers on a Skills in Demand Visa to transition to permanent residence (as opposed to Subclass 482 Visa holders having to work for one sponsoring employer for at least 2 years before being nominated by the same sponsoring employer for permanent residence)
The Skills in Demand Visa will also encompass three (3) streams, namely:
the Specialist Skills Pathway (for highly skilled migrants of significant economic benefit earning at least AUD135,000 per year in any occupation other than trades, labourers and machinery operators);
the Core Skills Pathway (for persons who are being nominated in an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List which is still being developed and who earn at least AUD70,000 per year); and
A Draft Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) has been released for consultation whereby Job and Skills Australia have identified 3 main groups of occupations which may or may not be included in the final CSOL, including occupations that are on the Confident On List, occupations that are on the Confident Off List, and occupations that are on the Targeted for Consultation List.
the Essential Skills Pathway (for persons working in essential skills occupations which are still being considered even if they earn under AUD70,000 per year).
There have been indications that this will be based on Australia’s Pacific relationships and/or industry labour agreements presently available for certain sectors such as the aged care sector.
This is broadly consistent with the structure of the Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) Visa Program, which is made up of the Short-term stream, Medium-term stream and Labour Agreement stream.
Is the Skills in Demand Visa better than the Subclass 482 Visa?
Based on the information announced about the Skills in Demand Visa thus far, it appears that Skills in Demand Visa Holders will have far more flexibility than Subclass 482 Visa holders in terms of working in Australia and and having more time to change employers, apparently without compromising their ability to transition to permanent residence.
In particular, all Skills in Demand Visa holders are granted a 4-year visa regardless of the stream they have applied under. In contrast, only Subclass 482 Visa Holders in the Medium-Term stream and Labour Agreement stream are generally eligible for a 4-year visa, whereas Subclass 482 Visa Holders in the Short-term stream are generally only eligible for a 2-year visa (with limited exceptions).
Additionally, Skills in Demand Visa Holders in the Specialist Skills Pathway can nominate any occupation apart from trades, labourer and machinery operator occupations, whereas Subclass 482 Visa Holders must nominate a particular occupation on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL), Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) or the relevant Industry Labour Agreement to be eligible.
On the other hand, for skilled migrants applying in the Core Skills Pathway or Essential Skills Pathway, there is still a lot of uncertainty as to which occupations will actually eventually be available on the CSOL or categorised as being an Essential Skills occupation.
On this basis, skilled migrants who may already be working for a sponsoring employer in a nominated occupation and who are unlikely to be earning AUD135,000 or more may be better off now exploring their eligibility for Subclass 482 Visa, as opposed to waiting for the CSOL or Essential Skills occupations to be finalised in due course.
How do I know if my occupation will be available for the Skills in Demand Visa?
If you are earning AUD135,000 or more per annum in any occupation apart from trades, labourer and machinery operator roles, your occupation will likely be available for the Skills in Demand Visa.
If you are earning less than AUD135,000 but at least AUD70,000 per annum, your occupation will need to be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), to be available for the Skills in Demand Visa. Alternatively, if your occupation is not available on the CSOL or if you make less than AUD70,000 per annum, your occupation will need to be covered by the Essential Skills Pathway.
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has published the Draft CSOL for consultation purposes at the following link: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/topics/migration-strategy/draft-core-skills-occupations-list-csol-consultation. As outlined above, the Draft CSOL is categorised into 3 groups, namely -
Draft CSOL Confident On List: Skilled occupations the JSA Migration Model is confident should be on the CSOL
Draft CSOL Confident Off List: Skilled occupations the JSA Migration Model suggests should not be on the CSOL
Draft CSOL Targeted for Consultation List: Skilled occupations the JSA Migration Model suggests should be targeted for stakeholder feedback
If your occupation is on the the Draft Confident Off List and Draft CSOL Targeted for Consultation List, it is recommend that you seek advice about your alternative options in the intervening time, in case your occupation is ultimately not available for the Skills in Demand Visa.
The Essential Skills Pathway will reportedly only commence consultation in late 2024, and there is not yet any draft and/or other information available about the actual sectors which Jobs and Skills Australia may have in mind, but persons working in the following industries should still seek advice about their current options as they may already be eligible for a Subclass 482 Visa in the Labour Agreement stream:
Advertising
Aged Care Dairy
Fishing
Horticulture
Meat
Minister of Religion
On-hire
Pork
Restaurant (premium dining)
What are the eligibility requirements for the Skills in Demand Visa?
The legislative and regulatory requirements for the Skills in Demand Visa remain to be seen, although skilled migrants can expect that there will likely be skills requirements demonstrated through having sufficient qualifications and/or work experience in the nominated occupation.
As the Skills in Demand Visa is an Employer Sponsored Visa, Skills in Demand Visa Applicants will most likely also have to be sponsored by an approved business sponsor to work within the sponsoring employer’s business in Australia. Labour Market Testing requirements are likely to still apply, but there are indications that this will be streamlined for the new Skills in Demand Visa, including with an increased validity period for the advertisement of the nominated position.
Should the Australian Government also carry over the proposed reduction in the work experience requirement for the Subclass 482 Visa from 23 November 2024 onward, skilled migrants may be eligible for the Skills in Demand Visa with just one (1) year of equivalent full-time work experience in their nominated occupation.
There may also be minimum English language requirements which could be higher for the Specialist Skills Pathway and Core Skills Pathway as compared to the Essential Skills Pathway, with the usual exemptions for certain passport holders (e.g. United States of America, Canada, New Zealand United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland passport holders), etc.
The Australian Government may also impose age limitations for Skills in Demand Visa holders transitioning to permanent residence, echoing or in accordance with the age limitation of 45 years old for the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) Visa Program, so skilled migrants who are approaching 45 years of age are encouraged to seek advice about their current options as soon as possible.
Should you wish to discuss your eligibility for a Skills in Demand Visa based on the information that has been published thus far and/or for a Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) Visa, please email info@inclusivemigration.com.au or submit an enquiry using the contact form on our website.
