Immigration and visa options where your occupation may be excluded from the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL)
In December 2023, the Australian Government announced that a new Skills in Demand visa will be implemented in around late 2024, which is intended to replace the current Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa. In this regard, the Skills in Demand visa will also be an employer-sponsored visa and will reportedly encompass three (3) streams, with most people likely applying in the Core Skills Pathway:
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) (this is likely to be increased to AUD73,150 in line with the current TSMIT); 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. For a full list of occupations on the Confident Off List and Targeted for Consultation List, refer to our free guide to occupations which may be excluded from the CSOL.
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.
With the release of the draft CSOL earlier this year which has yet to be finalised by the Australian Government, there has been much discussion surrounding some commonly nominated occupations (e.g. Chef) which could be excluded from the final CSOL, effectively preventing many people from being eligible for not just a Skills in Demand visa but also employer-sponsored visas in general. This is particularly since the implementation of the Skills in Demand visa may immediately or shortly thereafter lead to the closure of the current Subclass 482 visa to new applications, potentially leaving the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 494) visa as the only remaining employer-sponsored visa option, which has more stringent skills and work experience requirements than the Subclass 482 visa.
As we have been consulting with an increasing number of people whose occupations (including Chef, Community Worker, Criminologist, Graphic Designer, ICT Project Manager, Marketing Specialist and Welfare Worker, etc.) are either “targeted for consultation” or on the “Confident Off List” on the draft CSOL, we thought we would publish some general information on what you should do if your occupation may be excluded from the CSOL:
Option 1: Consider your eligibility for a Subclass 482 visa
You presently need at least two (2) years of equivalent full-time work experience (amongst other requirements) in your nominated occupation or a closely related field to be eligible for a Subclass 482 visa, but from sometime in November 2024 onward*, you may soon be able to apply for a Subclass 482 visa with one (1) year of work experience.
*As announced in the Australian Government’s federal budget for the financial year of 2024-25 in May 2024, the work experience requirement for the Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa program will be reduced from 2 years to 1 year on 23 November 2024, and it has since been suggested that this change may be implemented earlier in November 2024.
The Subclass 482 visa is a visa which will be granted for a period of up to 2 years (for occupations in the short-term stream) or up to 4 years (for occupations in the medium to long-term stream) which provides you with a pathway to permanent residence through the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa, after you have held your Subclass 482 visa and worked for your sponsoring employer for at least two (2) years.
On the other hand, it was previously announced that the Skills in Demand visa is intended to be implemented in or around late 2024, and that it will replace the Subclass 482 visa. On this basis, if you have an employer who is willing to sponsor you for an employer-sponsored visa to work for them in your nominated occupation, it may be in your interests to apply for a Subclass 482 visa sooner rather than later, prior to the potential closure of the Subclass 482 visa to new applications.
Option 2: Consider your eligibility for a Subclass 494 visa
If you have a regional employer who is willing to sponsor you for an employer-sponsored visa to work for them in a designated regional area, and if you have a positive skills assessment as well as at least three (3) years of full-time work experience in your nominated occupation or closely related field, amongst other requirements, you may be eligible to apply for a Subclass 494 visa.
The Subclass 494 visa is a 5-year visa which provides you with a pathway to permanent residence through the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (Subclass 191) visa after you have held the Subclass 494 visa for at least three (3) years.
It is important to note that the Subclass 494 visa will require you to live and work in a designated regional area during its validity.
Option 3: Consider your general skilled migration options (i.e. your eligibility for a Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa, a Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa and/or a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 491) visa
If you have a positive skills assessment in your nominated occupation and have at least 65 points for general skilled migration purposes, you may be able to submit an Expression of Interest to be considered to be invited to apply for a Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa, provided your occupation is available for this particular visa subclass.
You may also be able to submit an Expression of Interest and/or Registration of Interest (ROI) to be considered for state/ territory nomination for the Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa or Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 491) visa, provided your occupation is available for these particular visa subclasses and you meet the relevant state/ territory requirements for skilled visa nomination.
The Subclass 189 visa and the Subclass 190 visa are permanent visas, whereas the Subclass 491 visa is a 5-year visa which provides you with a pathway to permanent residence through the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (Subclass 191) visa after you have held the Subclass 491 visa for at least three (3) years.
It is important to note that the Subclass 491 visa will require you to live, work and/or study in a designated regional area during its validity.
Nonetheless, Australia’s general skilled migration program is extremely competitive, and there is no guarantee that you will be invited to apply for a Subclass 189, Subclass 190 and/or Subclass 491 visa. It is therefore in your interests to thoroughly explore your employer-sponsored visa options instead of just relying on these potential general skilled migration pathways.
Potential Option 4: Wait for the Skills in Demand visa to be implemented to consider your eligibility
The Draft CSOL as it presently stands, is just a draft of the occupations which are being canvassed for the Core Skills pathway of the upcoming Skills in Demand visa, and even if your occupation is currently “targeted for consultation” or on the “Confident Off List”, it may still ultimately be included in the final CSOL.
Additionally, even if your occupation is ultimately not available for Core Skills Pathway of the upcoming Skills in Demand visa, you may still be eligible under the other Specialist Skills Pathway and/or the Essential Skills Pathway.
Summary of options
Due to the uncertainty surrounding what the actual requirements for the Skills in Demand visa will look like and what occupations may be included or excluded in the CSOL, if you are already eligible to apply for a Subclass 482 visa or a Subclass 494 visa and have an employer who would be willing to sponsor you to work for them in Australia, it may be prudent to lodge your visa application sooner rather than later. In particular, it may be in your interests to apply for a Subclass 482 visa prior to the potential closure of the Subclass 482 visa program, and/or apply for a Subclass 494 visa as soon as possible, so that you have a (comparatively) more certain pathway to permanent residence and are able to transition to permanent residence at the earliest opportunity.
You may also have alternative visa options available to you beyond the above employer-sponsored and skilled visas, which an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent may advise you about.
Our immigration lawyers at Inclusive Migration have extensive experience in advising prospective migrants to Australia about their employer-sponsored, skilled migration and family migration options in Australia. Should you wish to discuss your eligibility for migration to Australia through employer-sponsored and/or general skilled migration pathways, please email info@inclusivemigration.com.au or submit an enquiry using the contact form on our website.
